Tuesday, February 24, 2015

that smell...

I had all but forgotten that distinct smell that goes along with replastering.  While the curing plaster has it's own delicious scent (the scent of progress and victory could never be called bad could it?) there's also the residual scents of demolition.  Musty rotted wood, urine soaked soaked squirrel nests, even the old plaster has a smell.  Of course, overlaid on top of those is the sweet smell of fabric softener if I've been stripping wallpaper.  All that, and there's no possible way of opening a window in this cold...

That somewhat dizzying potpourri is worth it though if that's what getting walls requires.




























The butler's pantry is about half done, all that's left is patching the old holes.  You can see just how many types of plaster we have going on - three coat will go back on the lathe where possible, blue board and wire lathe are used in spots where there's no wood lathe left, or where he'll have to taper the plaster to blend two different surfaces.  Not to mention the veneer coat on the new surfaces.

It's a process that tries my patience, as part as our heavily negotiated price, the work is getting done on weekends and on some evenings.  While this was our choice, it still manages to drive me slightly nuts.

Upstairs, my to-do list is complete.  The only wallpaper remaining is on the ceiling of the big bedroom.  Since the plaster is in hideous shape, the ceiling and slanted walls will be laminated with blue board and veneer plaster, the fantastic ceiling papers can stay to enthrall a future owner.  While they appear strikingly modern, they are the first and second layers of about 15 total, so I have no doubt they date to about 1886 and 1911 respectively (first and second owners).  While I doubt it'll ever be in my budget to have these reproduced as wallpaper, I'm hoping to have a stencil made - time I have plenty of.



A lot of people ask why laminate instead of just demoing everything fully, and there are a few reasons (as much as I'd like to preserve every fraction of an inch height wise).  First off, the existing plaster is about an inch thicker than the half inch blue board, this would leave a difficult to patch gap where the walls meet the ceilings .  Secondly, our joists and studs are only a few steps removed from being trees, wonderful for holding the house up, terrible if you're looking for a flat surface - the plaster and lathe hides these inconsistencies, blue board secured directly to the joists would not.  The fix for this is to strike a level line around the rooms and screw level nailers into the joists - costly, time consuming, and likely taking away that inch of height you were fighting to preserve.  Lastly, while veneer plaster looks and feels nice, it still has that hollowness that drywall has, securing it against the plaster walls makes it nearly indistinguishable from the original.  Oh, and one more thing, I don't need a hundred more trash bags to deal with - we're already two months out with our current collection (between ours and our neighbors houses we can get rid of about 6-8 a week - Pittsburgh doesn't have a dump).

9 comments:

  1. As always another interesting post in the world of house restoration!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's always nice to know that there are people in the world who find this as interesting as I do!

      Delete
  2. I always enjoy reading about your progress. Great work!

    I've made the same calculus on plaster removal vs covering. Unless I've had to do major plumbing or electrical in a wall, I've left the plaster and either repaired it, or sheet rocked on top of it was beyond repar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Seth - at this point I've resigned myself to the fact that sturdy walls need to be the priority, in whatever form that takes!

      Delete
  3. I figured it out! The house in the foreground in the old photo was Garland's house so I do know the house after all. It's quite amazing how photographs and old memories are not the same thing! I could have hit it with a rock from my house --and most likely probably did. I was in your house once --probably in about 1960 and it was in the high weeds even then! "Poor" people lived there --renters --(folks were pretty snotty in Edgewood in those days ya know) The people in the house at that time were a personal charity of my Mother's and she would send me there with things. Saunders,Fallons across the street from you -Thompson's,Beal, Hutchison and Garland up the street on the corner. Can you tell me anything about the third house on the right past Chestnut? The one with the "For Sale" sign that no agent can tell me anything about . I live California and came upon your blog by chance looking at real estate in the area.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's unbelievable, if you come across any family photos that may show our house in the background please send them on! The house was owned by the Futryks during that time (the estate we bought it from), and as the kids got older they moved into what had been the other apartments from what I understand.

