A couple-four years ago, my wife and I came into a bit of my, from both sides. We had already watched my son graduate high school and head off to college and at that point, there was nothing holding us in California. My wife hated her job at UC Berkeley and I had been injured while working at the phone company as an I&R tech. Nothing was holding us back. C (my wife) had been offered a job at a university in Oregon, and that was good enough for us. We bought a nice little house in town, but I only saw it for around 10 minutes before making an offer. In the end, it wasn't the right place for us long term, so we moved into the above house after about a year. The other house makes a great rental, so no issues there.
The new house, a bungalow built in either 1908 or '13 depending on where you look, is a solid house in fairly good condition, with a strong need for serious cosmetic repairs (painting, interior woodwork, etc.) and general maintenance. Perfect for the two of us. Here is a brief tour.
As you go through the front door, to the right is the living room, the left is the dining room, and straight ahead are stairs. So, the living room:
When we bought it, the fireplace had an electric insert which was dead as a doorknob. So, we had that taken out and found that to install it, much of the back of the firebox had been removed. I don't mind paying a pro when called for, and this was one of those times. He rebuilt the box, fixed the flue door and brought it back to original condition, cheaply. It was nice to see someone work in a trade I don't know and show two apprentices how to go.
From standing at the fireplace
Most of this section was covered by a wall long ago, which was at the point of the long black/brown piece on the left. Back here were two additional bedrooms originally. Now it has been opened up for a bigger living room and expanded bathroom.
Through the doorway on the left in the last picture, you pass my the main bathroom:
You can see the blue paint on the window frame, paint that has been removed from the rest of the exterior. That window is over the basement entrance, so nothing has been done to it. The rest of the frame had been stripped, but not sanded or stained. To the right of where I am standing is the toilet, and another window with the same issues over it.
Then you get to the kitchen:
My wife insisted on everything for this room, as she is the one who likes cooking. So we had the floor and countertops done. Not cheap, but happy wife, happy life. You can't see it, but over the stove is a range hood, which is what I was installing when I found live knob and tube. There were no visible junctions for it, so that told me there were in the wall splices. Where? No one knew.
From the kitchen you get the back porch:
My wife's retreat, you can see her cookbooks and food dehydrator. This room, along with with the kitchen, has a ceiling that is one foot lower than the rest of the house. Found that out the fun way. There is also a fireplace on the right, just past the refrigerator. The porch was added on in the sixties. If you check out the foundation, it was well-poured but funky.
The final room downstairs is the dining room:
In the corner is a built-in china hutch, with my grandmother's china. You can just see the ceiling light, which was originally on the knob and tube system. Just two wires going threw a small hole. When I installed the rework box for that, the board in the ceiling was thicker than my hole saw would drill. Had to use an old fashioned keyhole saw.
Well, that is the downstairs, so for the next post lets go upstairs.