Swanky & Chiang

Exterior Paint Colors

2012-01-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

In 2010 we embarked on a complete residing of our exterior. It was a big project for us in all ways. I don't even want to remember how expensive it was, and to learn how much an intricate paint job was going to be... I'll never forget hearing those bids!

Needless to say, we survived and conquered! A few words of advice that we learned along the way: TEST SAMPLES. They are worth their weight in gold. The last thing you want to do is not be happy or have to repaint.

We knew we wanted to accent the brick, but not let the house feel too colonial. The other hurdle was playing up the timbering that we had, but was previously blending in.
Lastly, the saying "location, location, location" also applies here. The lighting conditions change the color of the paint... full sun, south facing, in shadow, cloudy, etc. So paint it and look at it during various times of day for a few weeks to check out how it changes. You'd be surprised!

Lastly, the "black" accent trim. Black itself is too harsh, so we went for a very dark blue to serve as black... If you want the look of "black" look at the darkest color on your paint chips if you want something more sublte and warm.

Test Location 1 (front of house, east facing)

Test Location 2 (south facing)

How did we do?

Lighting

2012-01-19T19:38:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take a chance to talk about lighting... picking out light fixtures is a very personal thing. Then add two that, a pair of architect's... there's never the right light for the right price.

Our home was full of cheap, stock lighting as the person before us took all the fixtures with them and the developer had to install the bare minimums to close their permits. It's sad that the original fixtures are long gone, but it also gives us a blank slate. I'm not sure what is worse... wondering what was there at one point, or the search for the "perfect" fixtures!

Thankfully, we are blessed with a wonderful mom who has a knack for beautiful things. Here are our Living and Dining Room light fixures that she gifted us and we could never replace... and nothing else lives up to. They are the same age as our house, handmade and one of a kind.

Dining Room

Living Room

2012

2012-01-11T20:28:00.000-08:00

A very belated new year to our 6 followers! 2011 disappeared instantly as my new project kicked in January 2011, traveling for weeks at a time, internationally in February, and to the southwest in March where I was commuting weekly to Arizona. In May, came the big move to AZ and the hubs following behind by late July. Needless to say the house is in good hands, and the progress is slow at best.

May 2012 bring us safe travels in Arizona, and a return to Portland in 2013! Cheers to looking ahead and making the best of the current economy and our fortunate situation!

And... guess what? Our home is 100 this year! Happy Birthday to our home.

I'll leave you with a few images from Israel, where I spent two weeks in February for work. It was a magical place, full of history and a beautiful culture.

Israel: ancient mosiac flooring

Israel: stunning mosaic in Old Jerusalem

Porch Bling

2011-10-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

The hubs and I are forever grateful to my cousin, David, who is our current caretaker of the home. He collects our rediculous amount of junk mail, sorts out the bills and even mows the lawn! Now added to his list - collect packages. Not too many, but it has started... trolling through ebay and other such sites in search for houseparts from afar. The first item scored? A new porch shade! Last weekend we made it home to open the package, be surprised at the size (much bigger than thought!) and even had the chance to install it!

the before

the pieces (spray paint, fitter and socket) minus shade

installed and burning

Hello, Beautiful

A littel bling to the entryway, to help balance the scale of the porch. Now about that front door... it only highlights the wear and required restoration... doh!

Wedding Craftings

2011-10-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

The hubs and I have been happily married for three years now, and right after the wedding we jumped straight into house projects and living out of boxes. Only now that we're abroad and away from the house have I finally made it to "small" projects such as a wedding album and framing wedding photos!

One project has been to create a few shadow boxes of wedding items incorporating old, broken antique jewelry from my grandmother's jewelry box. Most of the jewelry includes clip-on earrings and broken strands of costume pearls that I was saving and looking for something to do with.

Here's the works in progress.

The project includes scrapbook pages, jewelry and sentimental items from the wedding (corks, accessories, notes) to place in the shadow boxes upon collection, the next trip home... I'll do the unveiling of the completed project.

I have free time again!

2011-10-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that after a year and a half of studying at night and on the weekends while working 50-60 hour weeks, I have successfully passed my architectural licensing exams (all 7 of them at 4-5 hours a piece). So after many sleep deprived weeks, thoughts of not finishing and pots of coffee later... the hard work has paid off and I can relax...

On that note - I came across a list I had made about a year ago as my 29th birthday was approaching. It was my 30/30 list. 30 things I wanted to do before turning 30. Some were fun dates for the hubs and I, some were crafties, other were house projects and a few were goals. The #1 goal was to get licensed as an architect, so with a month to spare, I have 29 days to complete the other 29 items!

One item is to start making onesies more seriously. And here's how the last batch has turned out! Please pardon the lack of photo editing, cropping, etc. We're down the "fancy" computer that has photoshop and such. This is all plug and play...

How does your garden grow?

2011-09-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

While we are in Arizona... we make it back to Portland and the house every 6 weeks or so. The trip is always WAAAY to short, lasting only about 48 hours (aka: a weekend) to check on things, say hi to friends, relax and cool off.

This is a very late post, since it's already been a few weeks since we were home... so my apologies. It was for Labor Day and we had beautiful weather and fun in the garden! Despite being neglected and unruly, we still had treats waiting in the planter boxes... green beans and tomatoes!

In addition to the garden, the hops off the sunporch were totally wild and lots of fun.

All in all, it was a great weekend and extremely hard to board the plane to come back to the 110 degree heat...

One fun report - I finally got to meet a neighbor and fellow blogger from Restored Style. If I had the time and commitment, this blog would be something similar to her daily postings and DIYs. We exchanged house tours and I must say, her place is even cuter in person. So wonderfully styled. We still don't have finished rooms to decorate or buy furniture for. I kept thinking IF ONLY... a girl can wish and dream, right? Until that time, I'll live vicariously through her blog, house renovations and inspiration! Must be something about both being Scorpios, we have the same birthday and live about 10 blocks apart! Great minds, think alike!

House History

2011-08-02T19:41:00.000-07:00

Well, swanky and i may both be ROASTING like thanksgiving turkey's down here in Arizona right now, but that doesn't stop us from working on the house remotely... how?

Internet research on our house history!

The Oregonian has Historical Archives available through the Multnomah County library online and I spent some time looking things up the other night. Yes, I'm a nerd.

But I found some great articles about our house, Evelene and her two girls... and later owners, the Sinnott's.

This might be my favorite new lead in my quest to learn more about her!

a break...

2011-05-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

for how long? that is to be determined. the last few weekends have been full of weddings, easter and swanky running the Eugene Marathon! this coming weekend swanky and i are driving the car down to Phoenix, my new home away from home for the next year or so...

it's sad and slowly setting in. joe will be on his own for the most part up here, and spending weekends flying to see me, or vice versa. needless to say, the house won't be a priority, and that's okay. we've both agreed that a happy marriage is more important, especially when distance is involved.

don't worry, phoenix is only temporary for a project my company is involved with and hopefully not much longer than a year.

best of luck to everyone and their house projects, and thanks for your continued support of ours!