      That other house has been abandoned since we moved here, and there are signs it may have been somewhat interesting when it was built looking at the cornice and gable window. If you're actually interested in it it's no trouble for me to go through it with a realtor friend and take pictures - I've been meaning to do that anyway...

      Delete
  4. The Futryks name is familiar to me. Somehow I don't connect them with that house but it seems there was a Futyrks in school when I was there but probably behind me. As a kid,kids behind me pretty much went unnoticed but was there a Wally? When I thought about the age of your house I thought about Gordon St. Then I realized that the house in the photo was the Garland house---I always liked that front porch detail. I also was in that house about 20 some years ago after it had been restored --they did a very nice job! That Alex Gordon subdivision was maybe the oldest on the eastside of the tracks and the oldest houses in Edgewood are in that area. I was born on Garland St. but my Dad got involved in the development of those "newer" (about 65 years old now) houses on Oakview and we moved to the first one. The parkway didn't exist when we moved in though they knew it was coming. When I asked why? My Mom said "What did we know? We never saw one before!" The valley that was Nine Mile Run and now the Parkway was originally a bird sanctuary and there was a walk bridge that went from the lane (now a driveway) that was 2 doors down from us across to Linden St. Our old house seems to be on the market at the moment. I don't want it --I already sold it!
    My son and daughter in law are into IT and International Schools and there is a plan for a start up business --The SanFrancisco /Bay Area has gotten so outrageously expensive that the cost associated with doing anything here makes it nearly impossible. What do you pay a new employee when the rent on a single bedroom studio is $4000 a month? They were talking Europe where my daughter in law is from and I suggested Pittsburgh. -----so I've been looking at real estate. I came across that house that I mentioned but no real estate person so far can get me any information. I actually got the phone number from a close up on Google Earth but never got an answer or reply. I have been focusing mostly on the Regent Square area -there is one near Briar Cliff that has really gotten my attention!-they on the Lawrenceville area and my son has been negotiating with Shadyside Academy so it could happen. I would like to see some better pictures of that house if it's no trouble. I'm a pretty experienced remodeler and I need a project without a million dollar price tag! I did a house in the Friendship Area in 1972 also a Queen Anne style on Pacific (North ?South?) I can't remember . It's a lot of work isn't it?I'm thinking about a trip out that way sometime in the Summer and there is a Edgewood Highschool reunion planned for July that I recently became aware of.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're definitely thinking of the right people as far as our house goes, and thank you so much for the history lesson - the bridge to Linden would have been amazing.

      I'll talk to my realtor friend about getting into the house. I would guess it's a gut - but even with restoring the siding and all new mechanicals you'd come out ahead. The market in Lawrenceville has gotten quite out of hand in the past couple of years from what I understand. I know a lot of it is investors driving up the prices, so I'd be concerned with a bubble bursting as far as buying a home there.

      Delete
    2. Well my plan changed ---or rather the kids plans changed. I was trying to head them off at the pass for them moving to Berlin or something but the offer came in from Bangkok and they took it! I still have an interest in that house up the street from you though.
      I don't think the Futryks lived there when I was sent there by my Mom but I do remember Wally Futryk and I can connect him to that house in the mid 1960's. Like a conversation with him --Like "Oh you live there!"
      Not much memory of him beyond that.
      I guess things are relative but no market in the Pittsburgh area looks particularly "out of hand" from where I sit. All of it is kind of dirt cheap compared to where I live. I just saw a Scheibler apartment building for sale on McPherson for $750K ! Try that here! My small beach town of Bolinas Ca. is now holding meetings about what we're going to do about the Hollywood millionaires and high tech billionaires who are invading our town. I don't think there is much to do --I don't go to the meetings--I'm waiting for the make me move check! I'm surprised that it took them so long to find it!
      I do wonder about Edgewood though. It hasn't changed physically from what I can see --it's quite remarkably preserved to what it was 50 years ago but the school was what solidified the community and with that gone it must be quite different. The claim that the situation regarding the Edgewood School being racist wouldn't be incorrect but it's still too bad they had to kill off a almost perfect situation. You know nearly every kid enrolled in Edgewood schools walked home for lunch everyday!

      Delete

I am human and I need to be loved...