Popular Window Replacement Myths

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The Myth: “Vinyl is Final”

“Maintenance free” is a popular term used by vinyl window manufacturers; but with a product that is susceptible to seasonal fluctuations, weathering, and constant operation, how can anyone truly guarantee this claim?  Vinyl windows are made with stock parts that quickly become outmoded, making them difficult, if not impossible, to repair if a spring or other suspension component breaks (the same holds true for wood replacement window parts).  Vinyl is also prone to warping and fading in high temperatures.  Want to repair a historic wood window?  Tools, parts, and materials can found at your local hardware store!

The Myth: Old Wood Windows = Astronomical Heat Bills

Replacement window manufacturers will often compare their product to a historic wood window that has not been restored or maintained – a window that fits this description will undoubtedly be drafty and inefficient.  In most cases, however, a fully restored, tight-fitting, properly functioning, weatherstripped wood window combined with a quality storm window will have the same insulating properties as a double-glazed replacement window.  Other steps can be taken to reduce heating bills, such as insulating attics and floors; the U.S. Department of Energy notes that 31% of air infiltration is at floors, walls, and ceilings, and only 10% at windows.

The Myth: Replacement Windows Look Just Like Historic Wood Windows

A property owner or replacement window salesman will often make this claim when the snap-in grids or simulated divided lites in the replacement model match the existing muntin configuration of the original wood windows.  First of all, snap-in grids or simulated divided lites have a much different profile than the traditional putty profile on old wood windows, which is difficult to replicate.  Secondly, materials such as vinyl or synthetic cladding are shiny and glossy and present a much different look than traditional wood.  Third, installation details for replacement windows typically involve additional framing that reduces the rough opening of the window.  Lastly, replacement window glass is significantly different than the wavy look of historic glass.      

The Myth: Replacement Windows are the “Greener” Option

With all of the talk of global warming and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), replacement window manufacturers often tout the energy savings associated with their product and that a replacement window is a “green” choice.  While this claim may correspond to newly constructed, LEED certified buildings, the argument that a replacement window is “greener” than a restored wood window is highly debatable.  As discussed previously, a properly restored wood window combined with a quality storm window will address energy concerns.  A product with a “green” label must also be sustainable.  Historic wood windows, constructed of old-growth lumber and superior craftsmanship, will last up to 5 times longer than replacement models, namely because the wood is durable and they are easily repaired.  The same can’t be said for vinyl or new-growth wood replacement windows with plastic parts.  Moreover, the insulating glass found in double glazed replacement windows will eventually fail and the whole window will have to be replaced.  

The Myth: Old Wood Windows are Highly Susceptible to Rot

Wood windows will rot if they are not maintained.  Any natural material that is exposed to weathering and sunlight will be impacted.  However, proper maintenance will ensure a long-lasting window, whether it be priming and painting or installing a quality storm window.  Oftentimes, a wood window may appear to have rot, but is actually just badly weathered and needs some T.L.C.  Remember, historic wood windows have a high quality of craftsmanship and were constructed from old growth lumber; they were built to last.     

The Myth: “It’s pointless to restore an old wood window when it will just be covered up with a modern storm window” 

While it’s true that modern storms can conceal the character of historic window sash, a few facts need to be addressed.  First, storm windows have been around for over 100 years, originally made of wood, of course.  Although some modern (and cheap and flimsy) storms might be an eyesore, there are quality models on the market that are more appropriate for historic buildings.  Second, a metal storm window is a small price to pay for preserving original materials and character, and storm windows can be painted.  Third, the installation of a storm window is reversible, while the removal of a historic wood window is not.  Furthermore, as a bonus, a properly installed, quality storm combined with a restored wood window will be just as energy efficient as a double-glazed replacement window!     

The Myth: “It is more expensive to restore an old wood window than to replace it.”

The cost of restoring a historic wood window obviously varies due to many factors, and there is no guarantee that restoring a window will be cheaper than replacing it.  Studies have shown, however, that the payback period for new replacement windows can take decades.  In that span of time, it is likely that these windows will have to be replaced again, since most replacement windows only have a lifespan of 20 years.  Historic wood windows that have lasted 100 years will last another 100 years if properly restored and maintained.  Therefore, the payback period of a restored wood window equates to a much better bargain.

The Myth: “Old wood windows have lead paint and should be discarded”

While any house built before 1978 might contain lead paint, it is possible to remove lead paint from historic sash without posing serious health hazards.  Local municipalities often have guidelines for safe and effective de-leading, including windows, but it needs to be done by a professional.  An experienced contractor or window restoration specialist should be able to identify unstable lead paint (the most hazardous condition) and treat it appropriately.  Oftentimes, stable lead paint can be encapsulated with lead-free paint to comply with state laws.  With proper precautions and safety measures, historic wood windows with lead paint can be remedied.  For more information on lead paint hazards in historic buildings, refer to Preservation Brief 37: Appropriate Methods of Reducing Lead-Paint Hazards in Historic Housing from the National Park Service:
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/TPS/briefs/brief37.htm

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The Vinyl Lie

The Vinyl Lie

by Gary Kleier

Every day unsuspecting owners of historic homes, believing they are actually making an investment in their home, succumb to the vicious lies of an unscrupulous industry. Unfortunately, most will never know it. Most will never see the immediate undermining of their property value or the long term destruction of the structure of their house. And what is this vicious lie? Vinyl siding. Vinyl siding installed over wood siding. And the most vicious lie is that it will improve the property value of an historic house.

Debunking the lies

Lie number one: Vinyl siding will increase the value of your home. 

As an architect involved in numerous historic restorations, I am frequently asked to evaluate an historic house prior to purchase. In virtually every case where vinyl siding has been used to cover original wood, the buyer wants to know the cost of having the vinyl removed and the original siding restored. In every case the same question comes up; "Why would they desecrate an historic house in this manner?"


Increasingly people across America are understanding the value of our historic properties. Like antiques, the closer it is to original the higher is its value. Frequently, the buyer not only sees vinyl siding as decreasing the value of the house, but wants the seller to pay for its removal. This removal and repair of the original wood siding is normally as expensive as the original installation of the vinyl siding.

Lie number two: Vinyl siding will make your house maintenance free. 

There is no such product! Every material, every installation requires maintenance! Vinyl siding installations require significant caulking, around windows, at corners, around doors, anywhere a "J" channel is used to terminate a run of siding. I have never seen a vinyl siding installation where caulking is installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Even the very best caulking, when improperly installed, will fail within a few years. And when it does, water will enter. Time to do some maintenance.


Vinyl siding is secured to the house by a nail or staple driven through a tab. This tab is designed not only to hold the siding to the house, but to allow it to move as it expands and contracts with temperature. If the fastener is too tight, the siding may buckle in the heat or break in the cold. This will usually result in the siding coming off the house in a windstorm. This rarely happens immediately. Usually it occurs a year or two after the installation, and after the warranty has expired. In addition, since the higher areas of the house are subjected to more wind, that is where the damage is most likely to occur. More maintenance, and maintenance the average homeowner cannot do.


