9.21.2011

The Floors: Before and in Progress

Activity has been a blur here at Nick Haus -- ripping up the woebegone carpets throughout the house was one of the first things we did when we took possession. We discovered that the padding had disintegrated into a mush with the thick glue that had been directly applied to the wide-board pine, all of it in a sickly color looking like snot. Our floors were covered in snot.

Here Steven's father scrapes the noxious stuff at the foot of the stairs; you will remember this image from an earlier post:



Until finally, the floor were mostly free of the goop (worst name ever for a website, Gwyneth Paltro), and only the color remained. Also, remember this border and dropped ceiling?



Or for that matter the unlovely chandelier?



Gone:





And the original plaster of the house had never been painted beneath the drop ceiling, implying that for all 230 years of this rooms life, it had been wallpapered:



Here, a close up of the floors showing early paint surfaces discovered under the goop:



It appears to be a layer of deep red, and under that an inky blue green. In the interest of history, we have left these paints undisturbed in the pantry, where they are in finer condition anyway.

Next, we'll get to see the sanded floors, and maybe I'll talk about my depressing meeting with the chimney man or the fun of getting quotes to replace the foundation of the outbuilding. Fun!

6 comments:

amy merrick said...

Oh sweet Nick. I am eating this shit up with a spoon. I need more.

Alexander said...

This whole drop ceiling thing gets more and more bizarre and inexplicable the more details come out. I initially expected the original ceiling to be damaged... some kind of cheap, quick way of dealing with the problem... but I guess the previous occupants just dreamed of living in a mini-mall fast food restaurant... because the ceiling and trim both look absolutely fine... bizarre... absolutely bizarre...

Nick Heywood said...

Amy,

Glad you enjoy -- and trust me, the list of tasks is never ending. I have blog-fodder for years. Thanks for checking out our progress!

And Alex, I agree -- I'm mystified by the dropped ceiling as well. Though the existing ceiling has cracks,they are nothing beyond typical old house stuff. The only theory I have it that they decided it was easier to run the electrical between the dropped ceiling and the original ceiling, which they did, though that seems like a small gain.

Sara said...

The lovely bones- what great details. I always wonder about how to add more insulation to homes that come so well designed. Is that one of the things that concerns you?

Nick Heywood said...

Sara,

Insulation is a very serious concern to us. It gets quite cold here in winter. We are replacing the windows in the basement, reworking the bulkhead and replacing the ductwork with an alternative with integrated insulation.

The winter has not come, and I am unsure how well insulated the walls are, though I know they have been insulated. Over time we may choose to blow insulation into the walls.

Anonymous said...

Looks like some serious work. I can't wait to see the home when it's all done. It's going to be gorgeous.

-Zane of ontario honey

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