The Cross House

        The previous owner, Bob Rodak, told me he almost certainly has the front screen doors. Does he have the north screen door? It was there when he purchased the house. I texted Bob, but have not yet received a response. And my inquiries about the front screen doors have, so far,…

  Before buying the house, I learned of the Heritage Fund, and hoped that the house could receive funding, as the restoration would exceed my financial abilities. So, I crossed by fingers (and toes) and took a leap of faith. I would not have purchased the house but for the possibility of this help. The…

  The left finial is on the turret of the carriage house. The finial base design/size was copied from the original drawings, and the swirl on top matches the same on the tower finial. WF Norman once again did fine work, and was a pleasure to work with. Thanks, Mark! The finial will look even…

            I find such work deeply, powerfully satisfying. To take something which was once beautiful, but over the many decades had been worn by time and obscured by uncaring paint jobs, and bring it back to its true glory, is, well, a real thrill. As the Cross House abounds with…

    The curved cornice has nothing behind it. Only the top and bottom are attached to anything. This made filling the gap a seemingly impossible job, as there was no there there to attach anything to. There was just the thin edge of metal. After some pondering, I realized spray foam would do the…

  Can you feel yourself being dissolved on a molecular level? A rush, right? It’s OK though. We will reconstitute once back in 1929. It’s now 2015, now 2014, now 2013…now 1990……now 1950………and now 1929. 1929! Crazy, right! I know! Now, give yourself a moment. That weird queasy feeling will dissipate. Feeling OK now? Oh…

  The wood ceiling is splotched with mold or mildew or something. I’ve never done anything with it yet, and just presumed the mold is seeped into the wood. How to remove it? This has been the big stumbling block. Plus, it seems like a horrible job even if I knew how to proceed. This…

          Before, the windows were beautiful. Now, after all the glass has been cleaned in an acid bath, they GLITTER! As you walk by, they sparkle as if a zillion fireflies are somehow flying inside the glass. The effect cannot captured in an image but is delightfully, wondrously, and magically evident…

      A titanic-sized goal of mine has been to get the damn railings back on the porch. And lattice. I found most of the railings moldering away on the ground in the back yard. Horrified, I brought them all into the house to dry out, and see what could be salvaged. In they…

I often write about Bo Sullivan. And Bo graciously often comments here. I love this about him. Curiously, I don’t recall when or how we met. Well, met isn’t quite accurate. We have never met in person. It has all been emails and phone conversations. Bo lives in the upper left corner of the country….

          Well, now I have to do another frame and see what is under its paint! The Entrance Hall fireplace? Library? Long Bedroom? Or the other three fireplaces? Oh! I am wracked with indecision! Wracked!