Vinyl siding commercials will show you how the siding can withstand a blow from an object like a hammer. What they do not tell you is that the longer siding is on the house the more brittle it will become. Ten years later, that same piece of siding, exposed to the elements, may crack or even shatter under the same blow. A blow from a tree limb or from a ball and you have more maintenance.


In short, vinyl siding is not maintenance free.

Lie number three: You will never have to paint again.

Maybe we shouldn’t call this a lie. The truth is, you never can paint again.


Even the best vinyl siding will fade. The deeper the color, the faster it will happen and the more noticeable it will be. In 10 to 15 years vinyl siding will show a significant change in color.


Vinyl siding will also become dingy through an accumulation of dirt. Contrary to what the commercials would have you believe, we are talking about dirt that spraying with a garden hose will not remove. In ten to fifteen years many home owners are dissatisfied with the dingy look of their siding and want to do something to restore it. (Sounds like maintenance, doesn’t it?)


Sorry folks, not a lot you can do. Scrubbing the siding with soap and water (not just spraying it) will help a little. While that is faster than painting, it is far less satisfactory. Painting, however, is totally out of the question. At this time there are no paint manufacturer’s I am aware of that will guarantee their paint over vinyl siding. Within a few years the paint will begin to peal.


By the way, if you do decide to wash your vinyl siding, never use a high pressure sprayer. The high water pressure may force water around the siding and through bad caulk joints into your house. Further, the high pressure may loosen the siding, or even remove whole sections that are already loose.

Lie number four: Vinyl siding will save you money. 

In spite of what the manufacturers would have you believe, the life expectancy of a high-quality vinyl siding installation is approximately 20 to 30 years. The life expectancy of a high-quality, professional paint job is approximately 10 to 15 years. Since the vinyl siding installation will cost approximately twice that of painting, there is virtually no savings.


Should you choose to remove the old vinyl siding at the end of its life, you now incur the cost of removal as well as the cost of the new installation. At this point painting has become far less expensive.


Now that we’ve discussed what they do tell you, let’s talk about what they don’t tell you, and hope you will never discover.

Destruction of details 

When you look at an historic frame house, you will notice a significant amount of detail. This may include moldings and brackets at the eaves, details in the siding such as fish scales or beaded edges, headers over windows and doors, and shadow lines at window and door trim. Virtually all of this is covered up when vinyl siding and vinyl eaves are added to a house. In addition, eave details such as brackets and moldings are frequently removed to facilitate the installation of the vinyl material. In short the installation of vinyl siding and eaves significantly reduces the character of the house.


To the individuals seeking to purchase an historic home, the installation of vinyl siding and eaves has not improved the value of the house but rather has destroyed the character for which he/she is looking. Therefore, the value of the house has been significantly reduced.

Destruction of Walls.

In a typical historic house of wood frame construction a wall would normally be composed of the following: plaster on wood lath, the wood studs, exterior sheathing, and wood siding. While these materials may seem solid to us, water vapor easily moves through these materials and escapes from the house during the winter months.


During the installation of vinyl siding a layer of styrene insulation board is applied over the wood siding, and the vinyl siding is applied to that. This insulation board forms an effective barrier to the passage of water vapor, thereby trapping it within the wall. During the winter months this water vapor will condense to liquid water and began rotting the wood materials. Over a period of years the structural integrity of the exterior walls can be completely destroyed. Further, the presence of deteriorating wood has been shown to attract termites and other wood attacking insects.


In summary, it is my opinion based on my experience as an architect that vinyl siding is not maintenance free, and it is not less expensive than painting. It is also my opinion that vinyl siding destroys the aesthetic quality of an historic house, and decreases its value, and can, over time, destroy the structural integrity of the house.


Like many products, vinyl siding has a place. It works adequately in inexpensive new construction where proper precautions are taken to prevent water damage. However, when the industry tries to sell this product as a maintenance free improvement to older homes, they are doing the public a great disservice. And when it comes to historic homes, they are costing you money.


©2000-2002 Gary Kleier, OldLouisville.com
Webmaster's note:Gary Kleier is our resident Old Louisville Architectural Conservator.  He lives on Floral Terrace and is one of those folks who was instrumental in the landscaping and beautification of that little jewel of a walking court between Sixth and Seventh Streets.  Gary specializes in restoration architecture and architectural forensic services and has a wide range of  talents which are described on his own web site at www.KleierAssociates.com.  You can reach Gary by email at gjkleier@netscape.net

Drip Cap and Sill Edge Replacement

Two of the things ruined during the installation of aluminum siding are the drip caps above each door/window and the edges of each window sill. I had to have these custom milled by a local lumber yard. Finding the right profile is a bit of a challenge since I only had part of the original. I was able to find the right profile for the drip caps and had them custom milled in Cyprus. I primed all sides of them before cutting to length and installing. For the window sills, I had to cut a large chunk out of the middle of an existing window sill, cut it only as deep as the window sill edges are, and have long lengths of it custom milled in Cyprus, then cut each end individually for installation. I first coated all the edges in Abatron liquid wood to eliminate any chance of future rot due to my fear of water penetrating this seam eventually.

 

4 Year Anniversary

Four years down and starting to see the results. I get a lot of compliments from people on the progress. Here is what I did during the year:

• I stripped all the paint on the 2nd story of the front of the house and the 3rd story dormer. I ended up sitting on the hot black asphalt roof for about a month during the hottest point of the summer, when the temps were in the 90s. I contorted myself into tiny areas under the dormer overhang, using an 1100 degree heat gun, trying to get all the paint off of everything. I got burns from touching the asphalt roof and burns from bumping the heat gun while trying to hold it in one hand and a scraper in the other and not slide off the roof without being able to hold on to anything due to the lack of a third hand. I also stripped the entire North side of the house down to bare wood in about a month, which I'm pretty sure is a world record. I can't say enough for scaffolding and the Paint Shaver Pro. I've had several people come over to ask how I did it and given enough demonstrations of the Paint Shaver that I think I should be an official salesperson at this point.
• All broken clapboard was replaced carefully. All holes, rotted edges, and the like were repaired using Abatron wood Restoration kit (another excellent product I'd recommend). All bare wood was sanded with 80 grit sandpaper. I then washed everything with TSP and a big deck/siding scrub brush and rinsed it clean. I then waited until the wood had less than 15% moisture content (using a moisture meter) before applying Sherwin Williams oil based stain. 
• I removed all the gutters from the front of the house. Although I intend to ultimately install copper gutters when I win the lottery, for now I am going to clean and paint the aluminum gutters. I had to replace the entire fascia board along the front of the 2nd story. It was rotted along the top. The  rafter tails were not cut at the right angle or cut evenly. So most needed to be re-cut so that the new fascia board would fit flush along the front.
• When winter arrived and I was forced to give up exterior projects, I decided to finally finish the front door project. I put up a sheet of plywood as a temporary front door, took my extremely heavy front door down for what was hopefully the last time, put it on sawhorses and decided I wasn't returning to work until it was completed. After about 5 days of bending over this thing, sanding, staining, sanding, cleaning, varnishing, sanding, varnishing, sanding, etc, I decided it was "good enough." I cleaned 100 yrs of gunk off the brass and was amazed at how shiny it became. I took off the masking tape that had been covering the windows for almost 2 years and rehung it. There is still some junk in the final coat of spar varnish but I wanted to let it completely cure/shrink before doing a final sand and buff on it.
• I continued with the floor leveling project but ran into more problems and put it off until later.
• I purchased an old porch light from an architectural salvage store, stripped it, and removed the old, broken, yellow glass. I repainted the metal frame black and purchased some really cool green stained glass, had it custom cut to fit. I still have to purchase a brass holder for it, the piece that actually attaches to the porch ceiling and holds the light bulb.
• One of my awesome neighbors gave me his original cast iron, 100 year old mailbox. I had previously intended to install a vertical mail slot next to the door. But this is a pretty cool mailbox and is probably the same as the one my house originally would have had. So I began stripping it. I'll repaint it and install it next to the door.
• I've also done a lot of salvage this year. I drove to an Architectural Salvage store in Columbus and picked up a beautiful quarter sawn oak banister, balusters, and newel post out of a 1910s house, with original stained finish in amazing condition that I will be installing on my staircase which was originally enclosed by two walls and had no newel or anything. Also, my friendly neighbor has 3 gorgeous waterfront houses from the late 1800s that are being demolished for new condos. He is letting me salvage whatever I want from them and they are all 99% original (one even has the original built in kitchen cabinets)! So far I have taken a beautiful claw foot tub, nice wood paneling that goes along the staircase - under the balusters, an amazing arts and crafts style Coffered (boxed beam) ceiling that will be going in my Dining room. Some extra clapboards and interior and exterior trim because you can never have enough of that, an awesome original balcony door and original storm door. Some built in cabinets with original brass butterfly hinges and latch, an amazing original garage with huge carriage doors (yes I'm taking the entire garage), an absolutely amazing original stained oak huge room divider with columns for between the living room and dining room, I'll be taking crown molding for my living room (which never had any), original laundry chute door, porch flooring and porch ceiling v-groove board which I need for repairs on mine, and a bunch of other misc items. I'm going to add a new section on my blog for architectural treasures and put pictures of all these items.

I've also learned this year that I have the most amazing neighbors on Earth. Since my story got out, I have had so many people from all over come to my house and offer support, offer free help, contact the city on my behalf, etc. It's been amazing to see how many good people there are and how many people had been following my progress all along but had never spoken to me until they saw my story. I had pretty much kept to myself, worked on my house, and didn't interact with anyone except for the occasional person who'd walk by and say I was doing a great job and I'd say "thanks" and that was it. But seeing how many total strangers were so outraged by what the city has done to me has been a true inspiration to me. Now when I see someone being victimized by something unfair, illegal, or wrong, I'm more likely to sign a petition, contact someone, write a letter, etc, rather than just sit around talking about how ridiculous it is.

Exterior Restoration Work Plan

This is an overview of everything involved in the exterior restoration process of my house.

• Remove aluminum siding.
• Pull staples (which held aluminum) from wood siding.
• Remove and replace cedar shake siding on front of porch.
• Replace porch lattice. 
• Replace or repair rotted wood.
• Replace split clapboard.
• Fill or repair large holes and damaged areas with Abatron.
• Remove gutters in order to strip aluminum and prime behind them.
• Remove all exterior cables and wires (to be run internally). 
• Demolish vestibule.
• Have matching side railing custom milled to reach front wall after vestibule demo. Prime, assemble, and install.
• Repair ends of every window sill which were lopped off to accommodate aluminum siding.
• Replace all drip caps above windows/doors which were also lopped off for aluminum siding.
• Research and fabricate all trim which was removed from peaks and columns to accommodate aluminum siding.
• Strip paint from porch ceiling.
• Repair rotted wood in porch roof.
• Replace rotted v-groove porch ceiling boards.
• Refinish porch ceiling.
• Strip paint from original clapboard siding.
• Sand all siding.
• Wash siding with TSP and rinse.
• Allow siding to dry to less than 15% moisture content.
• Prime with Sherwin Williams oil based exterior wood primer.
• Clean aluminum gutters and downspouts, prime with metal primer. Reinstall.
• Strip and refinish front door.
• Replace side door and surrounding trim with period style wood door.
• Replace exterior lights with period style.
• Sand, repair, and paint porch floor.
• Replace removed and closed off rear balcony door from bathroom with period door.
• Replace removed balcony rails with custom milled period-matching rails.
• Install period authentic rear door.
• Possibly replace removed and closed off rear bathroom window with custom double hung matching wood window.
• Remove aluminum triple track storm windows.
• Strip paint from window jambs.
• Disassemble and completely restore original wood window sashes, adding weather stripping.
• Install custom built wood period matching storm windows with correct hardware.
• Fill staple and nail holes with putty.
• Lightly sand exterior, wash with TSP, and apply 2nd coat of primer.
• Caulk all vertical seams in siding/trim.
• Paint with high quality latex paint, applying historic color scheme.
• Tuck pointing repairs to brick columns, foundation, and chimney with matching color mortar.
• Total tear off of existing roofing materials. Repairs to wood. New slate and copper roof. (eventually)
• Install copper gutters. (eventually)

Cleveland Scene Magazine

My story was featured in Cleveland Scene Magazine. Below is the direct link:

Lakewood Lady Ripped By City for Restoring Century Home

Lakewood Lady Ripped By City for Restoring Century Home

POSTED BY MAUDE L. CAMPBELL ON WED, OCT 12, 2011 AT 1:00 PM

Nina Smith and the City of Lakewood appeared to be a match made in heaven.

With its streets lined with century-old houses, the West Side suburb is all about encouraging folks to restore homes to their original charm. Smith, too, is all about restoring the 1914-model abode she bought in 2008 partly because of the city’s commitment to maintaining residential character.

But that was three years ago, and things change.

An IT specialist by day, Smith is also a member of the Lakewood Historical Society and the Cleveland Restoration Society, a graduate of many restoration workshops and seminars, and a Lakewood auxiliary police officer to boot. She’s not short on love for restoring her home. She’s just short on time, what with all the city inspections and court visits.

