I took my small, well worn print of George Washington over to Will's house today. George is just visiting; he's there to keep us company while we work on the Wild Rose Victorian.
Several days ago, I ordered a large 24 x 36 canvas of George (reproduction of the Rembrandt Peale painting) for Will's fireplace mantel in the living room where the ceiling height is 11 ft. We measured and drew lines on the rough plaster and agreed a large painting would look great
Will has been chasing the hairline cracks on the ceiling for many days now. He is working his magic with Durabond and web tape.
We are turning the corner, and soon we'll trowel on a skim coat of drywall. Then a second skim coat. Our technique is good because we both have lots of experience doing this kind of work at my old 1893 Victorian in Scandinavia, WI. (12 rooms). After the skim coats of drywall, we'll use a special primer, and then two coats of quality paint.
It was 93 degrees F today. A little cooler inside where we were working--attended by several fans.
In the photo above you can see the green web tape near the dangling door bell. I asked Will to get it removed and out of the way, so I could continue.
My journey took me half way around the living room taping and mudding. The repairs are smooth and require just a touch of light hand sanding here and there.
Will confessed that when he helped me with the wall repairs at my old Victorian--he really didn't care for the work that much--very repetitive, quite work. BUT, it kind of grew on him. I agreed. I know exactly what he means. It's like--who in their right mind would love this work? Yeah, we do. We even talked about doing another house someday. I'm interested for sure.
I worked on the living room walls today, and . . .
And Will continued to work the ceiling and freeze areas.
The living room color will be Barely Brown--original formula by Valspar--same color I used in my Victorian--in the office, and the upstairs hallway. It is the color of coffee with cream, but could also be described as the color of peanut butter. It will look great with the antique sofa covered in a chenille fabric of similar color featuring a pattern of black acanthus.
Will wants simplicity in the furnishings--and it will take some restraint on my part to keep that promise. I gifted him an antique sofa, and an oak lamp table boasting thick acanthus carvings.
My brother Will measured the depth of the old plaster at 1/2", and then he measured some quarter sheets modern paper coated drywall left behind by the previous owner--and it turned out to be 1/2" also. Bingo--we have materials to make the repair! He scored the wall and I got up there and pulled off the crumbling plaster, then vacuumed. Confident we have materials to make this repair--we went back to our repair work in the living room.
IDEAS:
I talked to Will about visiting the county court house to see if we can find a old plat book with map of the city of Wild Rose. A map image like that, enlarged and framed would appreciated in his living room.
When I returned home this evening I found the county plat 1906 book online! Now we know a Wild Rose city map exists. Next, I'll have to visit the county court house to get it photographed, so I can enlarge it. Wonder if they have any older plat books?
The first thing I saw on the 1906 map was a street called CAREY. Our house was built around 1892 by Dr. Alfred Carey b. 1852, d. 1899. He was also the Postmaster. Wild Rose's first post office was established in 1873.
Repairing East Wall in the Office
Southeast wall repairs and the warm sun coming through South Bay Window in the office.
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Thanks for stopping by to see what's up at Wild Rose Victorian House. We take photos every day we work at the house. Lots and lots of projects coming. Special thanks to my friend Donna who is leaving comments. Your comments make us feel so good about saving this old house.
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