Our Philly Money Pit

A place to hang out, chat and post general discussion topics. (Non-technical posts here)
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OurPhillyRow
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Re: Our Philly Money Pit

Post by OurPhillyRow »

Manalto wrote:It's an elegant house, and with a park across the street - very nice. I see you have a handsome cornice and the shutter hardware is in place. (I have a "thing" for functional shutters; unfortunately, they're not correct on my house, so I'll have to live vicariously.) Enjoy the ride and keep us posted on your progress!

Thank you :-) I love that the shutter hardware is still there, however as much as I would love to eventually put the shutters back, I am hesitant to take on the maintenance, and although most of the other houses on the block also retain the shutter mounts, there is not a single one of the 14 houses on the block with shutters. The cornice will need work in the future, but that is way down the priority list for now.



Gothichome wrote:Devyn, you saved it, good for you. The world needs more folks like yourself and those here in the District. You can bet you neighbours will be looking a little closer at their home now.
Thanks! :-) I was impressed that our contractor managed to avoid doing a lot of demo to get to the damaged area. He respected my desire to retain as much of the original interior as possible, and given that the stairs on on this wall, I was nervous about how they would be impacted. It turns out the impact was minimal. They are patching with drywall, which will remain in place until I can afford to have it done correctly in plaster.

I will be back at the house on Wednesday for the final sign off on the work. I can finally sleep at night knowing that structurally, the house is solid.
Devyn - Old House Lover
1852 Brick Rowhouse - Philadelphia

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Manalto
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Re: Our Philly Money Pit

Post by Manalto »

OurPhillyRow wrote:I love that the shutter hardware is still there, however as much as I would love to eventually put the shutters back, I am hesitant to take on the maintenance, and although most of the other houses on the block also retain the shutter mounts, there is not a single one of the 14 houses on the block with shutters.


I'm sure you're familiar with the expression, "Be the first on your block!" ;-) But seriously, I see where shutters would be low on the list of priorities; today they're pretty much an extravagance although, depending on which way your house faces, they might be useful in keeping the house warm or cool. Curious, I perused some Philadelphia row houses that do have shutters and was pleased to see the typical Pennsylvania raised-panel type used most frequently. Some had the louvered type on the upper stories, which was a common practice, but I can't remember why - something to do with not needing privacy on the upper floors, perhaps.

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Lily left the valley
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Re: Our Philly Money Pit

Post by Lily left the valley »

Manalto wrote:Curious, I perused some Philadelphia row houses that do have shutters and was pleased to see the typical Pennsylvania raised-panel type used most frequently. Some had the louvered type on the upper stories, which was a common practice, but I can't remember why - something to do with not needing privacy on the upper floors, perhaps.
Privacy can still be afforded with louvers while still allowing breezes in the upper chambers for the summer. The downstairs, there's no good way to angle them so that both persons on the street and folks in neighboring second floors can't see in. (In their case, they don't have folks living across the way in front due to the park, though.) On the second floor, you mostly worry about the street view, but are mindful of the second story neighbors in your angling. Louvers also helped keep lighter rain out at all times when open to allow for heat to chimney out during the day as well. (My dad grew up mostly in a brownstone before they moved to the burbs.)

Old fashioned AC. I spent one summer taking classes (on scholarship) at Moore College of Art, and although it's not the Deep South in summer by far, it can still get hot enough to be uncomfortable in Philly.

OurPhillyRow wrote:It will be six months or more before we will be living there full time (still have to sell our old home), but we are looking forward to restoring what we can, and doing thoughtful updates to make modern life possible (we will convert a small bedroom next to the master into a master bath and closet). All with the intent to retain as much of the original as possible.
I'm glad you were able to weather the surprise, and that you found solid folks to work with (no pun intended.) I wish you both many happy days ahead of you, sleeping secure in the knowledge that you are good cartakers of your wonderful new old home who now has more to give you in return, thanks to your efforts.
--Proud member of the Industrious Cheapskate Club
--Currently pondering ways to encourage thoughtful restovation and discourage mindless renovation.

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Sara
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Re: Our Philly Money Pit

Post by Sara »

Oh my gosh- thanks for sharing. There was a wealth of information in those photos. I thought to myself when reading through it - they must blog.. and then you mentioned your blog. ;)

Did you ever go back to your first structural engineer and ask for your money back? I would be so upset that not one but two people told me it was just surface-level stuff without verifying. The things you found .. were scary. Great job in undertaking the work.

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OurPhillyRow
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Re: Our Philly Money Pit

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Sara wrote:Did you ever go back to your first structural engineer and ask for your money back? I would be so upset that not one but two people told me it was just surface-level stuff without verifying. The things you found .. were scary. Great job in undertaking the work.


The original structural engineer never sent the bill, so fortunately I'm not out anything more than the time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I just finished my final walk-through with the current contractor this morning to review all of the work completed over the past three weeks. I am pleased to say our contractor did a very nice job closing everything up. On the exterior brick walls, they patched with cement and a skim coat of plaster, and on the stud walls, they did an admiral job of patching with drywall, even a curved section under the stairs. I would have preferred lathe and plaster on the interior walls, but given the locations of where the work was done (rear of the house in bedrooms), I am not likely to rip out the drywall anytime soon just to satisfy my desire for authenticity.

