Project Trim

We had begun to strip the trim in our living room, but after 2 years of sporadic effort we had only managed three windows, the fireplace mantle, and the bookshelves that flank it. When we heard from a fellow blogger and home restorer (Thank's Heather!) that she had hired someone to finish the trim in her home we were so excited. There was hope in sight! Someone else was actually willing to strip paint for us?

So we get his number and call him up and learn that he also does exterior painting. They work for an hourly wage and thought it would be three guys working for six to eight weeks with 2 working full time and one working part time. After adding it up we decide that with some juggling of funds, tax returns, overtime, and closing out a retirement account from another job we will actually have enough to do both the exterior painting and the interior stripping and refinishing.

That first morning I stay home from work to make sure that they have what they need and that things will be ok with our dogs. They arrive promptly and quickly get to work. I hover around inside not quite sure what to do with myself. Spying through the window I see a worker painting with a brush. "OH No" I think, they are already painting without any prep. We have made a huge mistake. So I rush outside and discover that it is actually stripper that he is brushing on. I can't believe it. They are actually going to STRIP the outside of our house!

It takes about three weeks and they remove about three quarters of the paint on the exterior. Then another 2 to paint it, and it seems that there are 4 guys now working instead of 3. The hourly wage plan is starting to hurt and the interior trim still isn't started!

After much discussion and the promise that the interior will only take 2 weeks we decide to continue, but also decide that it is a good time to refinance and to take some extra cash out of the equity.

Four weeks ago we moved all of our furniture from the living room, dining room, and front "TV" room into our garage. We did this so that so that we could undertake the project of having our wood trim stripped and refinished. Since then we have been living in our back 2 bedrooms and the kitchen. It is surprisingly comfortable, but we are starting to get sick of it and are now spending much more time in the back yard.

The trim in the three rooms is finished and beautiful. They also stripped a hallway and were going to refinish it, but we have decided that we had better finish it ourselves and save some of the equity money for central heat and air.

1921 Bungalow

house front, originally uploaded by Kimberly4.

This is a picture of our 1921 bungalow when we first bought it. We have removed and/or pruned the overgrown bushes. We also removed the 50's awnings and wrought iron stair railing.

Mahogany House

Our bungalow, showing off new paint. I like the new paint color the best when the sun is out.

Right side

Right side, originally uploaded by Kimberly4.

Side of porch

Backyard

Backyard, originally uploaded by Kimberly4.

Cosmo and Ruby are after me!

New and Improved!

IMG_0654, originally uploaded by Kimberly4.

I can't believe that this is the same house! new exterior paint = good.

House History

We are the home's third owners. It was owned by the Smith family and was sold to us by their children when their father, Maurice Smith, passed on at the age of 96. He died in our house, as did the other former owner George Remington.

We found out about the first owners, George and his wife Maude, by looking up records in the library. Once we found out their names we were also able to track down both of their obituaries. Georges’ obituary says that he died in the family home of a sudden heart attack on May 25th, 1931 and even lists our address as being THAT home. Spooky! His wife Maude died about 10 years after that. We are not sure if she died in our house or not, but all those who did seem to be peacefully at rest because as far as we can tell we don’t have any ghosts.

George was born in 1856 in Massachusetts, but settled in Nebraska where he was active in the Masons and served as master in “The Blue Lodge” They came to California in 1920 from Nebraska presumably to retire.

Maude is described as being very active in the Methodist church and she served as president of the W.C.T.U. (Women’s Christian Temperance Society) and was a president for seven years of “The Order of the Eastern Star.”

When we first found out about the Mason connection we were amused because we had previously placed a Mason ashtray with the Eastern star symbol on it on the front porch. We found it at a yard sale and thought it looked neat. Serendipity? But then again, I doubt that Maude would of have approved of smoking.