Victorian Restoration - I must be nuts (Pittsburgh, Allentown: violent crime, house)

[Q-tip motha]

Originally Posted by tnwebwise

I am buying a Victorian to Restore and live in. It used to be a painted lady and is from 1880-1900 as it has gas lighting fixtures (or did) in the walls. The inside is gutted and the copper is missing. It was converted into 2 or 3 apartments over the years and the ceilings were mostly lowered. The windows were replaced and the rear was an add on. It has ALOT of character and I have the time to lend this old lady some new life. It will take 2-3 years, but I think the results will be amazing and would be a good project away from my work (which for years has been all consuming). So, for my 40th Birthday... I'm buying a project. I've done 2 others, but this is the largest by far. Am I nuts?



It has a large yard and decent looking neighborhood. The foundation is good as the walls are solid. I'll be roughing it in the second floor while restoring the first floor and parts of the exterior. With all the walls exposed; plumbing, wiring, network and fiber will be easy to do. I have a background is renovations to a degree as its a hobby and my work usually is around building websites. I plan to blog this one much as they have at Enon Hall - Lancaster County, Virginia - The Web's First & Longest-Running Houseblog and would like some advice.

Not living that far north and tired of raining Christmas and 114 degree summers, when I renovate... Should I fiberglass insulate the studs, then a plastic vapor barrier (taped sealed) and then sheetrock? or what else. "4 inch foam core comes to mind also. Most of the work will be done by me and one significant other.

- NP

As the owner of a similarly aged fixer upper, that has been more fixer than upper, I can only say godspeed and good luck.

[Tirade]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

My first home I restored was a run down victorian that needed everything. I made 30K on it. Take your time and do it. They are amazing homes with artwork as the finish. Enjoy it and just do it. Never heard of anyone regretting a wonderful painted lady. My home was 1801 Clayton Ave on the North Side. It was an amazing home.

Originally Posted by smallfox

Curtis-

Small world!! My good friend's parents live in that house now! You did a great job- it's beautiful.

Indeed, this house does have an interesting history. According to Allegheny County's public records, there are only two sales recorded in the house's history. The first sale was made to a woman in 1993. The second to a couple in 1999, whom, according to the records, still own the house. Considering this site's records typically go back into the early 1960s, I'm curious to know why there are no records listed prior to 1993.

[selltheburgh]

The county only lists a few transfers back online. Anything further back is available downtown.

[aw_now_what]

What makes 1801 Clayton Avenue unique:


Timeline Photos | Facebook


It's a public facebook page, so people who aren't facebook users can see it too.

[gg]

Originally Posted by aw_now_what

What makes 1801 Clayton Avenue unique:


Timeline Photos | Facebook


It's a public facebook page, so people who aren't facebook users can see it too.

The house was originally built by a furniture maker in Pittsburgh. The name escapes me now, but he wasn't some huge known name person. His initials were carved under that interesting front window to the left of the front door. Kind of cool. I purchased it many years ago and it was blue with a ton of damage to the exterior. It was also three units at the time and I turned it back to a single. The interior was WAY too far gone to restore to original. There was NOTHING left except a couple of stained glass windows that are still there. It was really a dump. A couple of cool things about that home. There was a hand pump well, but it didn't work, but still it was cool. There is an amazing view of the city even from the basement windows. The double deck porch shown has an amazing view down the Ohio river and the sunsets from there were spectacular. I actually preferred that to the city views. The roof is original and slate. I had a really good company repair it and they really did a great job. It was in better shape when I owned it and I had more going on with the paint, like that key on the double decker porch was painted white and burgundy. I believe there were seven colors used and that home was very ornate. I had spindles on that front porch and not what is currently there. Don't know why they would have changed them out.

