Mid June – Window restoration complete.  Raymond is seen in the left photo reinstalling one of the house’s 40 refurbished window panels.  The original hardware from each window was also stripped and refurbished.  In the photo on the right, Raymond sits behind the last batch of windows that are headed to his shop for restoration.  One of his masterfully restored windows is seen over his left shoulder.

Half-ellipse window before restoration.  This was one of the two tiny, half-ellipse windows that flanked the chimneystack high in the gable end of the house.  It measures less than one foot square.  Windows like these add so much character to historic architecture.  The delicacy and patience required to preserve and restore them is well worth the effort.

Late June – bath framing and floor complete.  Water damage from bathroom moisture and plumbing leaks had caused rotting of the rafters, studs, floor joists and flooring.  Damaged areas were removed and rebuilt.  Structural reinforcement was necessary to support and level these areas.  The bathroom is now ready for the plumbing to be roughed in.

Late June - basement structural reinforcement.  Special bracing was constructed over the oil tank (right) to strengthen an overhead joist that had been severely weakened when former oil filler and breather pipes were drilled through it.

Additional basement structural support.  Bearing walls were constructed to bolster sagging bearing beams (left photo).  Most of the basement’s joists needed to be sistered or replaced to provide additional strength (right photo). Some of the original joists sagged as much as two inches.

Late June – front door paint stripped.  Canum Restoration generously offered to donate its services to strip the many layers of paint from the front door.  Using the same product that gently removed the paint from the rear porch, they revealed the silky smooth surface of the original fir door and its moldings.

Late June – kitchen flooring removed.  Earlier in the project, two layers of worn linoleum flooring were removed from the kitchen floor.  Beneath the linoleum was a fir floor that was unsalvageable due to water damage and old repairs.  The subfloor, seen in this photo, was also in poor condition and was removed.

Early July – new structural support and floor in kitchen.  Once all of the kitchen flooring was removed, considerable work was done to strengthen supporting structural members.  Also, tricky beveled cuts were required to create a level surface for new flooring.  Carpenter, Mark Nickel, is seen here working on the new kitchen floor joists and braces.

Early July – pedestrian path relocated.  An existing pedestrian path leading from Myrtle Ave. to the Baldwin Parking Lot was demolished.  This photo shows the start of a new and improved pedestrian path being constructed in a safer location along the outer edge of the property

Mid July – construction of stone retaining  walls.  Formerly, a steep grade limited driveway space and created landscape and drainage challenges. These problems are being solved via the creation of two new retaining walls.  The walls will not only handle the grade more efficiently, but will also define the end of the driveway, tie into the new pedestrian path in a safer, more aesthetic way and will create more usable space in the yard.  Masonry contractor, Nick Vena of NN&M Masons, donated the native stone for the project.  His workers are shown here building the walls in a style that will result in an old-fashioned, dry-laid appearance.

Did the house have shutters?  The old photo of Emily McLaury standing on the front stoop of her house shows the house without shutters.  However, old pintels, (shutter hangers), located on either side of the first floor’s two front windows indicated that shutters once hung there.  It’s likely that shutters were added soon after the the old photo was taken to lend visual balance to the front elevation.

Mid July – Custom built shutters arrive.   HeadHouse Square, a company specializing in custom-made shutters, built two pair of western red cedar shutters and donated them to the project.  The shutters were designed to compliment the paneling on the front door.  The gray color is only primer.  They will be painted with their final trim color and mounted after the house has been repainted.  The final paint colors (body and trim) can be seen being tested on the house and trim near the left lower corner of the window.