The Cross House

    For the holiday season I created a three-story Christmas “tree” at the Cross House. To repeat: three-stories high. It is BIG. And it makes me smile. I wanted to do something for my first holiday season in the Cross House. But what? The house is so huge and the possibilities are endless. Obviously,…

Here in Kansas it is possible to paint the exterior of your house all through to the end of December. CAVEAT: just not every day. It becomes kinda hit or miss these two months. Once I had 70 degree weather between Christmas and New Years. So, I removed the exterior wall in my kitchen — sure,…

One of the single biggest impediments to owning a big old house — perhaps THE biggest — is heating and cooling. Basically, in a big old house you will never be warm in the winter or cool in the summer. And even trying will cost a terrifying amount. Geez. Because I am quite fond of…

Recently, we took down the forest of scaffolding surrounding the round tower. Whoee! This week we put up scaffolding so I could paint the dormer window, and one side of the octagon tower. Whoee! So, bit by bit, the original colors are returning to the Cross House. NOTE: I am much happier standing on a…

In order to restore the windows at the Cross House it is necessary to remove them for long-ish periods. A good chunk of this time is waiting for the glazing to dry enough to paint. So, the house ends up with plexiglass covering the openings, which rather kills the beauty of the house. So, behold,…

I have an deeply-held belief system with regards to old houses: 1) One needs to expect structural issues.  2) As long as you discover SIX or less structural issues, you are lucky. All is well. The Gods have blessed you. 3) If however you find SEVEN, give the house back to the previous owner. And RUN…

While I have zero statistical data to back up the following, I am pretty sure it is a known truth: Old houses can kill. There have been countless couples and singles who have enthusiastically purchased a wreck of an old home, started with gusto…and then…lost their minds. Marriages are destroyed by old houses. People are…

  This image thrills me. You see, the doors just came back from the Door Hospital. They underwent a veneer repair, sanding, staining, and refinishing. I was terrified that they would not survive the anesthetic. But they are back! And GORGEOUS! Thank you, Dr. Doug!!!!! The Cross House has two sets of entry doors. This…

I have a problem. You see, I have X amount of financed construction funds left, and just learned that I have four months to spend this borrowed pool of money, or else the unspent amount gets cancelled by the bank when the loan is rolled over into the mortgage of the Cross House at the end…

ABOVE: A lovely fall Saturday. But wait, up high, is that a bird? A plane? Why, no, it is just some bald guy.   ABOVE: You see him? Over at the right edge of the scaffolding?   ABOVE: Oh. It is just…me. NOTE: My expression can be correctly interpreted as: 1) WHAT I am doing…

The Cross House has like a zillion windows. OK, maybe not that many. Maybe there are actually only a billion. OK. Maybe not that many. But surely there are thousands. At least it feels like thousands. Luckily, the windows are all original. Praise the Lord that nobody in the 1970s decided to tear out the…

ABOVE: You are looking at the second floor of the Cross House, the southeast corner. Sorry for the dark blue patch, that is on the drawing I have. The bedroom was, it seems, the housekeeper’s room. The door shown is right off the servant’s stair, although the door was actually placed a bit over to…

  ABOVE: You are looking at the second-floor Sewing Room of the Cross House, designed by architect Charles W. Squires. In 1894, when the Cross House was built, a “sewing” room was traditionally a wife’s domain, or a Wife Cave in today’s terminology. A library was a husband’s domain. A sewing room was used by…

There are two things I enjoy about working on the Cross House: No day is the same. Each day presents new issues, discoveries, challenges, and satisfaction when a project is completed. It is hard to explain, and, really, I am even reluctant to try and explain a most peculiar phenomenon. You see, whenever I arrive…

The two images below are instructive. In both images I was standing in the same place. In the top image I am looking south, and north in the second image. The top image is how the Cross House looked when I purchased it. It had been painted in a blue-ish gray. The second image shows…

There is nuts. And there is nuts. The fact that I purchased the Cross House — a huge old pile with its every inch needing work — would confirm that I am, ok, nuts. But…there is nuts. And THIS nuts is a quantum other level of nuttiness. I am kinda embarrased to post this thread because it offers proof…

When I purchased the Cross House it had but a single window fully restored, a wonderful small round window in the four-story servant’s stair tower. This left 6,987 more windows to go. Well, maybe not that many, but it does feel like it. In addition to the standard windows, all in deplorable (but restorable) condition, the…