In April 2009, Smith set out on her quest to return the home to its original splendor. Taking her cues from suggestions prominently offered on Lakewood’s website, she single-handedly started tearing chalky sheets of 1970s aluminum off the house and restoring original cedar shaking on its front. That’s when the trouble started.

A neighbor complaint about the aluminum tearoff triggered a next-day inspection and a building department notation to “reinspect often.” And often they did — two days later, four days after that, again in eight days … and so on.

“It would be like being cited for not having a door on your house because you had just taken it off to replace it,” Smith says.

After two years of explaining to city officials how these things take time, then receiving an extension and doggedly working to strip old paint and repair and sand the wood underneath, Smith has been told she’s now out of time. She’s up for a fine or jail over the peeling paint.

Smith responds by brandishing a city-issued home improvement and maintenance guide clearly stating that Lakewood imposes no time limit for paint jobs. (The city, in turn, cites the actual ordinance stating that peeling paint must be fixed within a “reasonable” amount of time.)

“I think everyone involved in the process — the building inspector, the prosecutor, the judge — has bent over backwards to balance the need of the community with the need of the homeowner to take her time and do things to her standards,” says Lakewood Law Director Kevin Butler.

Smith’s neighbors, meanwhile, seem to be taking a somewhat more forgiving approach.
“For one person, I’d say she’s working at a pretty fast rate. I couldn’t even do it half as fast,” says Will Sawicki, who lives next door. “The way the house looked before — the style didn’t fit anywhere in any neighborhood.”

Smith’s blog, 1914foursquare.com, documents her restoration progress and struggles — and it’s starting to get national attention.

“We have had a lot of calls,” Butler admits.

Smith’s next court appearance is scheduled for October 19. Stay tuned.

Historic Preservation: A Criminal Offense *UPDATED*

I was recently criminally charged by the city of Lakewood Ohio for the historic preservation of my house. More specifically, I was charged with noncompliance for peeling paint while in the process of stripping and repainting my house after having removed the aluminum siding that's been covering it for 40-50 years.

I bought my house three years ago with the intentions of doing a restoration. I house-hunted for over a year and looked at around 200 houses before choosing this one because it retained all of its original architectural elements. I am a member of the Lakewood Historical Society and the Cleveland Restoration Society.  I run a historic preservation meetup group with a friend of mine. I've attended various workshops and seminars such as the Ohio Historical Society's Building Doctor Clinic, Bob Yapp's seminars on wood window restoration and exterior paint, Cleveland Restoration Society's seminar on exterior paint, and more. I've even had the Cleveland Restoration Society over to pick a couple of historic color schemes for my house. This city supposedly encourages people to be involved in historic preservation. At least that's what one would assume based on this recent Historic Preservation Community Workshop involving the Mayor. Yet I am doing just that and being criminally charged for it.




When I began removing the aluminum siding from the front of the house, I received a complaint letter from the building department stating, "maintain siding and trim"...clearly what I was in the process of doing. Despite my full cooperation with the inspector and complying with exactly what he said (to take care of the few small areas where there was peeling paint), I was summonsed to the prosecutor's office for noncompliance. I called the inspector back to my house to tell me what exactly I was in noncompliance of and he was unable to point out any violations.

A quick check of Lakewood's website revealed this Exterior Building Permit Checklist which states that no permit or inspection is required for exterior painting and that there is no time limit for the job. So obviously there can't be an issue of noncompliance when one is in the process of doing something, let alone something with no time limit. It would be like being cited for having no door on your house while you were in the process of installing a new door.

I went to the prosecutor in November 2009 with the above permit checklist and pictures of everything I had done on the exterior.  Someone on the board of the Historical Society and very active in programs designed to help in housing maintenance actually called the prosecutor on my behalf, saying how great of a job I'm doing to my house and that this is exactly what they want to see people doing. I mentioned that I am a federal employee with a security clearance and also a volunteer auxiliary police officer for the city and could not get a criminal record all because I chose Lakewood as the city to restore a house in. To which the prosecutor responded, "nobody said anything about you going to court, we are willing to work with you and will continue to give you extensions as long as you are showing progress...we only take people to court in extreme cases". I failed to see why I needed an extension for something that has no time limit but I went along with this plan. I never heard from the prosecutor again.

I got another letter from the building department in August 2010 for peeling paint and giving me one month to correct this. At this point I had removed the aluminum siding from the rest of the house and began the process of stripping paint off the entire house. Clearly something that is physically impossible to accomplish in one month. I decided to bypass the inspector this time and called the head of the building department and explained that I was restoring the house, that I was very actively involved in the local preservation community, and that it was already above the building department and the prosecutor was giving me extensions. He said that "every day is a new violation" so my extension was meaningless (so why do they have extensions then?) but that the inspector must not have realized I was currently working on it and to send a letter and he'd "take care of it".

I sent a large envelope full of pictures of everything I had completed to that point, proof of all the historic preservation seminars, workshops, and classes I had attended, and a long letter explaining everything. I mentioned that I hoped to get the house stripped by the end of the 2011 season. I said if there was anything else, not to hesitate to contact me. I didn't hear anything back. Finally, I thought I had gotten through to someone with some sense.

This season I have worked diligently, stripping the paint off my house. As many know, this is a long process, especially after synthetic siding has been removed. The aluminum was probably covering the original siding for 40-50 years so the original siding hasn't seen the light of day, let alone undergone any maintenance in that time (imagine the amount of work involved in restoring the exterior of a house which hasn't been touched in over 40 years). A lot of trim is broken or cut off the house to accommodate the aluminum. All the drip caps above every window, and the edges of every window sill (about 4") are cut and broken off. All of this has to be fabricated and repaired. Then, if there was any water infiltration over the years, nobody knew about it because synthetic siding hides all of that, so there is rotted wood to replace or repair. There are hundreds of long, rusty staples imbedded in the wood, which had held the aluminum in place. These all have to be removed, sometimes dug out of the clapboard. There are cracked or split clapboards that have to be replaced without destroying surrounding ones. All of the gutters have to be removed in order to remove the aluminum and strip the paint behind them. Then of course the tedious, most time-consuming process of all - removing all the paint to bare wood. The paint stripping in itself takes multiple "seasons" (in Ohio we only have certain months a year that are warm enough to work outside). Everyone I've talked to who has stripped paint off their house (and didn't even have synthetic siding to remove first) took between 2-4 seasons. And that's not even taking into consideration the other projects I've done: replacing the cedar shake, demolishing the vestibule, replacing the custom-milled side railing, refinishing the front door, etc. Then every vertical seam in the wood siding has to be caulked, and the house has to be painted. I have invested in all the tools and equipment to make the process go as fast as possible. I own 4 levels of contractor grade exterior scaffolding, the paint shaver pro (a very expensive tool specifically designed to strip lead paint from clapboard siding in the fastest way possible), numerous professional scraping tools, etc.

