The Waller Chamberlin House, 2014

This post is probably going to be in the “too much information” category for most of you…but I HAVE to do it.  It does, however, explain why it has been so quiet from these parts for awhile.  We’ve been hunkering down while this very old house has been thoroughly gone over, repaired and painted in the most efficient and respectful way possible.  We didn’t believe anybody could do as thorough a job as R did in 1985 when he spent the entire summer removing siding and prepping and repainting this house.

1985

R painting the house

2:2

2:7

Now of course, we didn’t realize in 1985 that this house was built in 1849, moved twice, added on to several times….including that we ourselves would put an addition on in 1995.  That was information and activity that was still ahead for us.

We bought the house still clad in aluminum siding in 1980 when it looked like this:2:1

We sold the aluminum siding we removed and got $300…!

2:4

When this group was sitting on the porch (1903), the house was already 54 years old, had been moved once and would be moved again (1913), and had it’s first addition (1893).  It had double doors then, but not when we bought it…that discovery and restoration was still ahead for us…1903

Front door 198522

But that was then, and now…well time has passed, let’s just say.  The most excellent SAM JONES and his crew of seven scraped, sanded, caulked, primed twice (12 gallons of primer) repaired, replaced…well it was amazing to watch.  2 coats of paint and three on the south side for a total of 50 gallons of paint…in 10 days….and it looked like this:

cracked board

1

…oops, cracked and rotting boards…

2

R taking photo through lathe

lathe

Insulation

14

12

54

10

13

caulk

Details…

21817

they stopped and made lunch every day….in their own microwave…

15

and now, a quiet Sunday of sweeping, raking, and putting things back in place…but this old lady is ready for another decade or two…

all done

 

 

 

17 Comments

  1. What a beautiful restoration, and I hope that additional insulation will keep some toes a little more warm this winter. You couldn’t have picked a better summer to repaint the house.

    1. I Know your house having grown up in an old Victorian on 17th st. and Winona. Played in Mill creek along Winona. Its now brown and kind run down with a really big tree that was once the family Christmas tree in 1980. Its fascinating to now your house moved twice. Ours was moved to 17th st. as well.

  2. It’s so wonderful that you are taking such good care of that old, beautiful lady.

    I’m at the beach, briefly, for a Lincoln City development commission meeting to oppose a huge apartment development in an old growth forested area. My thought is; why would people leave a congested valley to escape to another congested area, where you practically have to take a number to get on 101 in the summer?

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

  3. It just looks beautiful. I truly enjoy every post you make especially your quilting bee posts! Maybe someday I will be lucky to see them in person!

  4. This was NOT too much information; it was a delight to see the history and changes in the house over time. I’m so happy you showed us.

  5. “This post is probably going to be in the “too much information” category…” au contraire, bonnie. it’s heartwarming to see a home be as loved and cared for as yours. thanks also for the early pictures.

  6. Is it weird to say that the house is lucky to have you? Well, she is 🙂 What a caring and thorough reboot. I loved the porch microwave.

  7. How much longer do you have to live in it for it to become the Waller Chamberlin Hull house? Seems like you’ve earned it by being its faithful custodians since 1985!

  8. Thanksgiving 1980 we moved to 1658 Court Street…covered with aluminum outside, paneling and shag carpet inside, we had our work cut out for us. Alas it will never be the Hull house, though we have been faithful custodians…a reminder that no house or property belongs to any of us?…we’re all simply caretakers to a greater or lesser degree? (greater in this case)

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