Our End is Exposed: And We Are So Ready

After a few weeks off, Greg started work at 9am on Saturday morning with the plan to rip off the stucco on the end of the house.  It differed from the other board siding applications and we were concerned about how easily it could be removed.  Stucco, a form of Portland cement, is trawled onto a wire mesh and painted.  We were racing the weather and the clock all afternoon.  We hoped to get the debris loaded and the end closed up before the landfill closed at 3pm. 

We got our front space for the truck, a feat in itself as parking on our street has become crowded.  We closed the sidewalk to foot traffic with orange cones to keep pedestrians from being struck by falling cement debris.  Greg started at the top gable.  As the wood fell, I gathered and stacked the bed of the truck.  Before lunch, the end of the house was open to the framing.  Our friend, Jeffery who lived in our Freedman as a child, stopped on his bike.  As a veteran of these streets and well into his 60’s, he’s always sharing bits of what he knows about the neighborhood. 

“Mrs. Ashley is getting older.” 

“Good to know, we haven’t seen her.  Someone came and cleaned out her backyard recently.”

As we chatted a group of pedestrians came down Senate Street and turned on Congress to walk toward King Street.  Gregory and I both looked at each other and smiled. 

“The neighborhood has sure changed, just a few years ago if I had ridden my bike down Senate, they would have beat me up for being on the street.”

“That is a good thing, then."  We both chuckled.  "We moved in the last few years of some of the crime here.  Now, you can ride where you want.”

“You closing up the end before tonight?”  Jeffery looked worried we could get it done.

“That's the plan.”  Greg called out as he worked.

“Good, because someone would need to sit inside the room to keep your valuables from disappearing.”

“If I don’t get that done, Jeffery, you up for the job?”  Greg smiled knowing the answer.

“No, sir, I believe I will pass on that…”  Jeffery laughed, gave a wave and was off. 

This was not the first time Greg has had the end off of a house, and had it closed in by the end of the day.  It’s the difference between a novice and a professional.  In these type deadlines, none of Greg's movements are wasted.  What we didn’t anticipate was the down pour that came just after Jeffery rode off.  Greg hung 6 sheets of OSB board in the rain.  He lifted the sheets into place and held them while I shot the first nails to hold the sheet.  He put just enough nails to secure the sheeting, planning to further secure the next day.  Our ox was in the ditch as it were and in the cold rain we were determined to make the landfill before 3pm.  Greg is not a young man, and as we pulled to the landfill scales at 2:45pm with 1600 lbs. of debris, we smile and both sigh.  

"Looks like we made it with 15 minutes to spare, and we can go home to rest after this."  I can see Greg is spent.  And I am, too. 

This is how it was looked on Saturday at 3pm prior to the Landfill.

The next weekends, Greg hung our final two windows, and covered the OSB with a white moisture barrier.  Our son, Ethan joined us the following weekend to trim out the exterior in preparation for siding.  We are installing "eye lashes" at the gable and Greg is finishing the drip edge along the roof line.  These are small details that take time, but the beauty is in the details.  

Pictures below is how it looks over the course of the month.  Thanks for stopping in to her about our Charleston Freedman's.  Some finishing changes are ahead for us.    

In the backyard, Greg prepared for our deck with a yard drain and weed paper below.  Our backyard area is 9ft wide and 27 feet long.  This back wall will be finished with a closet.  This will make a nice outside sitting area.  All that is to come. 

Not only are the we excited, but our neighbors and pedestrians on the street stop and call out to Greg, both those we know and those we don’t and complement the changes.  We are turning the corner and we are thankful these harder tasks are behind us.  Wishing you a blessed fall season.   

Keeping on Keeping on

The ship-lap from heartpine siding accent walls finished up in March.  It adds such character to the bedrooms, we are researching size and wood to plan an end wall in the living space with the same upfit tying the theme throughout.  The effort to accomplish this treatment while substantial, we hope will add years of enjoyment and appreciation for the age the house was built.  A friend staying over last week feels its the "coolest shiplap she's ever seen!"  We couldn't agree more.  

 We hauled 1400 lbs of construction debris from our backyard to make way for our new deck and brick patio.  The bricks seen are an old driveway installed many years ago.  The street is too narrow to have off street parking, so we are going to develop it into a private outdoor space we can use for entertaining.  The bricks stacked at the back of the property vary in age and are from deconstruction at the beginning of our project.  They will be part of the patio.  Above, the siding was moved to our front courtyard.  It is not long until we will side the rest of the exterior.

On Friday, we spent the afternoon throwing brick and making a new stack in preparation for building our deck.  We had hoped to get to this over Memorial Day weekend, but the heavy rainfall expected has changed our direction.  Greg is running electrical for our piazza lights and installing a new ceiling.  The white ceiling pictured below was demo-ed last week.  