Throughout this whole restoration process, I've had many people - neighbors and random people driving or walking by - stop to tell me what a great job I'm doing and how much they admire all my hard work and dedication. Many saying they wished they had the energy to do the same to their houses. On average, I have at least one person stop per weekend to compliment me. A few weeks ago, a neighbor from around the corner whom I had never met parked in front of my house, got out and stood in my driveway clapping and saying "bravo" while I was working on the dormer. He explained that he has been following my progress all along and wanted to tell me what a great job I was doing. In fact, I have the full support of my surrounding neighbors, some of which have already contacted the building department to tell them how much better my house looks since I bought it, and many of which are even willing to go to court with me. 

Suddenly, without warning, in June of this year I received a certified letter from Lakewood stating that I was being criminally charged for noncompliance. This was 11 months after I had last spoken to the building dept and told that it would be taken care of. Over a year since I had spoken to the prosecutor and told that I wouldn't have to worry about going to court. This was completely out of the blue. No second notice, no call, no letter, nothing whatsoever. So naturally, everyone thought it was some kind of mistake on the city's part that could be easily cleared up.

At this point I had given up hope on the building department (which has a pretty bad reputation anyway) and went straight to the Mayor. I had previously met the Mayor at the auxiliary police Christmas party, spoke with him about the importance of historic preservation, and mentioned that I was restoring my house. I again went through the whole story and showed all my documents and pictures. He seemed as baffled as everyone else who hears about this. His theory was that it was some kind of paperwork mix up at the building department. I mentioned that this is something that I will get an award for from the restoration society and yet the building dept considers it a criminal offense and these are two agencies that are supposed to be working toward the same goal. I was upset over the fact that this city is willing to jeopardize my career and give me a criminal record as their way of showing gratitude for everything I've done for them -risking my life volunteering for the police, volunteering for the Community Emergency Response Team, on top of restoring a house within the city. To which the Mayor said, "that's not going to happen". He thanked me for restoring my house, and said he'd ask around about it and get back to me. A couple days later he called me and told me that they all think I should enter this "housing diversion program". This is basically probation for people with housing code violations, people whose houses have fallen into disrepair and haven't done anything about it. Basically people who are on the extreme opposite end of the spectrum as me. Not people who are so dedicated to working on their houses that they've given up the years of their life that it takes to restore one.

I only agreed to enter this program because it gets rid of the criminal charge completely from record once the program is completed. I was told that this program takes control away from the building department and puts it in the hands of the court (I'm not sure which is the lesser of two evils here). I said to the Mayor that at any point, the court could change their mind and send it back to criminal court. His response, "but that's not going to happen, I talked to the Judge..." I was contacted by the man in charge of this program. I explained the situation to him and he said he was on my side. Basically as long as I was showing progress, (which has never been an issue considering it's an obsession of mine), I'd be fine.

However, much of this turned out to be untrue. The only person the judge cares to hear from is the building inspector, who stands next to me at the hearings. The guy running the program stands next to the inspector and agrees with whatever he says (in every case I've seen). I've taken pictures and offered them to the judge more than once and he has declined to even look at them. The inspector has said that there's basically been no progress when I have over 100 hours into something and my neighbors are commenting on how good it's looking. The judge has already threatened to kick me out of the program at the next hearing (something the Mayor assured me wouldn't happen) and I've only been in the program a few weeks. When trying to explain the common sense factor that house restoration (or car restoration or boat restoration) is something that takes years, not weeks, they don't care. I'm expected to do something that's never been done before and is not physically possible. But realistically, if it was an issue of time, then everyone who's restored a house would have been criminally charged and I wouldn't be the first and only one to go through this. In fact, I know of someone locally who is still stripping the same side of the house that they were stripping last year. On top of this, the rules seem to change at each hearing. At one hearing they are fine with something, the next they aren't. They bring up things that have nothing to do with the citation and add things they want me to do which aren't backed by any code. I was told by the judge that since I work full time, I can afford to pay someone to do this. I didn't realize that working full time meant I had thousands of dollars sitting around. I don't know anyone who's paid contractors to restore (or even strip paint off) their house. The estimates I got to fully strip and paint the house were around $30k.

In this time, several people - neighbors, auxiliary police officers, representatives of the Cleveland Restoration Society, etc have contacted the Mayor and/or building department expressing their unhappiness over this situation and support of me. Yet the city has not backed down. They've been given multiple opportunities to do the right thing and haven't. They even put down the wrong code for what they were charging me with, coming back to a chimney code violation (which I don't have). When I brought it to their attention, the prosecutor responded with, "well I'm just going to refile it and you'll have to come back here" (to court) if I wouldn't agree to let them correct it then and there. When I mentioned that "I'm not the first person to restore a house", the prosecutor responded with, "it doesn't take them two years!"  Really? I'd love to meet someone who's done it in one, especially when you subtract the 5+ months of winter/cold/rain/snow/ice. In fact, at the first hearing, everyone including the head of the building department showed up for my case. The prosecutor and head of the building department said I'm doing a "fantastic job" restoring my house to "historic likeness" but that it's taking too long. It took 100 years for all the paint, aluminum, broken/removed trim, damaged/rotted wood, etc to happen, but I should be able to undo it all in less than one.

Basically, they are saying homeowners are not allowed to restore their houses because it takes too long... unless they can afford a team of contractors to do the work. So they are discouraging historic preservation for anyone but the wealthy. If I had left it covered in ugly, faded 40+ yr old aluminum siding covering all the architectural character, they'd be happy.  I'm being punished for doing historic preservation of my house.

I think my only hope now is to bring as much attention to this as possible, in hopes that the city will get tired of the bad publicity and finally do the right thing. I think they owe me a pretty big apology and maybe some gratitude for everything I've done for them, from the work on my house to the volunteer work.

I'd appreciate if people reading this blog could forward my story to as many people as possible. If you have any media connections, historic preservation connections, or anything else that might help, please let me know. And I'd really appreciate if you could take a moment to send emails and/or make phone calls to the following parties, letting them know how ridiculous this is. Thanks for reading and please comment.



Tom Ostromek
Housing Diversion Program
(216) 529-6704

Mike Summers
Mayor
(216) 529-6600
mayor@lakewoodoh.net

Dru Siley
Assistant Director, Building Department
(216) 529-6270
housing.building@lakewoodoh.net

Kevin Butler
Law Director
(216) 529-6030
law@lakewoodoh.net

City Council
(216) 529-6055
council@lakewoodoh.net





I now accept paypal donations, as has been suggested to me. It is not my intention to profit off of my misfortune but I do have to hire an attorney to represent me in this matter which is beyond my financial means at the moment. However, if it came down to someone contacting the city on my behalf or sending me a donation, I prefer they contact the city. I feel my best hope is to get these city officials educated on the realities of historic preservation. Any donations are greatly appreciated.

