For the first time, we have run amuck of the neighborhood committee for a problem with our renovation. In a previous renovation, the interior chimneys for the original fireplaces were removed…but using a very half-baked method since they left the chimney on the top of the house. Basically, they removed the brick fireplaces from the rooms but left the chimney sitting on the roof tiles- unsupported from below. As a result, we have two solid brick chimneys sitting on top of the roof that could fall down at any time.

We considered a few options, but finally decided that they should come down. When our contractor went up to the roof to try to dismantle them a neighbor complained to the committee. Our lane is very historically protected and forbids any removal of exterior fixtures. I guess we did not realize that rotten chimneys of doom fell into this category. The Neighborhood Committee chairman called my husband and he explained it had structural problems and had to be removed. They accepted this, but recommended that we re-install it when we were finished (??!?!?). We decided they were telling us they wanted a faux chimney up there by the end of the project so the original look is kept intact…it’s irrelevant that it is fake.

Unsupported chimney

The exciting news for this week was the widening of the doorframe in downstairs living room. This was nerve-racking since it’s a load-bearing wall. The contractors are going to add an iron support beam to the substructure, but it will take a few days to arrive. In the meantime, the supporting bricks in the expanded doorway are currently propped up with some wooden planks. We decided to widen it to give a greater sense of space and to keep the downstairs from being too segmented. The widened door will also bring light to the hall on the other side, by the stairs, and generally open things up a bit.

March 10th 2007

January 20th 2007

It’s a popular thing to offer double paned windows in new construction, and we put a lot of energy into the decision but decided not to do it. Since our house has 100% of the original old iron window frames it’s very difficult to retro-fit double panes since you can’t get a good seal. Option 1 is to have a guy come out to the house and do a basic version without the vacuum seal. The problem is that without the seal, moisture can seep through and you get condensation between the panes. Ugh. Option 2 is to pay a whole lot of cash to send the old windows to a special factory to have them vacuum sealed. It’s really tough to do the old windows and they often come back looking odd and misshapen since the original iron frames obviously were not designed this way. There is really not a good way to have double glaze windows if you want to keep the look of original windows.

In the end, we decided to use thick draperies and skip the double-glazing. After a few winters in the house, perhaps we will change our mind and opt to have the guy come to retro-fit the double panes, but in the meantime we will be layering up in the winter and huddling close to our radiators. 

Original Windows

Bronze Window Lock

Melanie