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.

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Posted by john m at 6:08 AM | Comments (1)

September 4, 2004

just over a year

In which we recap some accomplishments towards building further enthusiasm.

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Posted by john m at 7:45 AM | Comments (1)

September 6, 2004

house inspectors

Today's local paper has an article, 'Giving a house a physical', about the job that house inspectors do.

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Posted by john m at 8:55 AM | Comments (1)

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.

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Posted by john m at 8:41 AM | Comments (0)

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.

Posted by john m at 5:38 AM | Comments (3)

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.

Posted by john m at 7:25 AM | Comments (1)

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.

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Posted by john m at 5:41 AM | Comments (1)

September 19, 2004

more about what the termites did

We've been finding that the termites did more damage than we originally thought.

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Posted by john m at 4:37 AM | Comments (4)

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.

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Posted by john m at 8:35 AM | Comments (0)

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.

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Posted by john m at 4:14 AM | Comments (1)