Front Bedroom is "complete"

2011-04-24T19:10:00.001-07:00

Or at least, as complete as it will be until we get the energy to move all our furniture off the 2nd floor and refinish the floors!

Some items on the wishlist?

1.) A better, more personalized overhead light

2.) A lamp or two for accent lighting

3.) A headboard/ beadframe to ditch our current simple frame

4.) A rug to soften up the flooring

5.) More artwork/ photos...

6.) Bedding and some fun pillows.

The budget for this room was basically a couple hundred dollars and we (Joe) did everything. It included new electrical wiring, outlets & plugs, painting and patching the plaster and new wood trim along the base as well as trim at the top of the window headers. We purchased paint, plaster, wood trim and curtains/ rods for the room. All other items we had...

weeked update - a quick one

2011-04-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

our friends have a leaky roof, so we're jetting off to go help them! but quickly - bedroom ceiling and walls have been painted! now we're in the process of trim paint. curtains and rods ordered today online (target is having a great sale online!) and here are progress photos.

Rain, rain.... and more rain

2011-03-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

Despite the "unusually wet" spring we've had (again) this year... work progresses. We had a fun meet-up this morning with another fellow Portland house fixer-upper, Jason from Portland FourSquare. He stopped by to check out our Marvin Tilt-Pacs. Which gives me ideas of other posts, including the various types of Marvin windows we have installed in the house. Hmm... In the meantime, here's more on what we've been up to here!

new entry fixture

MANY thanks to Chris at HardtoFindHouseParts

AND...

bedroom trim has been primed and paint color has been selected!

The Front Bedroom

2011-03-20T09:45:00.001-07:00

As an attempt to provide updates more frequently, here goes!

The Front Bedroom was our master bedroom for the first two years we were in the house... as-is. It was selected as it was the most set-up to be a bedroom. Why? because it had a working power outlet. Yes, ONE outlet. So a power strip and extension cord later and we were rocking!

Since we finished the true Master Bedroom and moved into that, we've started to work on the front bedroom and bring it up to speed. So after this weekend we will be ready to paint! Which means the electrical has all be updated (hooray for multiple outlets, on multiple walls!), the aluminum windows were replaced with Marvin Tilt-Pacs, the trim is repaired and the cracking plaster has been patched.
Progress photos...

the sink plumbing is still in the closet, oh well.

the closet floors will get refinished someday, but not now

overall view of the space
a few test colors around the window frame

similar to the closet, these floors will eventually get refinished

but we need to muster up the energy to do the whole upstairs all at the same time.

this photo also grosses me out on how dingy and dirty the walls are. bleah!

secret family recipe for patching trim
(mix these two evenly, you'll love it)

2011 Catch-Up

2011-03-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

How did it become the middle of March already??

February seemed to slip by as Swanky and I were both traveling 3/4 weeks for work. Separate cities, different states. What a life it has turned into lately! My travel was a little more glamourous than Swanky's... one trip included 2 weeks in Israel!

Needless to say... not much work on the house - but the hubby is a rockstar and has managed to finish the electrical work and trimwork in our old bedroom. which means, next step... prep and paint!

This was his first pass at doing trimwork on his own, and i would say it turned out grand! what would you say?

In case you are wondering... we took the baseboard off when we first moved into the house to run new electrical wiring behind. The baseboard was in bad shape to begin with, and the room had only one working outlet, so it was the best of both worlds to get more electrical outlets/ updated wiring and good looking trim. Sometime before us, the headers to all the doors and windows were also removed (I've heard that was the 'in' thing in the 70s)... so those have now been replaced as well.

Last thing to eventually do is refinish the hardwoods... but we'll do it for the whole 2nd floor when we do, so that won't be until next year at the earliest.

sunday updates!

2011-01-09T14:23:00.001-08:00

Introducing two new lights to the house...

we have some swag in the bathroom vesituble

and a little bling in the master bedroom

i'm not totally sold on the swag where it is... but it works for now and is better than before! which leaves me to the last item on lighting updates...

these are the three different types of lights we had throughout the house when we moved in. it's what the developer put in throughout the house when the church ran off with all the lights! i can't blame him, they're cheap. so we started out with roughly 24 domes, 4 exposed bulbs and about 12 of these brass sconces.

how many of each do we have left? 3 domes, 1 exposed bulb and 6 brass sconces. phew!

2011

2011-01-07T10:10:00.001-08:00

i'm trying to be better about posting and the smaller things done around the house... while still moving forward with my stinking exams. this weekend i will be full throttle on studying for an exam on monday. my treat? watching the BCS championship game with OREGON playing Auburn that night! GO DUCKS! (and how i wish we were going to the game!)

while i'm studying... swanky plans to hang two more light fixtures to replace our generic $5 home depot specials... here's a peek at one of the fixtures!

What're your house plans this weekend?

2010 reflections (part 2)

2011-01-05T20:48:00.001-08:00

continued from last night... i got lazy.

June 2010

the weather turned around and exterior painting was finally making good progress

July 2010
with the help of my cousin, our Master Suite was progressing nicely.

August 2010again with the help of David, our Master Suite was kicking butt!

September 2010David killed this and we never would've finished without him, literally. Master Bedroom was ready to move in a year after we began!

October 2010
and same for the bathroom!
November 2010
we couldn't resist to paint the sunporch and occupy it off the master... our unheated office retreat!

December 2010
i framed some of my grandpa's blueprints from the Navy for bedroom artwork

2010 reflections (part 1)

2011-01-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

a picture from each month of 2010...

January 2010

we started to frame the Master Suite while the exterior work started
February 2010
the exterior progressed well, despite the record rainfall

March 2010
swanky built some garden boxes and his garden

April 2010

while the exterior was nearing completion, our Master Suite was coming along...

with the shingling complete, time for some major paint prep
May 2010

small projects, continued

2010-12-17T21:56:00.001-08:00

catching up by doing the "easy stuff" like small crafty type projects i can knock out in one sitting. tonight's activities included sewing some pillows from the extra fabric from the curtains i made, while i had the sewing machine out for other projects.

another recent project included the two framed images above the bed. they're blueprints from my grandfather when he was in the Navy. i was so excited to find them in a box... and happily framed 2 of them for our bedroom.

small projects

2010-12-13T20:19:00.001-08:00

(aka: finishing ones in the wings) These two projects involved upgrading from cheap, brassing fixtures to period lighting. The attic fixture was one that i purchased from the Rebuilding Center as rusted out and without shades. A couple coats of primer and paint, a tassle piece (thanks Chris!) and some shades later... viola! A fixture for under $50! The other light was from Nanny Faye. The age is unknown, and the shades are a little frilly, but it works in a quirky way. Unfortunately we are on the hunt for a matching shade or two new ones as one shattered while hanging in the air. Sad...

