We need a special what?

July 6, 2009

Well, we never expected to need a special permit for our modest project. We had very carefully planned all aspects of the renovation to conform with existing zoning and floor area ratio (FAR) regulations and to fit in with the other houses on our street. The last thing we wanted was to tangle with the City of Newton.

What we didn’t know was that the recent deletion of an all-important footnote in the city’s Zoning Ordinance meant that suddenly we would need a special permit where none had been necessary before, and that obtaining one was by no means a given, even though we were told by the city planners that a relatively modest project such as ours was not the kind of thing the city would be likely to oppose. Yikes!

Hello from Newton Centre!

June 25, 2009

Here's the first post from our new homeowner, Gillian Pierce:

Well, this is a project that’s been years in the making.  When Bill and
I bought our 1915 Dutch colonial five years ago, we knew it needed a
lot of work, some of it cosmetic, some more fundamental.  We chose the
house for its wonderful location near the city in a great neighborhood
and school district not far from conservation land and, being “old
house people,” for its underlying charm.  We felt it had good bones,
but it would need quite a bit of repair, updating, and some careful
adding to before it would really work well for our family of four plus
labrador retriever.  The prospect of solving water problems (stained
wallpaper was pretty clear evidence) and fixing the house up was
overwhelming enough that I even cried at the closing. But we decided to
live in the house for a few years to get to know it before making any
big decisions.

Historic fabric, part one

June 2, 2009

When we signed on to do this project with the City and the non-profit Nuestra Comunidad, I had pretty high hopes for saving lots of the original historic fabric. But given the condition of the house, I definitely should have known better. This house was not only foreclosed upon, but it had also been vacant for quite some time. It is astounding to see how quickly a once well cared for building can deteriorate if not properly maintained. Exposure to extreme heat and cold, moisture, and in some cases to direct rainfall (in one area there was a wide open hole in the roof) has sadly left most of the period details beyond salvage.

Two survivors, however, are pictured here – the two matching newel posts (one on each side of our duplex) and one marble fireplace surround.

Roxbury makes the news

May 14, 2009

Announcing the NEW Roxbury project house

May 13, 2009

To help celebrate its 30th anniversary season, This Old House TV is giving back to the community where the show got its start in 1979: Boston, Massachusetts.

Working alongside affordable housing nonprofit Nuestra Comunidad, Norm Abram, Tom Silva, and the rest of the TOH TV crew will hammer out the complete renovation of a foreclosed 1870s Second Empire in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. Once the job is done, the house's two units will be sold to two deserving area families.

The show begins airing on PBS in January 2010, but you can check on the crew's progress in real time RIGHT NOW through the webcams, which will be focused on the house 24/7. Today, the crew tore down a three story addition in the rear of the house—with an excavator and everything!

Read more at thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv and check in here from time to time for updates from the worksite!

Our Old House by everyone's hero, Michael Streaman

April 21, 2009

Here we are six months after the first sledgehammer hit and also our first time being filmed as a family for a national television show. As you can imagine, the last two months were insanely hectic as everyone involved in our renovation worked to finish the house for the final filming, the wrap party episode.  Now that the adrenaline rush has mostly dissipated, we are slowly reclaiming our house into our family's home.

The kids are having a blast--they adore the yard, their spacious room and the spiral staircase! They miss both whole crews--MRS and TOH--and love to pretend they are Michael Streaman with their toy tools and have memorized all of the dialogue in many of the episodes, including the ads! It's really funny because the parts of the house that were featured on the show seem larger than life to them. 

Kevin and I have been focused on the hard work of unpacking, organizing our lives over three floors and finishing up various things in the house (installing door/cabinet locks, retouching paint after the big wrap party bash, staining windows/doors).

A+++ Aladdin Plumbing

February 23, 2009

The plumbing and heating rough-in work at our house looked similar to the illustrations in Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day―one of our kids' favorites―except that ours was done to perfection by Aladdin Plumbing. We ripped out all of the old pipes during demolition and started from scratch―put in all new Charlotte cast iron and copper pipes. Once we began working with TOH, we also decided to upgrade our heating system from steam to hydronic with radiant in selected areas.

Aladdin was the ideal company to handle this huge job as they specialize in high-efficiency heating systems and the Gitli brothers are 2nd generation plumbers.

REWIND: Supreme Super-Charged Electric!

February 16, 2009

Since we began blogging when we were already over two months into our renovation, we are sorry we neglected to mention some of the key infrastructural overhauls that the house had began to undergo prior to December―completely new and upgraded plumbing, heating and electrical systems. It was truly awesome (and terrifying) to see our house opened up and exposed, and then to watch the process as Mike Streaman and his subs rebuilt her into a better, stronger, juiced-up building.