In addition to repairing the structural issues, they also completed the following:
    - Repair, repoint, and parge the basement walls
    - Reinforce the second floor joists (by opening the living room ceiling, jacking up the sagging joist, and sistering with an LVL)
    - Take down a leaning chimney below the roof line, fill and patch the hole, as well as other general repairs to the roof.
    - Install a drain in our concrete backyard
    - Sealed around front windows and applied Siloxane water repellent on brick facade
    - Install attic access panel for rear wing (there was no attic access until now)
The whole thing was not cheap and I am sure I could have found somebody to do the work for less, but there is a lot to be said for peace of mind for quality work which will last for a long time.
Devyn - Old House Lover
1852 Brick Rowhouse - Philadelphia

Olson185
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Re: Our Philly Money Pit

Post by Olson185 »

This was a very nicely prepared and presented explanation. It's the type of thing one sees as a Powerpoint presentation at a conference. A short, animated film showing the repair process and you'd be ready to go on a speaking tour.
~James

Fourth generation in a family of artists, engineers, architects, woodworkers, and metalworkers. Mine is a family of Viking craftsmen. What we can't create, we pillage, and there's nothing we can't create. But, sometimes, we pillage anyway.

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OurPhillyRow
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Re: Our Philly Money Pit

Post by OurPhillyRow »

Olson185 wrote:This was a very nicely prepared and presented explanation. It's the type of thing one sees as a Powerpoint presentation at a conference. A short, animated film showing the repair process and you'd be ready to go on a speaking tour.


Thank you :P
My friends tell me I tend to be a bit "AR" (anal retentive), but I prefer to call it being thorough.
It also helps that I write process documentation as part of my day job. :dance:
Devyn - Old House Lover
1852 Brick Rowhouse - Philadelphia

phil
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Re: Our Philly Money Pit

Post by phil »

that was an interesting reno. I think you were smart to involve the engineers and a contractor on that one. We don't have many brick buildings here or buildings that old so it's interesting to see the detail. you could perhaps pass on the name of the contractor and engineer to your neighbors as they might see similar and they are literally tied to yours. It makes me wonder if you have a right to see that the others are inspected for structural flaws for your safety after finding that.

here , we are pretty close to fault lines and the potential for earthquake so they sometimes condemn brick buildings , especially schools.

Phil

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Re: Our Philly Money Pit

Post by Big Blue »

Hi there, OurPhillyRow! I saw your post when new, and am so glad you have been able to complete the work. I no longer can see the photos, did you remove them or were they hosted on Photobucket and are no longer accessible? Well, either way, I do remember seeing the original pictures and know it was a big job!

I am hoping you can pass on the name of the engineer you used.

We have a brick and stucco home with a basement foundation and lower wall built of Wissahickon schist. My street of only a few homes was built somewhere between 1885 and 1889. It's a single but built like a row with no load bearing walls inside. I have some issues that I think would be best run by an engineer, and since you were pleased with yours it seems like a good place to start.

My neighbor down the block also just employed an engineer for a bulging foundation wall, which is compromising the whole house. His home is essentially the same as ours. Built by the same builder, but as the builders home it is slightly wider and does not have pass-through bedroom like ours. His issue is directly related to a downspout that was not hooked up for (maybe) years before he bought the property.

He is going to pass that engineers name to me, but I hope to have the option of talking to more than one to find the best fit for us.

My neighbor is having a difficult time finding a contractor to do the work, however. The engineer furnished drawings and details of what needs to be done, but no one seems to want the job. At least, no one he can find.

If you wouldn't mind passing the name of the contractor you used too, I could pass it to my neighbor and hopefully they may turn out to be a match.

Both my neighbor and I would be very grateful!

We are built on a tributary, by the way, Nicholas. We are over the Wingohocking, the west branch. My neighbor across the street and down a bit says she can sometimes hear water running below her when she is in her basement. :-O

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Re: Our Philly Money Pit

Post by Big Blue »

Hi there, OurPhillyRow! I saw your post when new, and am so glad you have been able to complete the work. I no longer can see the photos, did you remove them or were they hosted on Photobucket and are no longer accessible? Well, either way, I do remember seeing the original pictures and know it was a big job!

I am hoping you can pass on the name of the engineer you used.

We have a brick and stucco home with a basement foundation and lower wall built of Wissahickon schist. My street of only a few homes was built somewhere between 1885 and 1889. It's a single but built like a row with no load bearing walls inside. I have some issues that I think would be best run by an engineer, and since you were pleased with yours it seems like a good place to start.

My neighbor down the block also just employed an engineer for a bulging foundation wall, which is compromising the whole house. His home is essentially the same as ours. Built by the same builder, but as the builders home it is slightly wider and does not have pass-through bedroom like ours. His issue is directly related to a downspout that was not hooked up for (maybe) years before he bought the property.

He is going to pass that engineers name to me, but I hope to have the option of talking to more than one to find the best fit for us.

My neighbor is having a difficult time finding a contractor to do the work, however. The engineer furnished drawings and details of what needs to be done, but no one seems to want the job. At least, no one he can find.

If you wouldn't mind passing the name of the contractor you used too, I could pass it to my neighbor and hopefully they may turn out to be a match.

Both my neighbor and I would be very grateful!

We are built on a tributary, by the way, Nicholas. We are over the Wingohocking, the west branch. My neighbor across the street and down a bit says she can sometimes hear water running below her when she is in her basement. :-O

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