Attic Bedroom Light

Nanny Faye's light
(big bummer, one of the shades shattered!)

next project?

2010-12-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

Everyone keeps asking about "What's your next project?"
I keep replying - Saving Money!
"oh come on, there must be something..."
No really, Saving Money!

Our 2010 Portland Stimulus Package has tapped us out... not to mention the fact that our property taxes went up almost $1k from last year! I think the City of Portland was trying to get in on the SwankyChiang Stimulus Package action as our "structure" value went up $100k this year. I guess that means we're doing something right?

Needless to say, if it doesn't require material already purchased and waiting in the basement or the purchase of paint... it's not happening in 2011!

it's that time of the year

2010-11-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving and Christmas make the end of the year quite the blur. Incorporate in a bunch of birthday's and it goes even faster! On top of that, throw in a wedding and house projects come to a screeching halt! (but hey, we both love weddings and time off from the house is a good thing!)

So instead of house projects, i was working on a wedding present. i made the scrapbook and the artwork print... shopped for somethings and had fun wrapping it all up in a box that our (my cous got married) grandpa made.

congrat's kaitie and justin!

moving day

2010-11-13T12:58:00.001-08:00

the floor dried/cured faster than expected, whoo hoo!

big stuff is moved, now just arranging and organizing... making this a finished space with what we have. if we had an endless budget i'd like to line the underside of the windows with bookcases (some open and some closed) for storing craft things and all of our files. someday...

the stained glass windows are from Joe's mom...

i love that they fit perfectly here.

the making of a mini artists studio with agnes,
the silly plant

the making of an office...

2010-11-06T15:53:00.000-07:00

First coat of paint went down on the floor today, 2nd coat tomorrow.

I think we'll wait two weeks to let it dry before putting furniture on it.

It's going to be VERY hard not to want to move things next weekend. Maybe we'll go shopping for a little heater for this room, to distract from the temptation. It's a little chilly!

Still have no decisions on curtains... all I know is that we're (I'm) ready to make this an office and get more organized. It's been 2 years of an ad hoc office and I am wearing thin. Can we say, perfect timing?

next project

2010-10-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

Master Bedroom Sunporch!

This photo is of our painting progress this weekend. One last coat of trim paint and we'll be ready to paint the floor a nice gray. This room is off our Master Bedroom and we'll be using it as a private office retreat. It's a bit quirky and our budget is basically large enough to pay for paint (aka $0).

Visions for this room? Some low cabinets/ bookshelves under the windows, a big comfy chair for reading and some major desk space for both Joe and I to spread out and for all my crafty things to have an organized home. Oh, and Joe wants to put a small coffee maker up there for his insane coffee drinking habit.

The quirks of this room? The windows are hap-hazardly installed on 2 sides... the trimwork is mix-matched... there is no heat to this room... and the floor has a large crown (roughly 1" in the middle) where it straddles the exterior wall of the house below.

The previous homeowners of the house had this room as a bedroom for at least 1 person. Talk about COLD in the winter! You might remember this room as our temporary kitchen when we first moved in. You know, where the coffee pot froze...

Bathroom

2010-10-03T16:35:00.000-07:00

it is heaven... take a peek!

my sewing skills put to work on a bathroom curtain

step into our shower, it has water pressure!

an overall view of the finished project

the marble legde perfectly notched for the shower glass

this plant may be replaced with an orchid

if i ever remember to pick one up!

flashbacks

2010-09-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

Joe and I have just a few finishing touches on the Master Suite before we take a BIG {financial} BREAK on things... for me to part with all the work (my eyes see so many more projects to do!) I am the type that has to justify it. I started looking back on our journey over the past two years and thought I would share some of the befores/ durings to inspire anyone who is also in the midst of a big project.

Whenever I get overwhelmed with the state of affairs or frustrated with progress (I work on a jobsite so I easily forget that DIY at home is much slower and different than building big things at work). I also find it interesting how I so easily block things from my mind, it's too easy to block out the "befores" and lost focus on the progress.

What were we thinking!?

wall repair in the dining room

poorly installed old windows that had major gaps

(it's built in ventilation, right?)

our temporary kitchen that froze in the winter ice storms...

and how could i forget the pink, mauve bathroom
with the gurgling sink (not properly vented) and
toilet waste line held together by duct tape (disgusting!)

our working "ninja turtle green" bathroom

(future project)

the master bedroom (before)

after we had taken out the louvered windows

the attic bedroom (before)

Master Bed/ Bath Progress

2010-09-12T21:09:00.001-07:00

We spend all our time working and no time blogging...

Labor Day weekend marks the 1 year anniversary of when we started to demo the Upstairs back bedroom and pink bathroom to create an updated Master Suite - complete with electricity!
Here's our progress and hopefully next weekend we'll be moving furniture in!

The bedroom is awaiting paint touch up and cleaning of the floors, Sunporch is ready to prep for paint and the bathroom is waiting for fixtures to arrive as well as the glass door.

the upper private sunporch (Future Office) is now cleared for paint prepping and paint,

as well as home to our 400 lb claw foot that is too heavy to move easily.

the shower just needs the frameless door to be installed,
i am in love with the marble.

view looking into the corner where a pedestal sink will one day sit
(they're on backorder, of course)

an overall view of the bathroom

so close, i can smell it

2010-07-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

and the fumes of the idling truck in our driveway. but hey, that means that the painter is finally able to reach to hard to get places and working to finish up. sweeet! john and his wife have been at this for close to 5 or 6 weeks. i've lost count, working on off hours as a side job. the good news for them, they're on the home stretch.

i'm pretty sure he wants to be paid and done

when a 40'-0" ladder won't get you there...
an old pacific power bucket truck will... barely.

taken from our 3rd floor bedroom...

And then, there was light

2010-07-19T21:10:00.001-07:00

Don't worry, this light is only a placeholder

It's a big day. The circuits have been landed and all systems are a go - the Master Suite has working power and lights. This is the first time ever, for that part of the house since we've moved in! Our alarm clock will no longer be powered by extension cord...

Master Bath Progress

David is kicking B-U-T-T when it comes to the carpentry and trimwork. We help were we can. Next will be installing the flooring and waterproofing/ tiling the shower. The waterproofing kit we ordered came with some missing pieces... so we're trying to make progress while we wait for the loose ends.

score!

2010-07-10T15:02:00.001-07:00

I always have secret wishes on house projects in the back of my mind that when told out loud typically get the eye roll from the hubby. One of them has been carrera marble in the master bath - But even I knew that it was a pipe dream. But as we started to work through the real details of transitioning tile to wood, the shower, etc. etc. the idea of solid surfaces came up and the hubby warmed up to Carrera Marble on the horizontal surfaces - IF we could get it for cheap.

