Our Obligation

Back when I was embroiled in my most recent retail venture, I purchased a wonderful antique fan on eBay. It was a chrome and Bakelite seat/table fan...really special! Unfortunately, the seller carelessly packed it in newspaper and shipped it in a cardboard box that was too small to protect it, and predictably, the fan arrived broken. I was not only frustrated because something I wanted was broken, but disgusted that because of someones cavalier actions, a wonderful piece that had survived intact for 50+ years was virtually destroyed!

This is a rather windy anecdote to tell you my attitude about purchasing--and in fact being the "caretaker"--of an older home. I believe that when you purchase an older home, whether it is "officially" historic or not, you take on the responsibility of caring for that home. This can be an expensive, and time-consuming venture. But most homes and structures that were built in the early 20th Century were built with the intention of lasting, and deserve to be maintained appropriately.

Another windy course back to my Maine project! You recall the good/bad surprise scenario? Well, now for the bad...or at least the not-so-good.

As you can probably tell from this photo, soil had been allowed to build up at the foundation of the house over the years, causing decay.

There are no termites in Maine (Oh, blessed state!), but generally speaking, soil sitting up against wood (particularly before there was pressure-treated wood) is not a good thing. You can even see exactly where the runoff from the non-guttered roof has splashed back and rotted the wood underneath the front door. So, now is the time to replace wood along the foundation, and clean up the exposed vinyl siding. (A future project will be to remove all the vinyl siding and reface the home with a lap/shingle combination...but, another day!)

Though this obviously adds $$ to the project cost, it actually makes me feel good to know that we're finding and repairing problems now, and problems that would only be worse down the road.

The next surprise on this project comes in the form of a visit from the city code enforcement! Now that's always fun!!