They say that a vintage window combined with a storm window is at least equivalent to a double-paned window, in terms of energy efficiency. Plus , these windows have loads of character. Here's yet another project!
Thursday, 19 June 2014
Vintage Storm Windows?
Hello, what have we here? I think these must be the original storm windows from the Little Blue House. We must try them out. My husband discovered them in the falling-down cabin on our property, along with a couple more in the other cabin (now woodshed).
Monday, 2 June 2014
Tarring but not Feathering
Man, tar is nasty stuff. Fortunately, my husband and dad both "volunteered" to apply all of this goop to our Little Blue House. They finished in a day. The first coat was very thick, applied with a putty knife to seal all cracks, knot-holes, seams, etc. The second and third coats were of a thinner type of tar, applied with rollers and brushes to the new plywood and cement foundation.
 |
| First Coat of Tar |
 |
| Partway Through First Coat |
 |
| After! The exposed wood you see in the photo above is where the rotten siding was removed from the exterior of the home's original bedroom. That part of the house was sitting in the dirt, with rotten beams and floor joists. The rear corner wall was also rotten, so you could poke a hole in the wall with your hand. We will need to find some cove siding to fill in some gaps... They did an amazing job - the house already looks much better. Oddly enough, they completed the task right at beer o'clock! |
 |
| The Final Photo, Before Back-Filling |
Tuesday, 20 May 2014
New Wallpaper Disoveries...
The Little Blue House keeps revealing her secrets, slowly but surely, telling us perhaps some of her stories. I think the front parlour of a brothel must have been an opulent place at the turn of the last century, even in a small Gold Rush town such as Atlin. This would have been where Eva Daniell, the madam, first entertained guests. I imagine the tiny, smoke-filled room, with the gramophone playing (we've seen it in the local museum - it was Eva's) and people drinking and talking, the walls covered in expensive papers imported from Paris, the shady ladies dressed in their finery...
You can almost feel it, peeling back layer after layer from these old walls, the faded beauty attempting to show itself once again.
Monday, 12 May 2014
The Devil Made Us Do It
We were going to wait. Really, we were. But the wallpaper was already peeling off, you see, by itself... The ceiling paper in particular gave us the creeps, sagging under its own weight, and occasionally allowing small showers of unknown matter to rain down upon our heads.
We thought we'd have a peek. A little look. Just to see what was under those layers. We didn't mean to trash the place; honestly, we didn't! The devil made us do it.
 |
| Parlour, Looking Toward Front Door |
 |
| Parlour, Bay Window and Former Wood Stove Nook |
 |
| Parlour with Entrance to Original Bedroom |
 |
| Ceiling Paper Coming Down |
 |
| Layer Upon Layer |
 |
| Much of the Ceiling Paper Fell Down Under its Own Weight |
 |
| What Have We Done?! |
Sunday, 11 May 2014
Saturday, 10 May 2014
Saving the Trim!
We removed a lot of finishing nails from the original bedroom trim today. We will save it, with hopes we can use it in either the bedroom or parlour.
 |
| Closeup of Original Trim from Bedroom |
 |
| More Trim |
 |
| Removing Finishing Nails from Trim |
Thursday, 8 May 2014
We Have Some Cleaning to Do
 |
| Parlour, with Bedroom Trim Piled Up |
We are going to attack this mess over the weekend. We will save the pile of trim that came from the bedroom, removing the numerous nails. It's all piled up in the parlour at the moment. I'm not sure how much of it we will be able to use, but we will save it just in case. Perhaps we can use it for something else in the future. The wood is nothing special, but it has this gorgeous patina that only comes with age. It'll be hard to replicate.
The nasty job - my husband volunteered to do it - involves cleaning up the parts of the old mouse nest that fell through the floor gaps during the demolition of the bedroom wall... Disgusting. It's in our new (previously spotless) crawl space.
I ordered a new window for the bedroom - the original was not salvageable, with both panes broken & a bent frame. Sad. We were especially sad to part with over $1500 for a new one. Ouch. It was expensive because it's all wood, & has triple panes. Plus, it opens due to the fact that it will be in a bedroom. Oh yeah, it must be shipped from Prince George to Whitehorse, too. Still, I do not wish to repeat this exercise - we plan to keep our original windows, installing storm windows in the future to keep out the draughts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)