With the ice broken and our mission to find floor tile this morning, I of course fall in love with with 1 1/2" hex carrera marble sheet tile - but the unfriendly staff and a price tag of $75/ SF quickly let the air out of my balloon.

By the end of the day we ended up at Oregon Tile & Marble and talking to the sales staff about a few things. They were so friendly! Which was a big change to the other showrooms we had been visiting all day. We inquired about their 1" hexagon carrera marble sheet tile sample and the woman mentioned they got a new shipment by accident and it was 2" hexagon just earlier in the week. Pricing wasn't certain so they offered it to us for the price of the 1" hex ($14.95) and they would also give us a trade discount for both being in the industry.

Here's a sneak peek

So to make a long story short, we came home with the tile at under $12/ SF... LESS than the price of our lowest quote for standard 2" white ceramic tile. It paid to shop around and I'm in heaven.

the Master Suite story

2010-07-07T21:53:00.001-07:00

The story behind why we chose to do the Master Suite after the kitchen... other than being selfish, of course! It was the one bedroom on the 2nd floor that didn't have ANY working electrical. The single electrical outlet was not original and when installed they ran it on the exterior of the house from the basement in a PVC pipe... which was quickly demo'd because it doesn't meet code. The overhead light had a short in it that we couldn't trace (later after demo it was because it was patched off another line with speaker wire - bad news!)

The room was glorified storage room (see above) - for all things we owned and hadn't unpacked, including the kitchen. So when the kitchen was complete, the windows were replaced and we had moved into the first floor Kitchen, Dining & Living Rooms it was time to unpack our belongings and start on our Master Suite.

We're also fortunate to have enough bedrooms where that space is completely closed off from everything else. We still have 3 operating bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths to host ourselves and our guests.

To stay on a "schedule" and keep moving forward we decided to do "one thing a month". One month was to do the electrical rough-in, another to do the plumbing, then another to frame all the walls... you get the idea.

Literally a full year later, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Taking our time has allowed us to financially afford things as well as do more of the work ourselves.

The remaining items?
1.) Refinish the hardwood floors, by others.
2.) Tile the shower and Bathroom Floor.
3.) Install the Bathroom Trim.
4.) Purchase Toilet Fixtures and install.
5.) Install a closet system (Elfa?).
6.) Paint, Paint, Paint....

I can't wait to finish and be moved in!

progress inside and out!

2010-07-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

the master bath/shower has backerboard...
now if only we had already picked and ordered tile!

and the tip tops of the house are being painted...
in between the (continuous) rainstorms!
do you like the swiss chalet?

and on the budget side of things...
we're doing really well with the lockdown
and working off of one income.
we socked away over $2k last month which includes
some purchases on the house, progress payment to the painters
and another licensing exam for HM.

cheers!

the Master Suite progress

2010-06-24T20:51:00.000-07:00

looking for photos i'm realizing i haven't taken any shots lately of the insides... here's one from last month. since then we've finished with the mudding and have primed all surfaces... trim package starts this weekend (crown molding, door/ window trim, base)

next on the list... floor refinishing and ordering bathroom tile.

progress photos, before and currently...

2010-06-23T21:17:00.000-07:00

we had to wait for spring to finally leave with the massive amounts of rain - in order to really be able to tackle the painting scope and have it done well. so here is where we stand after today... and some before shots. i must've blocked from my mind how horrible the condition of the previous exterior really was because i really had forgotten how bad it was...

We're back!

2010-06-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

It's been so long I forgot my password! We have a new challenge for ourselves that I thought I would document here. We finished residing the house in roughly March and the lousy weather has kept us from painting until literally this week.

On top of the exterior work finishing up we have the Master Suite to contend with and between NOW and October 2011 we have to save enough money to pay off the residing job. Long story short, the exterior was something that couldn't wait another year and we had no choice but to finance a portion of it. It added up fast and could've easily been over $100k (yes, 6 digits!!) but thankfully we were creative in many ways and didn't hit that mark. I'd still be on the floor recovering from shock if we had...

Anyways - the challenge? In order to save enough cash in the next year to pay off our current loan interest free - we're buckling down and living off of one income. Not something that we've done, ever. But with the building industry hitting all time lows, owner's not able to get loans from the banks to create work for us to design and build... it only makes sense for us to scale back too and just be thankful we're both still employed.

Will we succeed? We don't really have a choice - because financing home projects isn't our style.

So the journey begins... living off of one income, trying to save and still finish the insides of the house.

see flickr

2010-02-08T19:33:00.001-08:00

Because there's just WAY too much going on in life right now... I'm consolidating to flickr. Please see what we're up to there at www.flickr.com/photos/hanmei

phew!

2010-01-03T16:54:00.000-08:00

I'm not really sure what happened to 2009... it's been quite the blur of house projects, work and spending time with family/ friends. We're both really thankful to have both kept our jobs and continue to work hard at work and at home on the house.

Recapping on what happened and looking back at old photos, it reminds me of how much we've actually accomplished here. It's easy to lose focus with a house this size and feeling the pressure to save more than we do because of the surrounding economy.

I think I speak for both Joe and myself when I say that we're extremely grateful to be able to have the house we do and live the life we live. Happy 2009 and looking forward to what 2010 will bring!

January 2009:
Sanding and Staining all the Living and Dining Room Trim

February 2009:
Kitchen completion just around the corner

March 2009:
Kitchen is complete!

April 2009:
The yard is in full bloom!

May 2009:
We got antsy with the attic bedroom and headed to floor 3 to deconstruct

June 2009:
We replaced the aluminum windows with wood replacements

July 2009:
We opened up the lower sunporch and got cheers from the neighbors

August 2009:
The smallest bathroom that took forever to finish
(even here we're missing the mirror!)

September 2009:
We spent Labor Day Weekend,
demo'ing some rooms to make way for the "future master suite"

October 2009:
While working on electrical in the attic Joe found some hidden treasures!

November 2009:
Plumber Bob saved the day with our Master Bath Rough-In

December 2009:
Preoccupied with Birthday's & Holiday's
we made a little progress in the Master Bath.

Dear OSHA,

2009-11-14T18:41:00.000-08:00

please turn your head,
and close your eyes.
we're almost done...

the master bath... rough-in

2009-11-11T20:50:00.001-08:00

from the top of the stairs you can see outside...

closing up the 2nd sunporch entry to make way for vanities. we hung the single french door as the new door to the library... see below.

ta da!

future pedestal sinks, with proper venting (no more spooge).

view of the master bath from the bedroom. big shower at the back, then toilet centered on the window and pedestals when you enter.

our updated vent stack

I <3 Plumbing...

