Pamela’s Pipe Dream

As mentioned in an earlier post, until about five years ago, three of the rooms upstairs held wall hung sinks, remnants of the Edwardian Era when the original owners built the house. The previous owner had removed the sinks, but left telltale signs in the floors. Someone had repaired the spot where intake and drainpipes came up through the floor of David’s room (pictured left), but just covered it up with plywood in the homeschool room. The pipes in the master bedroom were left untouched (pictured fourth from the top, before the cop restored the floors). While we could have lived with the look of the master bedroom, the homeschool room was unacceptable.

The cop suggested we fix the incompletely repaired portions of the floor in the master bedroom and homeschool room by cannibalizing wood from the floor underneath the cabinet in the homeschool room. If we must be stuck with an “ugly” spot, it had better be the one covered with boxes and school supplies, which will rarely see daylight. Tammy’s brother made the repairs to the floor, and Tammy’s father covered the hole in the floor under the cabinet with plywood.










Now that the upstairs rooms are nearly finished (with the exception of ceiling light fixtures in the bathrooms, shelving in the hall closet, and shoe molding), we have focused greater attention on the rooms downstairs. Except for the kitchen, Tammy’s brother and sidekick have sprayed all ceilings with popcorn texture and covered all molding except for shoe molding, and painted the walls. Steve's office required the greatest effort for they had to knock out the old plaster, add insulation, and cover the walls with sheet rock. Every room has its own, strikingly different color, but continuity of ceiling color and trim ties it all together. We will post pictures once the rooms are closer to being finished.

One of the things we noticed only recently is hot water, cold water, and drainpipes from the upstairs wall sinks tucked neatly in Pamela’s bedroom closet. We decided to keep the pipes for two reasons. One, we have to move in by end of December, come what may. We have things that are more urgent on our mind right now! Two, we think it adds character to the house and is a reminder of the way things were. Undoubtedly, people will want to tour our home, and glimpses of the past will certainly delight them. Many neighbors and people related to the family who owned the house for most of its life have been curious about all the changes. At Hardee’s (the local hangout for morning coffee), total strangers stop us and make comments about the progress of the house.