House History

I have added a few tabs at the top of the page with information about the house. One tab is for before and after pictures (not done yet), and the other is for house history. I have added a lot of information to this page but I'll also be adding to it over time as I find out new information.

Here is the direct link to the page: House History

Side Hall Floor

This is a big project that I have been needing to get done for a while. Especially now that it's getting cold out. The cold air comes up through all the holes in the floor so this project had to get done.

As I've mentioned before the side hall was converted into a bathroom in 1928, last year I tore the wall down and turned it back into a side hall.

The Red Oak flooring on the first floor was installed over the original floor sometime in the 40's so the side hall didnt get done since it was a bathroom at the time.

I started by tearing up the plywood.

and found linoleum underneath.

I pulled that up and the original flooring under that was pretty rotted, which I had expected, so I pulled that up.

Of course most of the floor joists were rotted and hacked up and patched so I tore out the rotted ones and installed new ones. I used 2x8s ripped to a full 6" to match.


I took this opportunity to do a few other things under the house that needed to get done. I dug out a large area under the ducting so I could have access to underneath the bathroom, I ran some electrical from the bathroom, and I removed the 2 return vents that the moron HVAC guys had put in. They will be relocated to the dining room.

After that I put the sub-floor in with old 1x boards that I had.

Then I pulled up the old red oak flooring on the other side of the hall.

Then laid down felt paper.

Then I began the flooring. For the door sills that go to the bathroom and the sunroom I used 5" wide oak flooring. I kept the tongue on the sill so I could lock the flooring into it since it has grooves on the sides.

Here are some shots of the progress.

I still have a little strip along the wall to finish up. Not sure yet when I will be able to sand and finish it.

Dining Room Door

In our dining room there are some shelves in what used to be a window, that was originally a door. I've been using it to store tools, nails, and other miscellaneous junk.

I thought about returning it to a window but to do that I would want to make it the same size as the rest of the windows in the house. This would require tearing out a large portion of the wall and a lot of re-framing.

So I decided to go back to a door instead. This would require a lot less work and it would return it to the way it was originally, I'm a big fan of returning things back to their original state whenever possible.

I started by removing all the tools and junk, then I removed the shelves and casing.

Next I removed the window framing.

Then I installed a sill, built the door casing, cut the door to the proper size, mortised the door and the jam for the hinges, and hung the door.

I still have a lot left to do, I need to install the inner door casing, plinth blocks, and rosettes, trim, install glass in the missing panes, install a door knob and lock, and caulk, primer and paint everything.

Lattice and gates for the deck

This weekend I put up the lattice under the deck and built a pair of gates.

In the above picture the lattice is just resting in place. It, along with the deck will eventually be stained.

Our garden is coming along nicely. The Mustards and Lettuce are just about ready to pick.

Workshop Electrical

I got a lot done on the shop over the weekend but most of it was the boring, non-picture worthy kind.

I dug a trench from the house to the shop and ran electrical in conduit.

Then I wired up the shop with lighting and outlets.

I spent yesterday and the day before arranging the layout and building workbenches.I also picked up a few new tools that I will be needing. I picked up a Wood Lathe, a 6" Jointer, and I traded my smaller table saw for a larger one.

I will have pictures of that in my next post.