118 Henry Street

A question came in by email about the sideboard featured in a couple of previous posts. To whit, what happened? did we finish it? what did it look like? After reviewing the posts in question, turns out, we have neglected the breakfast room as well as the sideboard.

In situ

It’s been in place so long, it’s become just another piece of furniture. The different kinds of wood are very obvious with the stain removed but we think it contributes to it’s appeal.

The hardest part of refinishing was aging the new brass hardware. There are several methods for turning a perfectly good, shiny piece of brass into a dark, dirty, beat up relic. These range from “age” in a bottle (just apply and wipe), to various concoctions to also tint the metal to match existing hardware.

We used copper sulfate for just that right amount of krispy

The decorative plates hanging on the wall were designed and commissioned by Carole’s cousin, Ryan Gainey. Mr. Gainey is very close to being a national treasure for his eccentric, beautiful artistry and his wonderful gardens. He had given them to Carole’s mother, who, in turn, gave them to us. Did I mention about my great mother-in-law?

Love those colors

This one is harder to see but in the breakfast room as well:

Another flora themed design

So far, a good bit of work on the sewing room this weekend. Just not a lot of splashy visual progress.

We scraped the paint from the second of the five panel doors that will be used, hung and energized the new light over the washer, and scoped the wall where the opening to the mudroom will appear.

Locus of focus for today

Legend:

1. New pendant fixture over the washer/dryer
2. New dryer vent
3. Opening from mudroom into the shop
4. Dark area of water discoloration and rot from roof leak

The part of the wall and subfloor at 4, above, is best explained by this photo from 2004:

A little roof leak, Ice Dam 2004

Before doing any structural work on that wall, we needed to see how much of the wood was rotted. After taking up the subfloor (which looked terrible), the floor joists and wall studs don’t look too bad.

Just some softness on the top of a couple floor joists

Since the sewing room/addition was not part of the original house, we have a little more freedom to decorate it. We picked Art Nouveau as our general template and Carole has picked out a smoky rose pink color as the base.

The light over the washer/dryer is the first of the decorating elements along this line. A pendant light with a flower motif, updated with CFL bulb.

Antique shade courtesy of Habitat for Humanity store

The light fixture was $15. The shade was $1…no joke.

We have a small collection of antique lighting, 8 of which were original with 118 Henry Street. Another 10 or so acquired over time.

Brass ceiling fixtures

The twin of the one on the left illuminates the mudroom. We got them from a salvage store in Charlotte. The one on the right, and it’s twin, are original to the stairwell/hallway of the house. Yes, the glass shades are antique and original too.

Our little lighting museum

The school house fixture is from a salvage house. The white cast fixture is from the house next door, we got 3 similar at the same time. One of it’s sisters is in the breakfast room. The brass pan light is original to the house and hung in the living room. We acquired, and had restored, another pan light to take its place. But this one is destined for another room at another time.

In the lexicon of house construction, the phase that usually follows framing the walls is called “rough-in”. With the room’s frame in place, but before the final wall covering, the electrical, plumbing, etc. systems, are “roughed-in”.

We are framing and roughing-in the sewing room. The addition side of the new kitchen wall will have the washer/dryer hookups, including hot and cold water, electrical outlets and dryer vent. The electrical system was the focus of our effort this weekend.

New kitchen wall, viewing from the addition side

Legend:

1. New light over the washer and dryer
2. Washer electrical plug
3. Dryer 30 amp electrical plug
4. Existing light switches (to be moved)
5. Data and cable lines
6. New blocking to attach top plate of new wall
7. End of the new wall

It’s going to be a few more weeks until we do the ceiling so we de-constructed about enough to get the current task done.

The original electrical system at 118 Henry Street was “knob-and-tube” and had a 100 amp breaker box in the mudroom. This means that the maximum electrical current that could be supplied to the house was 100 amps. That might sound like a lot but consider that central air-conditioning draws 50 amps, a clothes dryer draws 30 amps, and a typical electric water heater draws 30 amps. Bottom line, in the summer (air conditioning) we couldn’t do laundry (hot water and dryer) without the lights flickering and the breaker box overheating (50+30+30=110 amps). Not very safe.

A rat’s nest in addition to undersized

We had the electrical service professionally upgraded to 200 amp capacity.

Some of the best money we’ve spent on the house

The 2 images are approximately the same scale.

The next “rough-ins” are the dryer vent and the new water lines.