2009-11-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

actually we don't <3 plumbing, at all.

Joe the plumber... stays far, far away from plumbing work for good reason. We enlisted a highly recommended plumber to come help us start over with the previous homeowner's handywork.

As I'm typing, Joe is emptying the shop vac because it has what I call "Spooge" - nasty, disgusting, rotting sewer water that was sitting in our vent line and has small wiggly worms growing in it. Bob the Plumber (BtP) had to frantically clean up an unexpected mess he came across today when he cut into the vent line to repipe (the line was crumbling to pieces after xx years of poor piping). DISGUSTING!!!

I'll spare you the photos... but it got all over our ceiling of the new kitchen. I'm hoping it doesn't stain and we got all the water up in time!

We should've known that this line would've had spooge in it, since Joe and I came across the same thing over the weekend when we demo'd the remainder of the old plumbing. We hit it when we demo'd a poorly done vent line... again another place where water shouldn't be.

Lesson Learned? Always have a shop vac on hand, plugged in and ready for the unexpected.

Dear Santa,

2009-11-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

There's a couple of house items on the list...
a table saw for Joe
and a compact canister vacuum for HM.

Thanks!

treasures

2009-10-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

We always are on the hunt for hidden treasures in the house and this past weekend while Joe was hunting around in the attic... we found some... see below!

he found (6) postcards under a floorboard in the back corner of the attic!

1 year House-iversary...

2009-10-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

This weekend we hit the one year mark as homeowners... and with progress on the house.

Ironically, we spent it in Hood River at a friend's modern hideaway. The fall colors were beautiful, and of course it included a hike led by Joe... which meant mini rock scramble, snow and 30 degree temps in the middle of October.

Our goals for year 2?
Master Bedroom
Master Bathroom
Exterior Paint
Exterior Siding

Wish us luck, photos to come soon on the "progress"

11.5 months

2009-09-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

Since we joke that our house is our child, we'll start tracking it by age. I think it's when you hit over 24 months that you can start to relate things to actual years?

At any rate, we've come a long way in the last 11.5 months of home ownership and have quite a ways to go. This post will be about the future and our BIG! plans for the next year...

Spring 2010: Reshingle and Paint the exterior. We postponed this event with the slowing of the economy and our job professions (*just in case*)... and saved more money since this will be almost as expensive as the kitchen to undertake!

Winter 2009- ?: Work on the Master Suite and be our own workers/ GC. The Master Bath will be tricky but I think we can do it! Final floorplans coming soon!

My other Year 2 goals include...
1.) Finish off the Entry (it's the last room on the 1st floor to be worked on)
2.) Lay Tile and work on the Sunporch
3.) the Front Door...
4.) Oh, the yard... but hey, it's Oregon. Nobody has a gardener here!

Bathroom Inspiration:

How we spent our Labor Day... laboring

2009-09-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

Up and down the stairs... 5 gallon buckets of plaster and trash cans full of lathe.
Not to mention the garage that was full of misc. wood and scraps from the sunporch demo and our attic bedroom "built-in"

The makings of our master suite.

Step One: DEMO.

Irvington History

2009-09-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

In my spare time (or lack there of) I still try to research the history of our home and the neighborhood... Here's a little history to our Irvington Neighborhood.

"Few city neighborhoods in the West have the variety and quality of early 20th Century residential architecture to equal Portland's historic Irvington Neighborhood. Portland's population boomed in the years after 1900, spurred by the 1905 Lewis Clark Exposition. With the west side of the Willamette River fully built up, the city expanded to the east side trolley car suburbs like Irvington in the years from 1900 through 1920.

Upper middle class Portlanders built substantial Irvington houses in the styles common to the period -- Arts and Crafts, Craftsman, Colonial Revival, Prairie Style, Bungalow -- many with an inventiveness and creative touch freed from East Coast architectural proprieties. Despite some losses to urban development, Irvington retains its historic charm, with thousands of well maintained or recently restored homes."

and more...

"The trolley car made Irvington. Before automobiles provided nearly universal mobility, the 5 cent streetcar fare offered ordinary citizens the opportunity to live more than walking distance from their work, and opened up the "suburban" areas of Portland east of the Willamette River to settlement. From its late 19th century beginnings, Irvington was planned as an upper middle-class residential area. Deed covenants set minimum values for new homes and imposed other restrictions. The result was slow but steady growth, and an unusually high quality of design and construction throughout the area."

the demo days of summer...

2009-09-02T20:18:00.000-07:00

starting to demo the upstairs future "Master Suite"
(also known as HOT MESS)

repairing the double hungs that had broken glass
(aka: "winterizing")

reglazing the South facing windows
so the winter winds don't blow the glass away (no joke)

trying to pick the right "gray"

props to some neighbors

2009-08-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

While I haven't had a chance to post anything on our house in the last week... I've stumbled across some neighbors who have made it on a popular website, Apartment Therapy!

I know both through flickr... and came across both posts randomly.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/inspiration/more-decorating-using-only-catalog-retail-sources-094190

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/house-tours/house-tour-jessica-and-eriks-cozy-bungalowportland-088450

Other weekend updates

2009-08-16T18:28:00.001-07:00

We made a lot of progress this weekend ... other highlights

1.) HM went to a charity auction and bid on an exterior house painting job and WON! Our house painting bids were in the $12-$15k range (yes, $12k for JUST PAINT)... so she's pretty stoked to get it for $3k. It's for the kids! Although... paying now and not painting until next summer... hmmm...

2.) Mike is back and helping us with our woodwork more

3.) Did we mention the Powder Room just needs accessories now? The sink is in and works

4.) Front door refinishing starts this week!

5.) HM's pet project is scraping the paint off of the banister. It literally flakes off with a razor blade.

6.) Pocket Door opening is framed in and ready to sanding/ stain

It feels like we're hemmoraging money again... it definitely goes in waves. Time to scale back down and keep funding our siding project for next summer.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce JOE THE PLUMBER

2009-08-16T18:16:00.001-07:00

Joe makes an excellent plumber... only 5 trips to Lowe's and 3 attempts at the compression fittings and ta-da! We have an almost finished Powder Room. It only took 6 months to get the sink...

Now just imagine Joe laying on the ground socket wrenching the sink in place and me standing over him holding the sink in place and level. I wish someone was there to take a photo, it was quite the scenario.

Behind the scenes... sink arrived and we realized the backerboard behind the painted walls wasn't at the right height (when we threw it in before sheetrock we didn't know what sink we were going to order). so we added the white "trim" behind the sink and made a cabinet to hide the "trim" and get a little storage.

The p-trap drain was at a 45 out of the wall from the previous people... not the best to work with, we should've straightened it out when we had the chance. Then when Joe went to tie in the p-trap it came right out of the wall. It was never glued!

