It’s been nearly a year since we purchased this 1912 Craftsman 1.5 story in Juneau, AK. We knew it was a fixer-upper but of course couldn’t have possibly imagined how deep into the peels of this historic onion we would delve before finally settling in. With the drywall finished and most painting done as well, we’re readying to move into our 2nd floor bedrooms for the first time since gutting it the day we took possession, July 31, 2008. With exciting projects on the horizon, wood and copper pipe railing for top of the stairs, 1/2 bath supply/waste systems, doors and window trim, it’s easy to forget all the nastiness that came before. Here’s a brief list of said nastiness and some before and after pics.
2nd floor: complete tear down of paneled walls, removal of old, insufficient insulation (including some pockets of suspect vermiculite), removal of 100 year old ship lap on interior facing of some walls, installation of spray foam insulation (contractors) on exterior walls (R21) and roof deck (R35-45), restoration of crumbling mortar on chimney stack, removal of carpeting and sanding, refinishing of Doug fir floors. framing, wiring, plumbing of 1/2 bath, wiring of recessed light fixtures in master and 2nd floor hall/sitting room, framing of built ins/closet in master.
Whole house: massive cleaning/replacement of forced air duct-work, installation of new electric (95% efficient and our local power source is 100% hyrdo-electric) forced air furnace, spray foam insulation on rim joists and crawl space skirting walls (R10-15), installation of R30 bats in all floor joist cavities above crawl space, installation of cellulose (R20) in joist bays between efficiency apartment and 1st floor, air sealing, caulking, water heater installation, new electrical panel, retrofit laundry room, etc. etc.
What a year, and now we’re wrapping up work just in time to have to rent out the house for a temporary sojourn/urban adventure in Portland. Well at least (fingers crossed) I won’t have to fix anything major for a year.
[OK So these are all after pics, before’s are on home machine…stay tuned]
Jonas Lamb 