The Living Room

Before the Storm (that's our new gutter to the left - it hasn't been installed yet)

When the sill came out, we could see exactly what we were facing with the living room floor.  Cue the

horror music…

...

!!!

Almost every joist was damaged and/or a total loss once again due to the incredible plague that is the termite!  While we knew that some of the joists were damaged, little did we know that all but one were no longer structurally sound.  Jason had originally planned to sister the existing joists, which would entail sandwiching new wood around the old timbers in order to take the support of the floor.  Once we realized that you could actually put your hand around the end of each massive timber and squeeze it like a sponge, we reconsidered our options.  While you may think our decision drastic, we believe it is the best thing for the house.

Removing the baseboards and lower wainscoting

The floor starting to come up...

Slowly...

The worst of the joists just in front of the hearth

In order to attack the living room joists, the flooring had to come out, piece by piece.  Before the flooring could be removed, the baseboards, lower wainscoting and the “most beautiful mantle in Pitt County” (according to Preservation North Carolina, who featured our lovely mantle on the cover of their most recent issue) had to be removed carefully from the walls.  All of that now resides in our dining room.  Jason numbered each floor plank (which are thankfully still in near-perfect condition!) so that they will go back down in the same manner they were originally laid.  This floor was an expensive feature at the time of installation – tongue and groove heart pine, affixed to the joists using a hidden nail pattern.  Jason will re-install it in the same way, and he assures us that it will look as if it had never been removed.

I took this picture while standing outside.

In removing the baseboards near the chimney, we also saw that one of the studs and cross timbers holding up the window were irreparable.  Unfortunately, the pests also began to eat away part of the window casing, both on the inside and outside, so we will do what we can to salvage these original hand-carved features.  Nothing like a few little surprises to stir up your home remodel!

Jason removing the stud using a chainsaw

All of our living room in our dining room.

Tune in for what becomes of our living room!

Under Construction

Renovations are under way!  Jason, our builder, began the chore of replacing the front sill in the living room, and believe me, it is not for the faint of heart.  To expose the entire length of the sill, he first had to remove the lowest couple of runs of wood siding as well as the first-floor porch, and in doing so, he discovered that the most deteriorated portion of the sill was actually right under the front door.  Additionally, the studs in the living room wall had begun to compress into the sill.  The sight of this massive pine beam was awe-inspiring enough, but the added visual impact of the studs pressing down into as if it were made of sponge as well as the fact that large portions of it were nothing but dust was truly jaw-dropping.

The next step was to remove the siding in front of the second story header so that the house could be raised slightly off the existing sill.  He then jacked up the house, took out the old sill and put in the new one, and finally replaced the front porch floor.  All this was accomplished by two men over the course of 6 working days.  Astounding.

Exposing the old sill

A mortise from an older porch

Termite damaged pine sill

The worst section just under the front door

A dangling tenon.  Nobody wants to see that.

Supporting the house

Sand and wood chips.  Formerly known as "the sill."

All that's left...

Bottle jacks holding up the front of the house after removing the old timber

It looks like it's missing its front teeth.

You can see into our front hallway from under the door.

The new sill going in...

Starting to breathe a little easier now

We have touchdown

Proudly sporting her new sill

The front porch back on...

Exactly.

To be continued...

Interior Changes

We have been busy making some small changes to the interior since we moved in.  While the swag curtains may have been a more faithful representation of what would have been in the house in the 1800s, they were just not to our tastes.  They had been hanging so long that they were sun-bleached and dingy.  We also didn’t really care for the blinds.  Garreth took the liberty of taking them all down.  We haven’t yet decided what style to go with, so we are leaving all the windows bare for the time being.  And stores don't tend to stock the appropriate length for our windows, so it looks like I'll have to finally learn how to sew!  The bare windows are having the added benefit of letting the sun shine through and warming up the house.

