Charles Anderson Home- 1895 Queen Anne

[dpkmpy8]

Fortunately, the woodwork is about 99 percent salvageable, but the plaster is not. We will be removing all of the plaster in the house (spare me the hate mail) since we had to remove a lot to structurally support the house. Removing it will also facilitate new hvac, moving some plumbing, and insulating properly, as well as removing all wiring. There was tons of old k&t wiring in the attic and at each fixture, but no k&t at the panel, meaning that every circuit was spliced somewhere. I really hate to remove all of that plaster, but with all new mechanicals needed, it just makes sense. If budget allows, I will do blueboard and veneer plaster.

The woodwork is actually the reason I love the house. It has two sets of double pocket doors and one single pocket door in the downstairs. Upstairs the trim is paint grade in the bedrooms, except for the hallway which is open to the stairwell. I promise to get pictures this weekend. I have some in my camera, and my wife has some, so I will be combining them somewhere, photobucket or flickr so I can link them here and the blog.

[dpkmpy8]

After a few hours of uploading and sorting, I finally have some pictures for you all! These pictures are from several trips made during the purchase process, and on the day we closed. I am working on titles and descriptions for each picture, but I uploaded about 600 images. Not all are public on photobucket, but I am getting there.

http://s750.photobucket.com/user/cornbi ... sing%20Day

Over 300 images here, so enjoy. Blog updated too. I am going to try to catch up on three years over the next two weeks.

[Powermuffin]

Wow, the house still has some wonderful details. The Art Deco light fixture and towel bar, and that fireplace is just beautiful! Floors and doors look pretty good and all that trim is ready for some love to make it shine.
Diane

[dpkmpy8]

The oak overlay in the dining room and game room are toast, but the wide plank floors are salvageable. I'm toying with the idea of 3/8 overlay in the downstairs with some awesome parquet borders, but the wide plank is staying upstairs. The older light fixtures are being rewired, and I am going to reuse the towel bars. The taller fireplace is original to the house. The shorter fireplace in the lighter oak finish is from the Anderson Family's home in the country, is non functioning, and was added some time later. I plan on putting a vent-less gas unit of some sort in that one. It is uncertain how much older that mantle is, but it is older. The details of this house, and a personal connection to the lady who called this house her home, are the reason I love it so much. While there is a lot of changes in store for this house, each will be sensitive to the history, style, and personal stories I have heard over the years, preserving the house while bringing it up to date.

[mkeller234]

It certainly is full of beautiful details. It's a real shame that previous owners let it fall into that condition. I suppose it's a lot of house to take care of. Looking through your photos, the house seems HUGE. You sure do have your work cut out for you on that one. I love the house, but I don't envy your task. It'll be a real showpiece when you get things back in order.

[Neighmond]

So was it duplexed at some point?

[dpkmpy8]

Actually, Neighmond, the kitchenette was added when one of the daughters moved in with her children while her husband was working on a pipeline in Alaska. They did not want to be such a burden on grandma for providing meals, so they installed a kitchenette in the closets of two upstairs bedrooms. From what I gather, Grandma, after the fact, decided that she really enjoyed having her family all at one table, so the kitchenette was rarely used. It even has a 220 receptacle for a small stove. It is being completely removed so both bedrooms can have closets again. The house at one time housed four generations of the Anderson family, or so I am told.

[dpkmpy8]

Digging back in to the house, finally! Removed ugly 80's cabinets from the kitchen, replaced the rotten porch stairs on the west side, and did some major de-forestation of the outside. Will add pictures to the photobucket in the next few days. Also started removing the frozen pipes from the basement. Time to get busy!
Also started looking into some other exterior repairs to keep the birds out.

[dpkmpy8]

Also added a 1910 ish picture of the house.

http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx14 ... /photo.jpg

enjoy!

[Gothichome]

Just had a look at your pics, some of the pics are very reminiscent of our home. Just years of lack of maintenance issues and updating. We have been working at it for 4 years now, and Gothichome is looking much better. Do the work and you can almost hear the home thanking you for the efforts.