Measurements of this room are roughly 3'6" x 3'-6" with a 9'-0" ceiling!!

Now all we need is a mirror...

oh summer, where did you go?

2009-08-07T14:52:00.001-07:00

Apparently we've been busy with everything but the house this summer!
Little things are happening around here...
1.) hops are growing like mad
2.) strawberries and tomatoes are hanging in there
3.) yard looks like a jungle
4.) received a load of furniture from my parents in So Cal.
5.) painted the attic bedroom, trim paint almost complete
6.) cleaned up the basement and it looks organized finally
7.) scheduled to demo the future "Master" labor day weekend.

Updates... (or lack there of)

2009-07-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

We've been on the road the past few weekends for weddings, babies and fresh strawberry smoothies at Burgerville! Non-house related photos...

Joe's gonna freak

2009-06-26T08:20:00.000-07:00

He was against air conditioning the entire time, but when it came with the furnace... how can you refuse? Plus, it's SEER 15 which means it comes with tax credits for energy efficiency - which was is a hot button for him. I just had forgotten that the more efficient units tend to be a LOT larger...

in a perfect world - it would fit under the deck for him... hmmm... i think i'm going to be hearing about this one when he gets home from work :) he he... the top of the unit measures roughly 4'-6" high. it's almost as tall as me.

We have (some new) windows!

2009-06-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

We interviewed a few people/ companies and did a lot of research on windows (materials, energy credits, historical aspects, etc.) and decided to go with the Marvin line of windows. We were on the fence between Renewal by Anderson and Marvin. In the end we decided wood was the way to go and really liked all the options available.

Classic Sash and Door (in Rejuvenations Building) did the install and we couldn't be more happier with their work and how our house is starting to transform on the exterior! They helped us maintain egress (exiting) in each bedroom, including the third floor.

The reduction in street noise is already audible and the interior feel of the space already feels warmer (visually). We replaced (7) single-paned, aluminum windows and now I want to update a few more! More detailed pictures of all the bells and whistles soon!

install in progress

the new full divided lite, casements for our future master

our current bedroom tilt-pac replacements

view of the tilt-pacs from the outside

view of the house from the SW corner looking NE...

goodbye aluminum windows, you won't be missed

2009-06-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

our single-paned, energy no-efficiency, aluminum windows (7 total) are about to be replaced... and we can't wait! No more feeling drafts coming through them, no more seeing daylight out of the corners... the guys come Monday to start install.

weekend update

2009-06-07T21:03:00.001-07:00

Since we're trying to finish the first floor - first... we decided to clear out the sunporch (goodbye salvaged wood trim storage, chop shop) since it's summer and it'd be nice to have a covered place to eat at nights. progress, below.

May 09

2009-06-01T20:50:00.001-07:00

Things have been quite the blur lately with all the warm weather... it's been hard to work on the house. Progess from this past weekend...

the hops are taller than me...

we removed half the deck to make way for air conditioning...

we finally recycled all the old wiring from our kitchen remodel. I think Joe's exact quote was "I feel like a meth head"

weekend round-up

2009-05-25T21:41:00.001-07:00

joe was awesome and focused on the first floor this weekend. almost finished painting the misc. doors and worked on the coat closet!

a shot of an upstairs window...

cautious

2009-05-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

We are suffering from a major case of "former-homeowner-now-next-door-neighbor-watchful-eye-dis"

There should be rules about moving and selling homes. Like, you shouldn't move next door to your old place. It's actually kind of creepy to know they used to live here. Joe and I don't have much room to speak, we moved about 1/2 mile from where we were.

But in this situation - I don't think it's healthy for them - or us. The subtle hints and comments that we're not doing things the way they may have envisioned it... asking for plants back when we tear them out (fennel and mint)... The fact that we're taking apart everything they did and storing the pieces in our garage until we get another dumpster probably doesn't help. Sharing a driveway and a double garage with them now probably works against us, too. Or when our friends accidentally park in front of their house (that's BAD news).

How do you politely say "thanks" for the suggestions and keep moving forward with your plans? We're simply improving the house, bringing it up to date and doing things correctly and thankful we have the funds to slowly do this work. Nothing against them and the 20 years in our home, but they were renters and didn't have a landlord who would fix things. The jerry-rigging and band-aid patching can only hold up so long. Shouldn't they be happy to see it getting fixed up? The other neighbors surrounding us are EXTREMELY thankful.

I guess it's only been 7 months, so the memories for them are still new and raw. However, they moved next door in 2006 (2 years ago) so... I guess we'll have to see what time holds for us and them.

In the mean time... we're painting, repairing and continuing to move forward with our plans

the future master

2009-05-23T23:07:00.000-07:00

now that we've secured our loan and made the first payment we decided to start our master bedroom/ bathroom renovation. this will include ripping out the lathe and plaster on all the walls, a new window to replace the aluminum slider, reconfiguring an existing bath to include it with the bedroom as well as insulation and new wiring. this bedroom currently has no electrical (lights or plugs).

first step - remove trim and salvage for other projects.

second step - find a place to put the original window seat
(notice it missing from the above photo)
it couldn't have fit better on the porch between the column and wall. the porch actually used to have two beautiful built-in's but they were removed before we got the house when they were redoing the foundation and brickwork

garden

2009-05-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

the front yard looks good when you look at individual plants... we still have the issue with too many plants and they're fighting for space, then adjacent we have bare soil. the neighbor (former homeowner) was nice and told me not to wait for anything to grow in the bare spots because she hadn't planted anything there. good thing, we need it to move around everything else!

artifacts

2009-05-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

i think i like treasure hunting the most in our house... the unknowns of what is left and built into the house - joe found this in the attic under some floor boards.

a really old stick figure on construction paper by someone +/- 3 years old.

Update

2009-05-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

We've been busy enjoying life and paying not much attention to the house - much needed! Between the recent downpours we've spent some time reorganizing the plants outside and joe has a few things started in the garden in the back.

this afternoon we went wild on an existing "desk" that took up half the room in the attic. after about 1000 screws (varying in length from 1/2" to 8"!!, buried under glue, nails, newspaper for caulk and paint we got it destructed, down the stairs (3 stories down) and in pieces in the garage... i would love to show the previous homeowners how to build things simply, more efficietly and much CHEAPER! oh yes, and there was electrical wiring tucked throughout this bad boy - so you could plug things in every you might think of! - did we mention it was built on top of the old carpet?

before photo

with the doors and drawers missing
(you could hide a twin size bed under there, and then some!)

opposite side

gone!
(need to patch the holes from the lag bolts)

apart in the hallway

not so simple

2009-04-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

All we wanted to do was cut in an outlet in our Pantry to plug in a mini fridge for beverages. Simple right? Access thru the basement, etc. etc. We pulled out miles of water pipes used for electrical chases, so who would've guessed there'd be more left in the walls right where we cut a hole for an electrical outlet...