Living room, before and after

Gloomy den

Sunny den

We have spent some time studying different styles of light fixture for the entry hall and the upstairs landing.  Most of the existing fixtures had been sold by the previous owner, so we are starting from scratch.  Once again, it was Lowe’s to the rescue!  We chose a dramatic rubbed-bronze light for the entry hall that uses three vintage Edison bulbs.  It is a bit unconventional, since it was marketed as an island light meant for a kitchen, but we think the style looks perfect in the house.  It kind of resembles a gas fixture that was converted to electricity.  We picked a coordinating flush mounted light for the upper landing that also uses an Edison bulb.  It is a bit more toned down so it doesn’t detract from the more grandiose version in the entry.

He even wore gloves so he wouldn't get fingerprints on the glass!

Love it!

And the full effect...

The old landing light

The new landing light

What do you think?

Who ARE these people?

News of our purchase of Greenwreath has spread through Greenville like wildfire.  Some have expressed concern that we may not have realized or understood what we have gotten ourselves into.  To those people, all we can say is that we fully appreciate the historic significance of the house, but we also understand that we bought a 200-year-old house that needs a lot of work.  While we want to ensure that our renovations stay true to Greenwreath’s character, we also want to make sure that the house and its structure have enough integrity to withstand another 200 years.

We moved to this house from England, where Garreth is from, and where he restored a house from the 1930s over a 5-year period.  I moved over during the last year of his renovations, so together, we gained a good understanding of how to tackle various aspects of home restoration under a tight budget.  My background and profession is in archaeology and artifact conservation, so I have a deep-rooted appreciation for history and its preservation.  Between us, we feel that we are well-suited to take on the responsibility of restoring and caring for Greenwreath and seeing that she is preserved for future generations.

The oldest outbuilding, which we also plan to renovate.

Home to Roost

The big day has arrived!  All our new appliances are scheduled for delivery today, so we decided it would be the perfect time to move in.  A friend offered the use of his truck and trailer to move our furniture, which right now only consists of a bed, sofa and two lawn chairs.  Greenwreath is far from where we one day envision it to be, but it’s clean and tidy, and we are eager to actually live in it!  And, since we only have a few pieces of furniture, we can work on the empty rooms while we are living comfortably in the rest of the house.

Let the excitement begin!

Also, my good friend Starr pointed out that the outdoor lighting post, published after the removal of the shrubs, still showed the bushes in the photo.  Here's an updated photo of the outdoor lighting, sans boxwoods.  We wouldn't want to have any errors in continuity.  :)

For Starr

Reprehensible Behavior

We were utterly heartbroken to discover that sometime late Tuesday night, someone broke into our new home.  They kicked in one of the panels in the back door, which is the original Georgian door. Since we have not moved in yet, there was nothing to steal, so apparently in their dismay at the lack of theft-worthy goods, these disgusting people decided to defecate on our 200-year-old heart pine floor.  We feel sorry for someone with such a lack of respect for others and their property, and a lack of respect for a house that has withstood storms, war and periods of neglect for over two centuries.

We cannot thank the Pitt County Sheriff’s Department enough for all their help, support and friendship during this ordeal, as well as their continued vigilance over our community.

Deep breath…and moving on with our lives…

Outdoor Lighting Resurrected

Garreth has been working very hard to get all of the lamps, porch lights, and motion lights cleaned up and functioning once again!  We live in the country, and it is dark out there at night, so it's nice to be able to leave lights on when we are coming and going after dark.  Thankfully, the wiring seems to be sound.

We decided to keep the existing front porch lights - they are beautiful bronze carriage lanterns that the previous owner bought in London and had converted to electricity.

Servicing one of the front porch lights

The lamps in the front yard were totally encapsulated by overgrown hedges and vines.  The vines had even managed to knock the lamp askew on top of one of the posts, so Garreth once again had to wield the chainsaw just to get to them.

Wonky lamp

Lamp with severe overbite

Garreth posing for an artsy shot at the end of the day

We decided we needed to stick with security lights in the backyard, so we went from hideous yet functional:

To stylish, yet still functional:

Lowe's has a tremendous selection of motion lights that are no longer ugly!  We picked a lantern style with a bronze finish.

And the big reveal...

Ta-Da!

Finally, we'll leave you with this, because sunsets out here are stunning...