We’re getting into the details. That’s good and bad. Details take more time and precision so progress is not as notable. But let me show you what's been going on.
Outside the porch railings are up! I haven’t counted the pickets but we have a ton of them! What a difference they make. They still need the final coat of paint but we think they really look beautiful. We have the final plans for the courtyard and the drainage system work has started. We get some pretty heavy rains and we have to make sure the water doesn’t just stand inside the walls of the courtyard but drains out to the street. We're still waiting for exterior shutters and stone to cap the front steps. We also have a metal fabricator working on restoring all the window grates (some decorative and others for security) and making a new railing for the front steps. At some point they’ll also sand blast the iron work around the courtyard perimeter. So much to do!
Garden Level
The main house garden level has seen some changes. The ceilings and sheet rock have been completed. This wall of closets and storage is separating the two main rooms that will be a living room on one side and a bedroom on the other. That white covered box is an air conditioning unit. They promised me we could cover that up with a nice wood feature. Sure hope so! If you recall, we wanted to leave the original ceiling beams exposed. They are a rough-hewn wood. So we put insulation in the “rafters” between the beams so it's nested against the floor above (the parlor/dining room floor) and then we put tongue and groove boards to fill in between the rafters. The new wood has all been painted the same color as the beams. There are a few places where the new wood ceiling is lower because we put HVAC duct work in the ceiling between the beams too. Using this space for HVAC ductwork allowed us to keep the parlor level free of ductwork. We did this ceiling treatment in the two main rooms (living room and bedroom).
We’ve also left the exposed brick walls with remnants of old plaster that once covered the brick. The previous owner was in the process of chipping off this plaster. We’ll leave evidence of that too for historical purposes. We learned that the off-white “painted” look on the brick walls is actually leftover plaster.
The wall between the two main rooms plus in the bathroom, kitchen/hallway, and art room we’ve installed sheet rock where necessary (including some ceilings) but left exposed brick walls where possible. The window and door trims are getting installed now. This area still needs interior and exterior doors, stone floor installed, bathroom cabinet, toilet, sink, and hardware plus lighting and the kitchen. So still quite a bit to do. But the nice thing is there’s nothing preventing this work from getting done. Doors will get installed next and then we'll start painting.
Third Floor
Jumping to the top floor, the plaster is done! This floor did not have crown molding so that made the process go faster. Which wasn’t fast! Crown in these old homes is made of plaster and restoring it is quite time consuming. We'll add crown but it will be wood. There are four layers of different plaster materials on the walls. It’s quite a process. There are a few new walls and those were completed with sheet rock. We’re ready to paint and start working on trim. Then it will be on to finish carpentry and installing bathroom cabinet, fixtures and lights. All the floors are original wood, except the new addition of course, and will be refinished.
Parlor Level
The Parlor level is in the plaster restoration phase. I walked into the house one day and thought for sure I’d seen my first ghost. Jerry, one of our plaster team, was covered in white plaster dust. Figured he might be able to make some money in the days ahead as Savannah is opening up from the virus and the ghost tours have started coming around again!
More Outside
Lastly, we have a driveway! Most of that brick is city sidewalk. Just the little slanted part is the actual driveway. And it’s the shortest driveway we’ve ever had. But it’s the prettiest! Rollins and his team does amazing brick work.
I've been spending a ton of time on finishes. Searching for light fixtures, hardware for cabinets, stone for counter tops, paint colors, window coverings, and furnishings is crazy. I can't imagine how people did all this before the internet!
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