And it must've been 1944 when they did this - as they used newspaper to pad the pipe then. Maybe it would hammer against the wall? EIther way, they must've gotten to this from the Dining Room side of the wall - the exciting part is that the newspaper was dated my birthday!

spring break

2009-04-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

Everyone else seems to get one, so we're taking a brief break on the house. Little projects, instead. Plus, it decided to DOWNPOUR last week and be beautiful this one! Who can work when it's sunny?

this weekend

last weekend

Phase 3?

2009-04-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

Phase 2 will be some replacement windows
Phase 3 will probably be the slow remodel of our "master suite"

I as-built the upstairs, back half of the house to try and figure it out with real dimensions ...

what it was,

what it is,

and what we want it to be...

Fish Cookery

2009-04-03T12:52:00.001-07:00

I finally obtained a copy of Evelene's Cookbook, Fish Cookery. I'm curious how she used the house and the original kitchen and was hoping there might be some pictures. 600 recipes, some that I don't think I'll be trying...

April '09 = 6 months

2009-04-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

i feel that we are lucky in so many ways... joe and i are both obsessed with our house and just feel really lucky. we hope our luck doesn't run out. today we locked in our loan at 4.75%! we budgeted the house at 7% because that's what rates were at 6 months ago when we purchased the house. what does this mean? we essentially quadrupled our square footage from the condo for about $600 more a month. UNREAL. granted, we have a lot more to clean and fix up... but we don't mind.

this past weeked we were in eugene and painted baby gill's room! check it out. joe did the mountains and i did the trees.

we took a weekend off

2009-03-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

the weather was less than desired, pouring rain, windy, etc.
we took a weekend off of house stuff and enjoyed it much!
here's some photos of stuff around the house

cooking with gas

2009-03-08T18:10:00.000-07:00

(JUST A REMINDER OF WHAT WE STARTED WITH)

introducing... done, done, done!
painted, moved in, cooking, washing dishes, it's heaven.

finished

2009-02-17T22:20:00.000-08:00

or at least the contractor is.
we still need to paint walls, ceiling and trimwork...

so close

2009-02-07T20:16:00.000-08:00

putting these before and current photos side by side was a good reminder to me that we're doing something incredible... i needed to realize and remember how far we've come in just a few months.

the perspectives are almost identical... on the left is how we got the house (gutted and all). on the right is where we are.

doors, gasline, paint, powder room sink

2009-02-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

That's the list...
Cabinet doors are being painted in "the shop"
Gasline for the stove is anyday
We're prepping and painting walls/trim this weekend
The Powder Room Sink is on backorder for a few more weeks!

apparently i can only upload 5 photos at a time...

January...

2009-02-01T19:38:00.000-08:00

January has come and gone and we're now on Month 4 for not having a kitchen

This is what happens when you don't build tolerance into your oven cabinet and the paint makes it 1/16" too small to set the oven...

Meanwhile, In the Living Room

We're covered in a fine layer of dust after Mike sanded all the Built-Ins and woodwork down.

But the woodwork is looking brand new with all the scratches gone and new stain going on! I'm impressed how well the stain matches from just off the shelf.

"This isn't commercial work..."

2009-01-22T21:51:00.000-08:00

A finish carpenter friend from my last project is at our house helping us out while his company is slow to refinish and seal all of our built-ins in the Living and Dining Rooms. I was telling him how the Kitchen makes slow progress and how it's painful for me to watch. He laughed and told me, "This isn't commercial, it's residential" He's so right. At work my projects are schedule critical and we work like dogs to get things built on time, on budget... a whole different ballgame.

It's really tough for us to not micro-manage our contractor - we try really hard to step back and let it happen but when you watch certian things unfold and you knew they could be prevented, what do you do?? I've almost given up, but the patience of living without a kitchen it starting to wear very thin.

But don't get us a wrong, they're doing a great job.

appliances, doors, shelves, hardware, plumbing fixtures

2009-01-19T20:33:00.000-08:00

that's all we need to finish the kitchen. interesting enough... it might take awhile since there are 57 cabinet doors/ drawers, glass cabinets, lights, cabinet latches, bin pulls, shelves, and who can forget the kitchen sink? that might help, too.

the final paint coat did go on the cabinets today, electrical trims out on thursday, the appliances are in the living room, kitchen sink is in place, we're so close it's hard to not get antsy and want it finished NOW.

i guess there are other things to still be installed: downdraft hood and ductwork, garbage disposal, powder room sink, powder room toilet.

goof-off and an old toothbrush, for all those hard to reach places

2009-01-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

we have massive amounts of trim in our living and dining rooms. between the windows, built-ins and baseboards, we have a lot of cleaning up to do... goof off and an old toothbrush have helped millions and not taken the finish off the woodwork.

another reminder about inginuity. our wooden return air floor grille was busted into many pieces and beyond repair. we looked at getting a new one, but the size (18x30) wasn't typical and bigger than most. even a used one would cost us $200 at a reuse store. so karen found us a metal grille at a garden store and with a little trim, it fit perfectly! all we need to do is paint the wood joists black to disappear... $25 for an ornamental grille is a lot better than $200!

but as joe also learned with the 1/4 round, always predrill oak... or use a nail gun :) that stuff is hard!!

(almost)finished

before

buckets

2009-01-18T17:20:00.000-08:00

you can never have too many buckets. some of my friends think i'm crazy, other's agree. i started collecting them from work when we were getting married and needed to pick up almost 2000 flowers from the dahlia farm...

here's a few uses of the buckets in use right now...

clean rags

a trash can while you're working

sorting electrical, etc. while doing demo

sorting and storing long tools

my favorite: extension cords

90 years ago yesterday...

2009-01-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

I just got out all the articles I've found about Evelene Spencer and the first one I found that linked her "fishy" self to this house was the following article posted in the Oregonian's "Society" Section on January 12, 1919... after she had moved out of our house...

January 12, 1919

Mrs. Evelene Spencer, accompanied by her daughter, Adrienne, left Friday night for Monterey, Cal. Under the auspices of the Women’s Club of that city. Mrs. Spencer will lecture for a week on “Fish Foods.” Closing at Monterey, Mrs. Spencer will commence at Berkeley University a month’s demonstration on the preparation of fish, before an assemblage of the food demonstrators of California. Mrs. Spencer and her daughter have been in Portland for the Christmas holidays.

Happy New Year

2009-01-06T21:53:00.001-08:00

we made a living upstairs, away from the dust

snow storm = opportunity to paint the 1st floor

finished...

the kitchen, we're getting there

how to thaw joint compound...

frozen

2008-12-21T16:48:00.000-08:00

We're figuring out really quickly where all the drafts and cold air come in with this snowy weather! Our house is pretty drafty... always something to do!