Anyway, that was a huge job and it was my first home I restored. I feel I did a good job on the exterior and paint scheme, but the inside was cleaned up and just okay. I put a large kitchen in the home that was okay, but not great as far as cabinets. The kitchen layout was very good though and I had to remove two walls for it. I certainly didn't have the money to restore the inside to original. The staircase was intact, so that was there, but not grand. No mantles left and all the fireplaces were boxed in and it would have been a huge job fixing that situation. There was a wood burning stove I put in to keep warm. At that time I was on a wildly tight budget and when I lived there in the winter, you could see your breath in most rooms except the one with that wood burner. I would chop wood to keep warm and my heating bills were never above $75 a month. Goodness those were fun days, but I don't know if I want to relive them.

You can see that home from the West End Bridge and really almost all over the area of downtown up to Mt. Washington and beyond. It was sure a beacon.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by aw_now_what

What makes 1801 Clayton Avenue unique:


Timeline Photos | Facebook


It's a public facebook page, so people who aren't facebook users can see it too.

Wow! Thanks for sharing that link. I just "liked" it, and now I can't wait to follow new updates!

[tnwebwise]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

What's your budget?

What about the various systems?
- I assume electrical is a complete redo
- plumbing also? complete redo?
- roof
- heat and A/C? completely new furnace plus in-wall ducting?
- is the basement dry?

Again, what's your budget?

Roof - good
Electrical is partial redo (mixed tube and knob, romex and standard)
Plumbing is mixed, the stand pipes look good, the copper is missing - plan to use pex
Heat - lol, nada... but, I have 3 hvac units here in storage.
Basement is dry

Budget - 3-4k a month and labor is myself and 2 others that are with me.

[tnwebwise]

Originally Posted by aw_now_what

It's beautiful! I think I saw this advertised on Craigslist; the seller shortsightedly called it ugly.

You're not nuts; I have done this several times with no regrets.

By "restoration," do you mean paint the exterior rather than vinyl siding? FWIW, the projects I have gotten the most compliments on have been exterior restoration of wood-sided houses.

I plan to keep as much of the original wood as I can. We are working on the Lead issues and wondering the PA rules. Per EPA rules, if I do the work and paint myself then I can avoid the crazy abatement costs (partially).

If the exterior has lead paint (left): My plan is to use a Paintshaver (google it) with Hepa vacuums, 6 mill, double lined plastic sheet the working area, wear tyvek hazmat suit and a special respirator. Clean up and double bag then dispose properly. When all work is done, throw away tools or determine if lead paint can be removed chemically without destroying the tool. Once to the wood, Sand, Seal, Prime and paint as a proper painted lady. Where needed, remove/replace wood. On decorative parts, remove and take to shop space and work as above to get to wood OR recreate using as a pattern.

For the interior, Not much left to do (as for tear out) but Hepa Vac (also when sanding floors). Then plumb, wire, network, TV runs, see about Gas lighting restoration here and there, sheetrock, mud, paint, tile etc. Will be one floor / room at a time.

I do not plan vinyl at all. I plan to restore the windows by hand as well as the doors.

[tnwebwise]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

It's a fabulous house and it will be incredible when it's done. The exterior is extremely well-preserved. Houses with intact Victorian trim in Pittsburgh are very difficult to find. I especially like the double front door and transom. Is the original staircase intact? If you'd like, I'd be happy to share your updates with readers of my blog, Discovering Historic Pittsburgh. I'm thinking about creating a page about renovations of historic buildings in the area, to counteract all of my depressing demolition updates!

The original exterior and the hidden Rosettes above the 1970's redone ceiling; See Top right(ish) here:

Were one of the reasons I wanted this one and am uprooting my life to do this home over. The staircase is unbelievable the ONLY part of the original interior that I think is left. See the second floor handrail:

The Side Panels:


And top looking down:


It's going to all be gorgeous when its completed. I'll hate the journey, but love the destination.

As for blogging... We'd love the idea. Email me at neil@npowers.com as I had a few questions and check the before pics at my photo site.

[tnwebwise]

Originally Posted by arpho

My family moved into a house that was owned by one family for several decades. We found so many cool old things there that were left behind, like old ham radio stuff, newspapers and other things like that.
Did you find anything cool as you're looking through the house?

So far just this:


more pics to come as we collect things from hard to get places.