As nervous, first-time landlords, we are hugely thankful to Super-Charged Electric's Vincent Verderosa and his dedicated crew, brothers PJ and Anthony, and to Aladdin Plumbing's Randy and Eric Gitli and their tireless crew, including Munchin and Manny (see upcoming post) for making our old house brand-new. We feel very fortunate that within the walls/floors of our house are perfectly installed state-of-the art systems that will be smoothly humming along for many years to come.

From shortly after demolition was complete, PJ and Anthony were constant fixtures at the house.

A Valentine's Day quickie

February 13, 2009

Kevin and I haven't had the extra time, energy or resources to devote to major gift-giving for ourselves these past 10 months. Of course, there are no complaints as the house will be the whole family's gift in a few weeks.

For Valentine's Day this year, however, Kevin is giving me a spectacular present…

Spring is in the air

February 11, 2009

Here in Brooklyn, as the Farmer's Almanac predicted, we have had a particularly cold and snowy winter, especially compared to the last few snow-free ones. The past couple of days, though, have presented a lovely sneak peek of what's around the corner: sunshine, temps in the 50's―SPRING! We even had a early-rising beetle flying around our apartment yesterday! Of course, a blizzard will probably hit next week, but I thought that in honor of these mild days, I would further elaborate on our outdoor space.

Back in mid-December, we were also blessed with a small window of record-high temp days, which fortunately coincided with the scheduled time for our backyard to be overhauled―regrading, hardscaping (brick patio, retaining wall, and steps to back area), new fence posts on both sides installed, and, of course, landscaping.

Will the stair fit? Drumroll, please...

February 5, 2009

For any naysayers out there, our prized, 1930s cast-iron spiral staircase was successfully installed by Stephen Dijanic of DVS Iron & Aluminum Works last week. The actual, dramatic installation will be featured in one of the TV episodes.

Kevin and I never doubted the perfect "fit" of the vintage, "one-of-a-kind" staircase for our unique layout and beautiful woodwork on the parlor floor―or Mike's ability to install it. As you can see, it is an wonderful focal point for our "library" (center parlor) and will look even more spectacular once it is cleaned up and repainted. One of our favorite features of the stair is the brass handrail with its graceful curvature and lamb's tongue detail at the bottom.

Here's the story behind this piece:

Let there be light...in the hallways

February 2, 2009

Another original detail of our house which had been removed when it was converted to a rooming house in the 1940s was the Victorian stained glass windows. Sadly there were none when we bought the place―not over the three over-sized front parlor windows, not over the two equally high rear parlor windows, not separating the center parlor from the hallway, not in the small pocket door, and not over the main staircase covering the skylight. In this last area, a very simple stained glass window that was typical for that time had been installed and was needing some TLC, as you can see.

If our budget allowed, Kevin and I would have indulged our romantic weakness for the detailed design of the turn of the last century and commissioned an ornate, reproduction stained glass window for the large skylight (there is a smaller, square skylight in the top floor bathroom).

Designer apartment kitchens

January 29, 2009

The crew was in town this week for some filming and on-camera installation work. The Marmoleum linoleum tiles for the kitchen in our top floor, 2-bedroom apartment was actually laid down by an amazing pair of carpenters, Mario and Mike. The retro checkerboard patterns on both kitchen floors look very sharp. Thanks to Carole Freehauf, they also serve to visually increase the size of the rooms, since the tiles have been arranged on a diagonal and draw your eye wider into the adjoining living rooms.

Next, comes the cabinetry.

To preserve or not to preserve, Part 3

January 23, 2009

This should be subtitled To Divide or Not to Divide. The room that will be our master bedroom and nursery is very spacious and brightly lit by four large windows. Since Day One we adored the space and the bird's-eye maple woodwork that defined it: the mirrored mantelpiece and the two dramatic, wide door frames (one now shrunken, and one for the built-in cabinetry). It would be an incredible master bedroom…more than enough room for a big bed, a chaise by the window, a mirrored vanity table, even a large desk.

It's been a big dilemma for us and Mike Streaman, who has been adamantly trying to convince us to keep the room open.

Look at those pipes!

January 21, 2009

When Karen and I first looked at the house, we knew that there was a problem in the cellar with water getting in. After every rain storm we would see a cascade of water from the back wall flowing into the center of the cellar. The concrete patio and the drainage pipes from the back yard were cracked and broken. This let all the water in the cellar back wall.