The snow started blowing in under the back door - apparently we need a door sweep!
It's so cold out that our front door shrank so much the locks wouldn't align (vertically)...

The temp dropped before we got the house under lockdown for the cold and the jade got stuck out on the sunporch in 26 degree weather... i don't think it made it...

we brougt it inside to thaw... but i think it was too late

Joe the Window Glazer

2008-12-12T17:42:00.001-08:00

We had many broken, missing or loose windows when we purchased this home "AS-IS".
The missing have been replaced (with exception to 1 on the 3rd floor), the loose have been reglazed... broken (cracked) are the next to come...

joe sitting on the sunroom window sill, glazing the pink bath window

joe, from the backyard... glazing the same window

a broken, cracked window in the green bath

Update

2008-11-26T17:49:00.001-08:00

Here's some pictures of what we've been up to the last few weeks... and just yesterday we got an offer on the condo!! we're getting there!

our classy lights, they came with the place

the after photo

the before photo

the kitchen walls have insulation!

our current "kitchen" situation... while the one downstairs in under reno

photos!

2008-10-24T20:07:00.001-07:00

Our incredible and original front door.

The Kitchen Demo is Complete (thanks to Joe!)
I was in San Fran for a half marathon!

The original wiring - still alive and well... not for long...

The original ductwork, asbestos wrapping and all...

A view of the kitchen ceiling

I got my camera!

2008-10-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

I managed to get to the house before the final coat was put down on the floors - to rescue my camera and post a few pictures before heading to work.

The first Saturday there - gardner's showed up. We didn't complain!

The layers of classy sticky linoleum in the Kitchen

We fell in love with the woodwork...

Karen patiently cleaning the fireplace

THE to do list

2008-10-24T07:39:00.001-07:00

What a boring blog, all this text and no pictures. We actually have a lot of photos but my camera has been held hostage on the 2nd floor of the house - trapped because the entire first floor hardwoods are being refinished!

My Friday to do list:
1.) 8:30 Go to Basco and order our Kitchen Appliances - i love Basco. (www.bascoappliances.com/)
2.) Meet the gutter guy at 9:30 at the house - whoo hoo, gutters today!
3.) Meet the hardwood floor guy around the same time at the house (final coat today!)
4.) Pick up dining room table and chairs at 3pm (and figure out where to store them since they can't be put on the floor for another week while it dries)

Photos to come shortly after the floors are dry and we can get upstairs again... which is Saturday night.

Our Home's History Timeline...

2008-10-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

From a 1910 Real Estate Map (#39) for NE Portland, Block 18... I learned that "JD Spencer et al" owned the lot where our home sits.

This is how I found him in the 1913 phonebook, listed at 582 E 21st N (our old address) with his wife Evelene and learned that he does real estate. In 1912 they lived at 482 1/2 E Ankeny... they must've lived on Ankeny while the home was being built in 1912 by Oregon Home Builder's, Inc.

Evelene and Joseph D. lived in the house until 1921. According to early census' the Spencer's had (2) children, Adrienne and Evelene (jr.). In 1920, according to the phone book, he changed career paths and is listed as a salesman at Eastern Outfitting Co ("Ladies & Men Apparel") downtown on 10th and Washington. Why he left real estate is still a mystery, but perhaps this led to him selling the house to another family, also in the real estate business. To read more about the Spencer's - I'll post more soon. Evelene was quite the woman in the early 1900s!

(1922-1923 is still ?)

In 1924 William P Sinnott and his wife, Mary I, moved into the home. They moved from a house on NE Broadway (perhaps a Jacobberger) into ours. The Sinnott family has a long history in Portland and is well established. Early Sinnott's were members of Congress as well as Federal Indian Agent's in the 1870s. In the 1950s the house transferred to William P Sinnott Jr and then to Mary herself, listed as the primary resident until 1957.

In 1958 Carl E Smith lived here at phone number ATI-0403. That's all I know about him.

As early as 1960 (possibly 1959) Mrs. B Eileen Welch is listed as the primary homeowner and this is where the Unification Church(es) come into play. The house had many homeowners listed at this address between 1960 - current. I've tracked all to be members of what is now a group called United Faith. For more information about this history - I'll post more soon

All this history I've found through researching old phonebooks... I still have to visit the County Tax Accessor's office to confirm who physically owned the home.

10.10.2008

2008-10-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

Today's Top Stories:
The Nation is in a financial crisis, the stock market is crashing, the Today Show can only talk about the Election and Bailing out businesses and banks, Wells Fargo purchased Wachovia and is now a National Bank....

AND we signed papers, wired money and hoping to record this afternoon to get keys to our new home... The madness is about to begin!

Evelene & Joseph

2008-09-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

Evelene and Joseph Spencer were the original homeowners of our home. Originally from Canada, married in Alameda, CA... they ended up in Portland, Oregon. Joseph was in real estate and later in "dry goods" working at Eastern Outfitters in the late 1910s. By 1920 they disappeared out of the phonebook and William P Sinnot, his wife Mary and family moved into our home. William P had a home built by J. Jacobberger and I was hoping this was ours. But in looking at old photographs at the historical society, it was a different home. Why the Sinnott's moved from a Jacobberger into ours, is unknown. The Sinnott Family has deep roots in Oregon including members in Congress and the State Senate.

What else have I learned... The home was built in 1912-1913 by the Oregon Home Builders, Inc. The Architect is still unknown.

There was a famous Mrs. Evelene Spencer in the early 1900s who was attributed to popularizing fish in the US and co-wrote a cookbook, FISH COOKERY, with a professor from the University of Washington. I'm not sure if this was her... but the timing and location align. Stay tuned for more!

APPROVED

2008-09-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

We've been waiting patiently for almost 10 weeks for the developer to pass their final inspection on the new foundation so we're able to close. It finally happened and I can't believe it's finally here. We hope to close October 3rd, one week from now!

Meanwhile I've been plugging away at researching the history of our home and have some interesting leads, more to follow soon!

We got the House

2008-09-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

After early inspections, a wedding and a honeymoon... we learned that we were put in first position for the offer we placed on the house. Here's an exterior photo of what we're taking on. You can't tell but it's in dire need of a major paint job, but that'll wait until next year.

Paperwork is being sorted out and we hope to close in the middle of October.

The Stats:
1913 Craftsman in the heart of Irvington here in Portland, Oregon. The history is still unknown, but we did find out it was last occupied by a religious unification group.

Currently: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, partial basement, partial attic... plumbing for 1 additional full bath in basement and 1/2 bath on main level.

The original Plumbing Permit lists it being built by "Oregon Home Builders" in 1912...

The trimwork has never been painted on the first floor and all the wiring is still knob and tube... yikes!

Did I mention it's missing a KITCHEN? This will be project #1.