UPDATE 10/20/2011
Yesterday was my first hearing since this story has gone public. The city has received a lot of phone calls and emails complaining about this. My story has been in local media as well as all over the internet and will probably be in a couple national magazines. I had to hire an attorney to represent me. I've received tons of supportive emails and comments and I appreciate it very much. I've also received a couple donations and would like to thank those contributors.

Yesterday I went to court with four of my immediate neighbors who support me and my restoration. My attorney and I went up before the judge and he asked the inspector about the progress made since my last hearing Sept 2nd. The inspector responded with his standard, textbook response, "no progress made." I'm pretty sure I heard my neighbors (sitting behind me in the courtroom) whisper "no progress made?!" They later told me they would have been held in contempt of court "within the first five minutes" if they were in my shoes and were amazed at my composure. My attorney then told the judge that there has in fact been substantial progress made and asked to approach the bench with the photographic evidence. The judge told him to talk to the inspector about it and we were excused to go out to the hall and talk.

My attorney showed the inspector the pictures of what's been done since the last hearing. The dormer, including window jambs, has been primed (after being fully stripped which was the most difficult challenge so far in the stripping process), the storm windows replaced.  And the north side, which hadn't been touched yet at the last hearing, was fully stripped to bare wood (including the upside down bead board on the underside of the overhang and each and every bead), and cracked clapboards replaced. I have begun sanding the north side and I figure there are probably 4-5 more days of work that need to be done on that side, including priming, if it would ever stop raining.

He shows all this to the inspector and the inspector responds by saying that he doesn't consider "prep work" to be progress! Literally, that's what he said. He said only paint counts as progress. So basically, all of the hard work, the most time consuming work, the most challenging work, the most important work of all, that completely determines what the finished product will look like and how long it will last, does not count. Only the easiest, simplest, quickest, final step of all is what counts as progress. In percentages, we could probably say that 95% of this work is prep work, and the final 5% is paint.

We go back into the courtroom and the inspector states to the judge that there is a discrepancy as to what constitutes as progress and that he doesn't consider prep work to count. Thankfully, the judge and everyone else was in much better spirits. The judge even stated that I could take the following day off work and spend it painting the whole house, but without the prep work, and with the nonstop rain we're having, the paint would probably start peeling again by May. I couldn't agree more. The prosecutor told the judge that we have broken the record for the most rainfall this year. When things started to go off track, the prosecutor reminded everyone that I was only cited for peeling paint. My attorney told the judge that I hope to get the north side done before the end of this year and the entire house done by the end of next season. The judge was apparently satisfied and I was allowed to remain in the diversion program, and given the next hearing date in December.

The inspector then told the judge that he wants to be able to inspect my house without worrying about any kind of confrontation, acting as though he feared I would attack him or something. The judge asked him if there'd ever been a problem like this with me. The inspector hesitated and I honestly thought he was going to say that there had before finally admitting that there hadn't. I informed the judge that I've never even been home when he's been over to do an inspection, I've never seen him on my property ever except for the one time mentioned previously in this blog when I called him over, during which I was sitting on my front steps and calmly asked where the violation was. Also, I am a 5'3" female living alone and this guy is probably 6'4". And as mentioned, I have a security clearance (i.e. crystal clean record) and certainly have never committed any violent acts. So he told the judge that sometimes, when they do inspections, they are confronted by homeowners. The judge told him that we'll worry about those people then, and not the people who have never caused any problems.

Anyway, I've begun sanding the north side. The weather has been horrible. It rains every single day. I probably have a couple days worth of sanding to do. Then wash the side in TSP. Then hope for enough dry days for it to dry to less than 15% moisture content so I can prime.

3 Year Anniversary

Wow, three years already! I’m more than half way into my “five year plan”. I can’t manage to get much done during the winter months when I should be working on my interior projects. I have no motivation to even work inside when it’s cold, dreary, gloomy, and crappy outside. But I did get a lot of work done during the summer. We had an excellent summer, hot and sunny, hardly any rainy or cold days.

Here is what I accomplished in the third year:

• In the basement, more support jacks were added. I had originally failed to recognize that the center beam I had been lifting didn’t support all of the floor joists. A few on one end were not supported due to the opening for the stairs being in the way. So as I lifted the main load-bearing wall through the middle of my house, alongside my staircase, the wall directly on the opposite side of the staircase (non-load-bearing) stayed in place. Basically the stairs went from leaning left to leaning right, as the left side was lifted and the right wasn’t. The leveling is still not complete. But I believe I finally have all the necessary supports in the right locations at least.
• In the kitchen, I went demo-crazy and removed most of the walls. The plaster was in such bad shape and patched with so many sloppy drywall patches that it wasn’t salvageable. In the process, I found the hole in the chimney (still open) for the original stove pipe. I would like to get a price on having a plasterer put plaster back (not a fan of drywall at all).
• I have decided to move the doorway between kitchen and dining room back to its original location. This creates a problem since I’ve already purchased most of the new kitchen cabinets that would have gone in that space that the doorway will now occupy. I will probably keep the other doorway (between kitchen and stairway) closed…still haven’t decided on this. I knocked out the drywall patch covering the original doorway from living room to stairway. I’ve decided I will remove the wall along the left side of the stairway to open the stairway up into the living room. I drove 3 hrs to an architectural salvage store in Columbus and bought the most beautiful banister, newel post, and balusters set from a 1910s house, quarter sawn oak. It will need to be slightly customized, along w/ my stairs to fit, but will look spectacular.
• I stripped the aluminum siding off the remainder of the exterior of the house. I purchased 4 levels of contractor grade exterior scaffolding (love it) which helped tremendously. I found the original milk door (minus hardware) during this process.
• I extended my 6 foot privacy fence to include my side yard in order to keep my neighbor from parking up against the side of my house on my 5 feet of side yard again, or climbing into my side window again.
• I demolished the little exterior vestibule that extended out onto the front porch. It was not original but was probably added very early on in the house’s life. I did not like the look of it, and it caused a major draft and air leaks. I moved the main front door from the front of the vestibule to the main front wall, its original position I believe. Removing the vestibule meant that the side rail no longer connected to the front of the house from the front column. I took it to a local lumber store and had a longer banister custom milled to match, along with the square balusters and bottom rail as well. I assembled it, primed it, and attached it to the front wall, where it had originally connected before being cut to accommodate the vestibule when it was added.
• I purchased the Paint Shaver Pro (amazing tool). Drove all the way to PA to pick it up so I could begin using it the next day and not have to wait for it to come in the mail. I stripped all the clapboard on the 1st story front of the house down to bare wood. I had to use the heat gun to get the paint off the trim around windows and doorways and edges that the paint shaver didn’t reach. I then sanded all this clapboard with an 80 grit palm sander and primed it. And also stripped and primed the additional side porch railing that I didn’t do last year.
• I cleaned up the porch ceiling a little more and intended to refinish it as my last summer project. But found that a few boards need to be replaced and I have been unable to find matching v-groove boards (new ones are a totally different color compared to the old growth). I also noticed that the front edges of the boards were getting soft in some areas. I am hoping that I can get away with putting some wood epox on the top side (unseen side) of the boards and keep them. I also realized that the boards on the top of the porch roof are rotted in some places. The shingles are in poor condition and need removed and replaced. The one edge of the porch ceiling is sloping downward. Upon investigation, I realized that the edges of the joists for the porch roof were totally rotten and gone, and had new boards sistered to them unevenly. So a lot of work needs done here and I decided to hold off on the porch ceiling until the water/rot problems are taken care of.
• I decided that the front door would be my final summer project instead. For some reason, I again mistakenly thought that this would be a “weekend project” (made this same mistake w/ the fireplace paint stripping the first year). I spent 2 months just stripping and sanding the door. Two months of 3-4 day weekends bending over this door, sanding endlessly to the point where I no longer had finger prints and my body would not stand upright anymore. I could not walk like a human being. The stupid “dentals” under the 6 window panes, and the trim work around the windows took FOREVER to get all the paint and stain out of. But I finally got it completely down to bare wood. It was so beautiful I almost didn’t want to stain it again. I then purchased Minwax gel stain for this project since none of Minwax’s other products are rated for exterior use (even with Spar varnish). Well, GEL STAIN SUCKS!!! Nobody told me this. Another thing they don’t tell you (unless you pick up the extra little brochure on the gel stain) is that you are supposed to do small sections of the door at a time, not all at once. I applied it to the whole door, then went and tried to “wipe it off” and it was like super glue. Panic set in. The possibility that 3 months of work on this door was all in vain began rushing through my mind. I finally realized that I could use mineral spirits to wipe the excess off the door after it’s dried up. I then applied 3-4 more coats of the gel stain (in small sections this time) and still had not achieved anywhere near the darkness of the stupid little oak sample at the store. I think it will take 20+ applications to get the darkness I need. But winter came before I finished. So I have not finished this project yet.

Front Door Refinishing

I was going to wait until I finished stripping the exterior paint to do the front door. But I changed my mind. While I was using the heat gun to remove paint on the front exterior wall trim, I couldn't help but remove some of the peeling black spray paint from the front door. Then, after giving up on my porch ceiling project for this season, I switched focus to the door instead. I used Peel Away 7 to remove the rest of the paint, inside and out, while the door was still hung. This is such a pain to do around all the detailed work. It took me a couple weekends of applying Peel Away 7, scraping, reapplying, more scraping, etc. Then I finally removed the door, laid it on a couple sawhorses, and began sanding. I had to sand through the remaining stain which is dark on the outside, lighter on the interior side. I was afraid to start with 80 grit and considered using 100 grit instead, with a palm sander. But I already had 80 on the sander so I went with it. I ended up sanding the same spot for hours before deciding to go down to 60 grit. The grain is raised and the wood is so hard that it takes FOREVER to sand down to the recessed grain in order to get all the stain out. I spent an entire day sanding with the palm sander using 60 grit sandpaper and didn't even get 1/4 of the exterior of the door done. In total I think I spent about 3 months sanding the door. In retrospect, I shouldn't have sanded all the stain out of the grain and all, and just did the surface. I then used Minwax gel stain (since it is the only stain rated for exterior) and it came out like crap. The first problem was that the stain brought out sanding marks that I hadn't seen, especially since I began this project by using a palm sander which was a big mistake because I missed the low spots. I did not like the way the stain was coming out, the color was nothing like the sample at the store and the door did not want to absorb the stain. I ended up putting 3 or 4 coats of the gel stain on in an attempt to make it darker but it just wasn't happening. So I sanded the door back down  again and switched to Sherwin Williams oil based stain. I still saw some sanding marks so I sanded the door again which took almost all the stain off the surface again. Then I applied another coat. I was finally happy with the surface and applied a few more coats in an attempt to make it darker. For some reason it just really did not want to get darker and would barely accept the stain so I finally decided to just be happy with it. I then applied a coat of Helmsman Spar Varnish in gloss. Despite my best effort to keep crap out of it, there was a ton of fuzz, hairs, and I guess air bubbles in the surface. I sanded the entire door again with 320 grit. I then applied a 2nd coat of the gloss spar varnish. It wasn't as bad as the 1st but still a lot of trash. I sanded it again with 320 and switched to Satin spar varnish (didn't like the high gloss). There is still crap in it but I will wait at least a few weeks (or months) for it to cure completely before sanding it with very fine sandpaper and buffing it out. I also cleaned 100 yrs of gunk off the brass hardware and polished it. This project took over a year of on and off work to finally complete and I'll never do it again. But if I were to go back, this is what I would have done:

1. Take the door down and put another in it's place (I rehung this door so many times I lost count and it weight a ton and the struggle to get it on and off caused the screws on the hinges to loosen up in the holes which I had to fix later).
2. Sand the entire door BY HAND with 100 grit just to get the stain off the surface.
3. Stain with liquid oil based stain.
4. Apply 2 or 3 coats of gloss Spar Varnish sanding in between each. I'd build a makeshift paint booth to keep crap out.
5. Apply a final coat or 2 of satin Spar Varnish. Wait for it to cure completely. Sand and buff it out to perfection.

Vestibule Demo

At some point in this house's life, someone added a little vestibule onto the front of the house so that there were two front doors. It protruded out onto the porch a few feet. When I moved here, the main door was on the very front, and the inner door was a thick wooden door with about 15 panes of glass. However, I always had a feeling that the outer door used to be on the inside. The interior of this vestibule had the same porch ceiling that the rest of the porch had. The exterior of it was finished with cedar clapboard siding like the rest of the house. I didn't like this vestibule. It was a pain to try to get through when carrying stuff. I didn't see any benefit to having it and I knew it wasn't original. But It was added very early on (it is there in the 1955 photo).

I decided to move the door back and remove the vestibule. The door fit like a glove in the inner doorway (where I'm certain it was originally). It didn't fit too well on the outer doorway. I then removed the vestibule. The original floor and ceiling is all in tact so it was just a matter of removing the clapboards, plywood interior walls, and framing.There was an extra layer of wood flooring put on top the existing porch floor inside the vestibule. This is the hardest part to remove. The best part about this is that where the vestibule walls were, the original front wall of the house had the original color paint. So I finally know what the original color was. It was an olive green kind of shade. Which is funny because that's the color scheme I was leaning toward when I repaint. And I also get to see a section of original porch ceiling that was never painted.

The worst part of this project is that the original side porch railing was cut down to a shorter length when this vestibule was added. Of course they didn't save that for me, so I need to have a mill match the porch rail so I can make it connect to the house again.

Old Picture

I went to the historical archives building today to find an old picture of my house. I wanted to see the trim before it was destroyed to accommodate the aluminum siding. I needed a reference to go by to recreate this trim. In the 50s and 60s, pictures were taken of every house in Cuyahoga County for tax assessment purposes. I found mine. I believe it was taken in 1955. But what I was very surprised to see was that the trim in the corners of the porch were already cut in the picture. I was positive that they were cut to accommodate the siding in the 70s. Why would they cut these? I know they were cut because I can see the cut line, which is bare wood, not painted like everything else. And also because all the other houses have a design in these corner pieces where it kinda curves a bit inward. The thing is I have seen a few different variations and I wanted to know for sure which one mine was and was hoping finding this picture would clarify for me. But at least I get to see my house with original siding, trim, and slate roof.

2 Year Anniversary

I can't believe it's been two years!

My original intention was to finish the interior projects before starting the exterior ones. But after a year of being in the house working, I wanted to see the outdoors again. My new plan is to work on exterior projects in the summer and interior projects in the winter. We had a really bad summer last summer, cold and rainy, so I didn't get as much done as I wanted but I enjoy the exterior projects much more than interior.

Here is what I accomplished in the second year:

• In the basement, the beam that holds up the load bearing wall has been slowly lifted, along with a few other locations. The floors are almost level now, still have a little bit to do. Unfortunately, even though I did it slowly, I still got some cracking plaster on the main load bearing wall.  I would like to eventually remove this wall anyway so I'm not too concerned about it. Also in the basement, the remainder of the galvanized pipes were replaced with copper. The supply lines to the plumbing in the kitchen and bathroom had already been replaced before I bought the house, but there were still some galvanized pipes in the basement. Now that it's all copper, the water pressure has increased and I'm not afraid to drink water out of the faucet anymore.
• In the living room, I installed a new 46" LCD tv mounted above the fireplace along with a 5.1 surround system with speakers mounted on the walls. I ran in-wall Monster brand speaker wire for the surround system.
• In the dining room, most of the paint has been stripped from the built in cabinets. I discovered that the entire downstairs floor plan had been changed and the door openings between living room, stairwell, dining room, and kitchen all used to be different. The old ones have been covered with drywall and the baseboard filled in with Pine instead of Oak (painted). I am strongly considering moving the doorway between kitchen and dining room more toward where it was originally. 
• On the exterior I stripped the aluminum siding off 2.5 sides of the house (still working on it). The cedar shake siding on the front of the porch roof was replaced and sealed. The paint was stripped off 2 of 3 porch railings and both columns, which were then primed. New porch lattice was installed on both sides of the porch (still have to do the front lattice). About half of the paint has been stripped off the porch ceiling, revealing the original beautiful stained tongue and groove beadboard porch ceiling (didn't get to finish by the time winter struck). There was some dryrotted beadboard on the underside of the overhang on the back of the house, I removed it and replaced it. In the process of removing the original, I had approximately 10 dead pigeon carcasses fall on me along with an unbelievable amount of pigeon crap. Also, during that process, I discovered that I originally had a rear balcony above my back porch (what used to be a small pack porch but was later enclosed). The door to this balcony used to be in the bathroom upstairs (which explains why there are no fixtures on that side of the bathroom, they would have blocked the doorway). The doorway, and an original window opening were closed off. I intend to put this door back, put railings back up, and have a rear balcony like it originally had.

Porch Ceiling Restoration

When I removed the aluminum siding, I was disappointed to see that the original beadboard porch ceiling had been painted over. All the porch ceilings in this area were originally stained beadboard. I have taken on the painstaking process of removing this paint. Paint removal is particularly grueling when working upside down. For this project, I decided Peel Away 7 was the best approach. It's obvious that the stain was in beautiful condition when they decided to paint over it.  It is still bright and shiny, but after all the scraping and scrubbing and paint remover, it will probably need to be refinished anyway. I made the mistake of attempting to do the entire ceiling at once and covered it all in Peel Away. By the time I got around to removing all of it some had dried up, resulting in a lot of wasted money and time. So if you are going to take on this task, I'd recommend small sections at a time. Also, whatever kind of paint they used turns to goopy super glue when mixed w/ Peel Away and stuck to everything! My shoes were covered in it and I stuck to the floor every time I took a step. It's really a messy job.

Exterior Paint Stripping

After removing the aluminum siding it was obvious that the paint was in such a state of deterioration that it would need to be completely stripped from the entire house. This is a massive undertaking. There is at least 50 years of bubbly, cracking, peeling paint to remove from a 2.5 story house. Also, all the staples that held on the aluminum siding must be removed, and they don't want to let go.

I began this process by dry scraping. I don't know what I was thinking! Then I purchased a $25 Wagner heat gun, this helped tremendously. I did the porch railings, columns, and trim with this. For the clapboard siding I bought the Paintshaver Pro. This is basically a handheld electric planer that shaves the paint off the face and bottom edge of each clapboard. It is a costly device (around $600 for the cheap model) and should be attached to a HEPA vacuum to suck up the lead paint dust. After a ton of research, this seemed like the fastest, most efficient method.

The Paintshaver works great on the clapboard. It can't get up against the window and door molding though. It also can't do the intricate areas like porch railings. So for those type of things I still use the heat gun. 

Cedar Shake Siding Replacement

Upon removing the aluminum siding, I realized that the front of the porch originally had cedar shake siding. However, the bottom row and a half of it had been cut to fit the aluminum siding. I tore the old stuff off and put all new cedar shake up in its place. This project took a couple weeks and cost around $250.

Built In Cabinet Restoration

There are built in cabinets and drawers in the dining room with leaded glass windows above. Like everything else in the house, they have been painted a few times over. I am stripping them down to bare wood and refinishing them and staining them the original color again.

Aluminum Siding Removal

The exterior of the house was covered in ugly, boring aluminum siding sometime in the 70s. It covered all the character of the house. This summer I began removing it. I started with the front of the house. The original wood is in great condition. The biggest issue is that in order for them to get the aluminum siding to fit, they broke off the edges of each window sill, cut trim off, or removed trim altogether. The most unfortunate part of all, and what I kick myself for everyday now, is that this missing trim was probably amongst all the misc wood that was piled under the porch which I threw away shortly after moving in. Arghhh! The paint is in really bad shape, it has deep cracks, is peeling, and blistered. It needs to be completely removed from the entire house. The only rotted wood I have found is the porch roof due to bad roofing, and the underside of the roof overhang on the back of the house, also due to bad roofing. All the missing trim has to be fabricated (generally by driving around looking for something similar on someone's house) and replaced. While removing the rear siding, I learned that I used to have a balcony off the bathroom upstairs, on top of my back porch. The door was removed, and a small window put in its place. Next to it used to be a full size original window, also removed.