archive for September, 2004
September 1, 2004
some raining
So Monday we got some crazy rain, between 10-12 inches I’ve heard. It rained and rained for hours and then our power and water went out.
September 4, 2004
just over a year
In which we recap some accomplishments towards building further enthusiasm.
September 6, 2004
house inspectors
Today’s local paper has an article, ‘Giving a house a physical’, about the job that house inspectors do.
September 7, 2004
down stairs demo complete!
This long weekend we’ve finally found the energy and focus to finish the demolition of the downstairs rooms that we started a while back.
September 8, 2004
seeking decent ductwork
We’re looking to get some of our ductwork replaced. So far it has been difficult to find someone to do the work. The first company that came out did gave us quote, but the guys that would be doing the work actually said that they’d prefer not to do it and gave us the number of another guy “that loves working on the old houses”. This guy, Bruce, didn’t return our calls and eventually told us that he won’t do work in our neighborhood “because it’s gross”. His response feels like thinly-veiled racism to me, and all we can really do is be sort of pissed and keep looking for a decent contractor.
September 12, 2004
invasion!
There are a few places upstairs and down where there are passageways to the outside world. Last night a bat came in upstairs through a hole left behind from the removal of the rotted dentil. It was exciting for a few moments, for us and the cats. Downstairs, we’ve seen evidence that one of the outside cats has been coming into the demo space.
September 13, 2004
a house in Highland Park
The neighborhood of Highland Park is ‘one of Richmond’s original streetcar suburbs’ and ‘features the most extensive collection of Queen Anne architecture left in the city’. The area also has plenty of challenges. Among the area’s collection of Victorians is, we think, Richmond’s most interesting house.
September 19, 2004
more about what the termites did
We’ve been finding that the termites did more damage than we originally thought.
September 26, 2004
a small repair
When we pulled the plaster in the second room, we discovered that one of the studs that runs alongside one of the windows appeared to have water or termite damage. As this was under one of our leaks, this wasn’t suprising. We hadn’t really had time to look at it too closely, having been focussed on the obviously larger issue at the front corner of the house. Yesterday we took care of the smaller area and now at least one small portion of our house is solid.
September 30, 2004
towards having a nice porch
Based on a comment posted to our site and on having noticed their work around the neighborhood, we contacted Restoration Builders of Virginia (RBVa) about working on our back porch.
