Exterior Repairs Begin

Most of what the new owners need and want in this home is going to involve modifications and repairs on the inside but there also will be a a little TLC given to the outside as well. Tackling an outside of an old home like this, with its ornate trim details and vast spreads of original wood siding, can be a daunting task for even the most experienced renovation teams and can turn into a very expensive endeavor. With budgetary concerns in mind we are going to start small, closely watch our expenditures, and start repairing only the areas that are in the worst shape first. Our main concern here is "buttoning up" the outside to prevent further water damage.
Here are some photos of areas that have to be addressed.

As we proceed the owners can determine how far they would like to go with addressing the more minor, aesthetic repairs.

These walls CAN talk.

Here are two shots that show a little more of what you can expect to find behind these walls. Here we have a cross section view of an upstairs wall. Note the two layers of full 1" tounge and groove siding topped off with plaster on the left of the studs; and the plaster and lath with a nice topping of 1/4" drywall on the right. The other photo is an area above the rotten beams noted in an earlier post. I particularly like the fairly new piece of drywall that is part of the bathroom on the other side mixed in with all the original siding and misc plywood sheathing pieces. Never a dull moment in the demolition here!

Magnificent Pocket Door Pair!

Upon entering through the front door (which is original by the way) of this historic home you would immediately be stunned by the size and beauty of the pair of pocket doors to your left. The measure 55" wide and 128" tall each and at 2.5" thick they have a combined weight of over 400lbs! They have not been functional in quite a while. It appears that someone had done some repair work to the side of the left panel at one time and in the process had neglected to properly reinstall the the track hardware. We are going to take a little time to clean up the track system and secure it properly to the two doors. These two historic items are a focal point of the home and it would be a shame not be able to make them gracefully glide with ease.

Is the Plumbing Old? You bet!

Of course on a house of this age you know there is going to be some plumbing issues. We have found every kind of plumbing material you can think of in here linked together by "weekend warrior" plumbers over the years. Galvanized waterlines linked to plastic lines, linked to copper lines, Cast iron drain that will crumble to the touch is common in this home. Some drain lines actually have a negative fall which can cause serious issues with draining. While we have some the walls and floors opened up we are going to replace a good deal of the plumbing.

Got to Watch for Rot

When you get into an extensive remodel on a house that is over 120 years old you know you are going to encounter some rotten structural items. We are combining an old hallway and living room into a new breakfast/sitting area that will be common to the kitchen. This area used to be the exterior L shaped porch of the original house. Someone had come along many years ago and enclosed it as a heated space. A cast iron plumbing drain pipe had been enclosed in a plaster wall and had also been partially replaced with PVC. The fitting did not hold and what we found during the demo was sever rot damage due to the leaking of the pipe, probably over the course of 20 years or so. There is a lot of weight bearing down on this area from the upper floor and roof system so it has to be addressed before we continue on. We will replace the rotten beams with new engineered lumber that will be supported by new piers and footings. Not a huge issue for our skilled framing crew to fix, but it will add some extra expense to the job.

Upstairs Bath...

The Bones...of the House!

The Family Room.

Here we GO!

This house is such a treasure to East Nashville and we look forward to working on it over the next few months. Below are a few pictures of the house. Some are just great features and some will be stage pictures during the project. I hope you all enjoy the updates on the project.

Beautiful 12 foot Pocket Doors in the Parlor.