This Old House

[JimR]

Well I really got into trouble on this old house project today. Now remember that this place was built around 1750. So it is no surprise that things will fall apart or even worse, rot away. Yesterday I started to peel the outside of the house apart to see how it was holding up. Well I found carpenter ants having a feast inside one of the beams. They are all dead now. Here are a few shots of my handiwork to repair that section. I chiseled out a 5.5" x 6.5" x 43 section inside the beam and made a new piece to replace the rotted out section. Fitting it in was the fun part. I still need to pin it in place. Fortunately this is not a load bearing section of the beam where it rotted out. Tomorrow the rest of the siding and boards get removed from this wall. I wonder what else I will find eaten away.

 

[JimR]

Here's the fixed picture. These beams are 8" x 8" and have plenty of meat on them to repair if not rotted too badly. I also replaced the vertical directly above the repair with a recycled piece of Chestnut from my barn project. It is not installed as of when this photo was taken. I did install around 8pm tonight.

 

[riptides]

Old houses are like finding a buried "treasure" chest, are they not? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

My problem is the chest is not full of treasure. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

You did a nice job of fixing that up. Just this past week we removed 90 percent of a building within a building on our property.

Powder Post Beetles.

I plan on some tractor time against the chicken coops next. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[JimR]

Thanks, I'm still looking for the hidden money or whatever that may be hidden in a secret place. We did find a framed picture of a woman inside a wall. I wonder if she was a mistress. It was not my mother in law or either of the in laws mother.

 

[Lloyd_E]

Hi Jim,

You're never finished (really)!

My house is 1790-1800 and I scarfed part of the sill last year with new material. Did you find a coin under main entrance/sill? In my neck of the woods...it was tradition to place a coin under threshhold of front entrance during construction. Didn't find any in my house but I did in one I took down for parts.

Great looking cape by the way - love those low eaves and no overhangs.

Keep posting pics.

Lloyd

Ps: outbuldings look interesting too!

 

[JimR]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Hi Jim,

You're never finished (really)!

My house is 1790-1800 and I scarfed part of the sill last year with new material. Did you find a coin under main entrance/sill? In my neck of the woods...it was tradition to place a coin under threshhold of front entrance during construction. Didn't find any in my house but I did in one I took down for parts.

Great looking cape by the way - love those low eaves and no overhangs.

Keep posting pics.

Lloyd

Ps: outbuldings look interesting too! )</font>

I haven't pulled the sill plate yet. maybe someday I'll get that far. So here is todays progree and more decay to fix. You'll love the crooked verticals in the picture. My daughter and I replaced this vertical beam today. I may straighten it out tomorrow. I'll have to cut into a wall to do it as the beam was exposed on the inside walls.

 

[JimR]

New post in today. The horizontal above this vertical is going to get some serious work done to it very soon. I need to remove about 4" of the width and put in a filler to repair the beam.

 

[JimR]

My peanut (daughter) driving my Cub. She was doing clean up for me today. She got a good lesson in hard work today when I needed a hand to carry a 12' 8x8 from the garage to cut it down. Yes, I could have used the tractor to move it. But I wanted her to
see what it's like to work hard. She carried her end with no problem on her shouder. What a girl. She's getting excited as "HER" house progresses.

 

[JimR]

A view from the inside looking out. We didn't destroy the inside wall by jacking and removing this beam.

 

[riptides]

Is that a PILE of firewood in the picture, or part of the remodelling effort? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I have had two burn piles going for one project. Cannot imagine what happens when we turn our attention to the house. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif