Our ca. 1880 house

[nezwick]

Thanks, Don! It's coming along, slowly.

Already looking back, I wish we had selected more "historic" colours for our rooms instead of just picking colours from the display at the paint store - but I suppose there's nothing that says I can't go back and re-paint once more of the important repairs have been made.

[GothicHome]

You've been busy, the results look great. What did you use for the plaster mix (recipie) that made your plaster like butter?

[nezwick]

Well, I guess I should have been more specific about the products I used for "plaster" and "skim coat". I think I put my own twist on the traditional "three coat" job.

While I think it's over-priced and a bit gimmicky, I actually used the "patching plaster" powder mix from the Big Wally's Plaster Magic website for the underlying two coats. I considered making my own stuff, but I was too afraid of making something that didn't work! So far, I can say I'm a fan of how the Big Wally's product works and how quickly it sets, though it comes in very small quantities and I may have to order another box. I lightly moistened the lath, applied the first coat, let it partially cure, scratched it, let it fully dry. Then I applied a second coat which more closely matched the final desired thickness and let it dry.

For the skim coat, I mixed up some Sheetrock 90 drywall compound but added just a little bit more water than might be traditionally used, spread it on nice and thin and tight with a 8" wide putty knife, and then knocked it down to mostly level with an 11" drywall trowel. This product worked SO MUCH better than using the pre-made mud sold in buckets. However, it begins to set in ~10 minutes so you've gotta work fast!

I did not use any of the anchors/clamps or special adhesives for this project because the surrounding plaster was very secure and did not need reinforcement.

Someday I'd like to practice making my own "real" old fashioned plaster from scratch, but I'm not even sure where I'd find some of the ingredients locally (or what they even look like).

[Don M]

I can provide the horsehair

[Texas_Ranger]

I've seen that weird joint before, but the other way round (long mitred section and short butt joint at the top). That was some oak baseboard in a ca. 1960 house, no idea if it was original or a later addition.

[nezwick]

I was toying around with the Sherwin-Williams paint visualizer today at work, and came up with this as a fairly close rendition of how I think I want the house to look when I can finally start on the outside:



Of course the shutters would be gone and there would be some sort of simple casing around the windows. Even though it wasn't there originally, perhaps a subtle cornice on the window casings too.

Plus the reproduction 2-over-2 windows with wooden screens/storms, a front porch that more closely resembled the old one (with the knee-wall and 4 columns instead of 3), and a medium silver standing-seam metal roof.

[Don M]

That's a nice rendition; is there any indication that your house had shutters originally? I think real wood properly fitted & hung add a lot to a home's appearance. My old house looked OK with the shutters removed but I think it looks much better with the originals repaired & rehung.

[nezwick]

Since all of my window frames and casings are wrapped in aluminum from the 1985 siding job, I'm unfortunately unable to answer that question. My gut feeling is "no" just based on a couple of things:

- The pics from 1955 (no shutters) which show the house covered in Insulbrick but most other original (or what I can only assume to be original) features present, including windows.

- I have a book on the history of Corsica. In one old photo (I THINK it was from the early 1930's) which is actually a pic of the ca. 1873 Hotel Glenn (which still stands but is in severe disrepair) you can see a VERY TINY peek of my house in the background. It's a grainy B&W photo of course, but the house appears to be all white with no shutters. That is the absolute earliest photographic evidence I have of my house so far, and it doesn't help much.


I do agree that real wooden shutters look great on many homes. I won't completely write off the idea of adding real shutters down the road. But these plastic ones have got to go. I wish I could remove them now, but there are "ghost marks" on the vinyl siding behind them.

[nezwick]

A little teaser of what I'm picking up tonight... Sorry the forum cut off the photo, but you can open it in a "new tab" to see the last door.




I'm only getting the three that are 32" x 80", as the rest of them are too short for any of the doorways in my house. This seems to be a common problem when I search for salvage doors (they are all too short). Mr. McC must have been a tall guy so he built the house with 80" high doors? I'm not sure which of the doors pictured are the ones I'm getting but it doesn't matter. ALL of the hardware is included (hinges, lockset, knobs, etc.). They aren't $free but I'm excited to have the opportunity to buy them. They very closely match the style of doors my house originally had.

I found them on the local classifieds. I'm not sure if these people are gutting/renovating or tearing down an old farmhouse, but they said the house is 100+ years old and according to the street address, it's out in the middle of nowhere. They had some very nice interior french doors, an exterior door, and a few windows for sale as well. I'm disappointed that they are SELLING the original features of their house but I wanted to snag them before someone else did, or before they were destroyed.

[Don M]

Congratulations; great find!