A passer-by asked Greg if the dark studs were rotten, and while there is some rot he is replacing, the dark color is natural to heartpine studs.  Many of these are original to the late 20's.  The wood is more dense then new wood purchased at the local lumbar yard.  

Most doors now are 3068 door, 36 inches wide.  While our door is still standard they are a 2868, only 32 inches wide.  Finding it with custom features such as two panel and 3/4 light in the entrance took several weeks of looking around and trips to various lumbar yards.  Therma-Tru had doors that were very close to our idea without paying the custom price.  This was a two weekend project to get them installed with transoms.  We kept all three entrance doors as part of respectful restoration.  One door is an outside entrance to the guest room, the main entrance off the kitchen and the living room entrance.  Charleston is known for it's many entrances off the piazza, much of this due to the need to get as much ventilation during hot weather pre- HVAC.

We want to acknowledge This Old House Charleston 2018 filming near us.  Greg enjoys the craftmanship and expertise of this show.  And it amazing to have them facing some of the same challenges in their projects in Ansonborough and Elliotborough neighborhoods.  These houses while a treasure require expertise in restoring them.  This Old House Charleston 

 Over Memorial Day Weekend, we were balancing on a scaffold and ladder installing a tongue and grove ceiling.  Greg is very comfortable up in the air, but my balance is not what it once was.  He was desperate for a helping hand, so I was lending him mediocre attempts at maneuvering the wood into place.  Working overhead is harder than I understood.  We were pleased with the outcome.  A second coat of paint will finish off the primer and porch blue.

We added a new member to our family this past weekend.  Congratulations to Ethan and Sam who tied the knot at a beautiful ceremony in Ft. Mill, SC.  We found time to sew this quilt for their wedding, a family tradition.  We wish for them many happy years facing life together. This respectful renovation has the potential to overtake our life, but we always want to stop and consider what is truly important.  Family.

Never Enough Storage for Stuff

One thousand forty two square feet is all we have in our Freedman's, that's it.  And we are squeezing out every inch of space.  We have searched out the nooks and crannies to put stuff.  Lord knows we have plenty of it.  It has been our dilemma in designing this layout.  This weekend, we pulled out the utility room storage shelves and covered our central living space with what seemed an unending mound of stuff.  Greg installed a wall of cabinets across the back of the utility room, leaving a space for a yet-to-be- purchased second refrigerator.  

He, also, put in a cabinet over the washer-dryer area.  It was a good time to cull out our the extras, and organize what is considered necessary.  I had this moment of clarity after about 36 hours into this project.  I laid my face in my hands.  Could it be?  I looked and gone are the wall of tools, gone are the dusty shelves and with them,  the dusty weight.  Little by little this house has chipped away at all of my strongholds.  It has been so long since we have lived in a finished house, it feels foreign, but I long for order because it hits at what bothers me most.  Order and simplicity diminish my anxiety, and finding a space to relax that has some semblance of order has been a daunting task these many months. I have learned we don't need as so very much to survive, and can even thrive in the midst of the chaos.

After Christmas, Charleston had one of the top five largest snowfalls in our history.  There was close to 6 inches.  It closed down the city for a week.  You would think these days would be productive days for us, but due to the temperatures and the moisture, we rested, ended up with cabin fever, and finally ventured out on foot to see Hampton Park under canopy.  Truly amazing to experience. 

Just weeks prior in November, we planted a winter crop of collard and turnip greens in our courtyard, and the plants were oddly not affected by the frozen precipitation.  The plants thrived, hence, the term winter crop.  I couldn't help but consider how they are adapted to take the snow cover.  This picture is taken when the garden was at its peak.

With the warmer temperatures, below will be some of the last greens I'll cook this year.  I cut a number of bags of greens and shared with my neighbors.  A newbie to our street was passing to market the day of my cuttings and inquired about having some for Sunday dinner.  I had plenty to share and hung them on her gate.  Greg has vowed to cut back on our planting this Spring, but we will see.  

In just a few weeks, Greg hopes to take off the end wall of the house that borders on Congress Street, in order to re-frame some of the rot on the corners.  This front will be covered in plywood and housewrap, a moisture barrier with new windows installed.  We are excited to see the old, rotten part come off.  It is some of our last demolition work.  The ceiling inside has already been framed.   This is our ceiling joists to open it up to a cathedral ceiling inside matching our morning room.

Greg tore off the remainder of the siding last month.  It was a heavy job and his parents came to help.  Marvin, his father, made his cuts and his mother, Sarah, worked on sanding our wrought iron fence.  His father's instruction is where his journey in construction began, and his mother is always up for a project.  We were grateful to have them visit.  Until next post, I hope you feel Spring upon you, when all things are continually renewed.