The 100 Year Old Stairs

 Before we owned the whole house and we rented the upstairs apartment, 

I was in love with the banister.

Granted, we didn't really see much of it since it was in the landlady's portion of the house 

behind a makeshft wall,

but when I would go down to help her out I would admire it.

So imagine how disappointing it was to discover

that when the house was converted into apartments,

the contractor hacked off the end of the railing

and 2 spindles were missing.

Big E screwed a scrap piece of wood to the ends of the railing

to keep it together, but it wasn't an appealing look.

We spoke to someone about repairing it,

but the cost was going to start at around $450 just to remake the end.

I found one of the missing spindles in the attic, 

and I hoped I might find the missing banister there too.

Big E thought the chances were slim to none, closer to none.

But while poking around a stack of old doors and windows, 

I found it.

You can read about it here

Fast forward a bit to present day.

I had a thought that the old piece of railing could be attached

by using wood biscuits.

(I'm always full of thoughts and great ideas).

So Big E called in a friend who likes to do woodworking projects,

and he said he thought he was up for the job.

The idea was to reinforce the entire section of railing, 

not just the missing piece.

(I'm glad I didn't have to witness these steps, 

I would most likely have panicked silently)

There were also a few loose spindles 

that were reinforced with dowels

 Everything was also screwed together with finishing screws.

 When I arrived on scene, 

they were putting the missing corner piece back on.

Biscuits weren't possible because they spilt the one piece into 3 pieces.

Apparently being over 100 years old and sitting in an attic for 40+ years

makes one brittle. 

All in all, the finished product is fantastic.

I couldn't be happier to finally have the banister in one piece.

 Next step is to strip the paint off the wood.

I'm pretty sure the wood is walnut, and I'd rather have a stained wood railing 

than a painted one.

Then we'll need to fill some gaps, slightly smooth down some rough spots,

paint the spindles

(rip up the ugly carpet, clean up the wood floor, strip the steps....)

and finally it will really shine.

Surprises

Most people like surprises, 

at least the good kind of surprise. 

In a hundred year old house, there are surprises- some good, some not so good. 

Finding the original plaster wall in bad shape beneath the ugly wallpaper paneling in the kitchen?

Bad surprise.

Finding original 100 year old hardwood under living room carpet in good shape?

Good surprise.

Photo of the scroll work

Another good surprise was discovering some interesting indentations on the wood running along the bottom of the railing along the upstairs hallway.  

I've been up and down the steps tons of times and never noticed anything.  

Then one evening, the setting sun hit that section just right 

and threw enough shadow to pop out the indentations.  

Originally there appears to have been some scroll work on the wood 

that was painted over many times.  

Eventually someone removed the scroll work 

(yes, I'm screaming and sobbing inside as well), 

but the layers of paint left the impression.  

My plan is to use a pencil to rub the edges to make them stand out and 

take the time to paint the curls and swirls so they can be seen again.  

It won't be the wood scroll work it was back in the day, 

but at least the shape and decor can be salvaged.  

It's little discoveries like this 

that get me excited and give me the motivation to poke around and find more surprises.

I'll be sharing them all,

no matter how unpleasant

(finding mouse poop in the drop ceiling in the kitchen and realizing it's been used as a stealthy mouse superhighway? BAD surprise. Especially when you have it nearly dumped on your head.

Excuse me while I go shower in scalding water and bleach)

Tear Down This Wall!

President Regan  said it best:

Last night the house settlement was completed,

and it was time to tear down the wall.

While not as significant as the Berlin Wall, 

the wall of paneling that separated the upstairs from the downstairs

needed to come down.

 

The wall was simply two pieces of paneling.

The railing for the staircase is behind the wall in the above photo.

In the next photo, you can see the other side of the wall

showing the railing.

 This is the doorway to get to the downstairs of the house.  

My sister refers to it as the Alice in Wonderland door.

In fact, when she first saw it she wanted to know where the magic mushrooms were she needed to consume in order to shrink small enough to fit through.

 You can clearly see the resemblance.

Seriously, normal things don't fit through it.

Like lampshades, shop vacs and laundry baskets.

Even my husband has to turn sideways to get his shoulders through.

So once we got home from dinner,

the demolition began. 

This is the view from the bottom of the stairs now.

And the view from our hallway.

I had to halt demolition because it was a school night

and I had just put the Brat Child to bed.

These "studs" need to be cut to remove them safely and

without damaging the railing

(I have threatened certain death if that railing is harmed in any way).

It's strange to see so much light in the hallway.

And the cat is enjoying the new set up.

Already he found he enjoys sitting on the railing and looking into my bedroom.

Without my glasses I was certain a short little man was looking at me from the hall.

Scared the crap out of me.