November 8, 2006
Hey! What are you doing with that saw?!
photo by Stephen Karlisch
On October 2, This Old House began filming, and the house began to be transformed. Michele was very concerned at first—she LOVES this house—and she refused to go over and see the holes in the ceilings. But about a week after the first filming session, when things REALLY got moving, she did come over. There was trepidation, but also excitement, I think, in seeing the design beginning to come to life.
The house was
being leveled. They built the stairs first, removing a downstairs closet. We found the old tacked-up wallpaper still on the
ship-lap boards that formed the walls of the house. The historical
nature of the building was being uncovered, layer by layer. We will
preserve samples of the old wallpaper, of course.
The wood throughout the house—framing and finishes—is longleaf pine, from virgin-growth forests that used to cover the southeastern part of the US. It's dense, with a beautiful tight grain. But it's extinct today; there are no forests like this left. So it's important to us to preserve as much of the wood as possible and re-use it in the construction, both to satisfy our desire to recycle, and to preserve this extremely beautiful, difficult to find resource.
—Michael
(3) Comments
Comment on this BlogChris -
Hey friend!
I've just logged on again to your blog to catch up and boy, I can't even imagine what you've gone thru! Erin left for South Africa in late September just after purchasing an "investment" property in Grand Rapids and left me to take care of it for her!! It's in good condition but geesh, calls late at night from renters having leaks, landscapers begging to sign contracts, furnaces going out; and me on the road like you. I love Erin to death, but I'm gonna kill her!! I've been living the "good life" for too long - hotels, room service. Things being taken care for me by the condo associtation at home. And now I'm helping Erin out while she's finding herself in South Africa!! What I've gone thru doesn't even come close to what you've been living but I've had a taste and I'm ready for Erin to be stateside!!
Pat
Hey Pat Happy Thanksgiving......and thanks for keeping up with this because i really haven't...You are great to deal with your lovely daughter going off to South Africa and making a difference in life...BE PROUD! of course the "fear factor" is ever=present but hey, that is what makes us what we are...enuf..the house is beyond description I live in one of the most beautiful homes in America...HOW DID THAT HAPPEN??? love, chris
Chris - You know I'm just kidding!!! Erin is my hero for what she's done and helping her out here in the good ole' us of a is just a small thing to do in the scope of things!! She's in London now and will soon be living in the US but still working with Virgin Unite.
And amazingly, everything with the house is working out - go figure!! As Erin would say, chi, man, chi!! Have a wonderful Holiday Season in your new, beautiful, home and can't wait to see you in the New Year. Bisous, Pat