By the Lake – Page 2 – Cynthia Reyes

A Good Home, Architecture, Canadiana, Canadians, Country Living, Couples, Courage, elderly Parents, Flowers, Following your dreams, Garden, Home, Home Decor, Inspiration, Interior Design, Life in canada, Lifestyle, Photographs, Prince Edward County, Renovating, Restoration, Restoring old houses, Spring Bulbs

Almost There – John’s House Pt. 5

April 24, 2014April 24, 2014 Cynthia Reyes

Ever get the impression that this blog is my way of living vicariously through others? That I write stories about people who do things I wish I could do — or used to be able to do?

If so, you’d be partly right.

But what John Garside is doing – almost entirely by himself – blows my mind. And now, as he nears his self-imposed deadline for moving Ann and himself into their house in Prince Edward County, I find myself holding my breath every time a new email comes from John.

Will this be the email where John finally confesses that he needs a break from all this work, and that – promise or no promise – the idea of moving in this spring is ridiculously un-do-able?

But it never is. Not when he has to repair major cracks in the coach house foundation (below). Not when he undertakes the delicate restoration of original ceiling medallions. Not even when he is clearing out the basement.

A lot of the work has been onerous. As for the basement, John says it “was very crowded — 100 years of clutter — and cut up with old wooden partitions etc. This was totally removed by me. 6,300 lbs. of stuff!!”

Right now, John’s working on finishing up the library.

The more John restores the house, the closer he feels to it, and the more he learns about its past. He’s made a few intriguing discoveries. Like the original signatures of the first owner and his young son, written in concrete.

“William W. Bedell,” explains John, “was the father. Willet V. Bedell was his only son. The boy would have been only 7 or 8 years old when he did it.”

Sadly, Willet died as a young man. It was during the First World War, “on a Troop Ship in 1917 en route to France”.

The second family to own the house were the Wards, though John doesn’t yet know who exactly “Envers” was. There’s still a lot to learn about the home’s history.

John’s original move-in date was April 30. But life follows its own course.

Just a few weeks ago, John’s mother’s health declined suddenly. She died within days.

This spring is a time of change for John, Ann, and family.

It’s also a time of renewal.

After a rough winter, a flock of tiny blue scilla flowers is blooming in the garden. It’s one of the first flowers of spring.

And inside the house, John keeps repairing and restoring.

Another room done, one left to go. Then, after all the cleaning up, comes the big move.

The movers are now booked for May 7.

We’re cheering you on, John!

Photos by John Garside.

A Good Home, Electrical wiring, Family, Home, Home Decor, Life in canada, Photographs, Renovating, Restoration, Restoring old houses, Woodwork

Down to the Wire – John’s House Pt. 4

April 18, 2014April 18, 2014 Cynthia Reyes

I have not had the nerve to ask John THE question:

“Will the work be finished by April 30?”

Now that the electrical wiring is all done, John’s been working hard to meet his self-imposed deadline. But I know he’s had a couple of major life events to deal with recently. So I waited a bit before checking in.

I find John working throughout this Easter weekend. For him, this is not a time to kick back and rest for the holidays.

As usual, he’s well prepared for this phase of work — the plastering and painting. He’s stocked up on supplies……

For patching holes in walls and baseboard ….

Repairing the plaster around the new light switches ….

Priming walls and painting the woodwork….

And the most delicate work of all:

The walls and ceiling of this room.

See that thing in the ceiling? No, not the black thing – the white thing, to the left. It’s a finely crafted medallion – a gem rarely seen in houses today. This medallion – along with the plaster ceiling and crown molding, was badly damaged by a water leak from the floor above some years ago. John, intrepid soul, decided to repair them both. But first, he had to stop the problem from recurring:

“A new eaves trough and downspouts solved this, which is what I did just after taking possession of the house. Since then there has been no more water leaking into (the house).”

The features in this room are remarkable. The high ceilings. The medallion. The deep crown molding. The leaded windows.

Is there progress? Heck, yes.

Have a look at this:

And this:

And this too.

Plus, John also finished up the wood flooring on the third floor.

Seems to me like John just might get to keep his promise to Ann – that they’ll move in by month-end. After all, he’s been working like the dickens. But I don’t have the heart to ask him this, on top of everything he’s gone through lately.

So we’ll just have to find out together.

Stay tuned.

Photos by John Garside.

A Good Home, Electrical wiring, Home, Home Decor, Homes, Inspiration, Interior Design, Life in canada, Lifestyle, Prince Edward County, Restoration, Restoring old houses

The Dreaded Knob and Tube (John’s House, Pt. 3)

April 12, 2014April 12, 2014 Cynthia Reyes

Ever heard of knob and tube?

It’s the kind of wiring used in old houses. Like John Garside’s.

The gracious old house in lakeside Prince Edward County, Ontario, has beautiful features.

But behind those lovely features is knob and tube — on the second and third floors of the beautiful home. And that old knob and tube wiring can be dangerous.

“I knew the wiring was not quite fine,” John says. “The chief electrician, Dan, and I spoke about the house and the work. My comment: ‘ I want it to be beyond code’. He replied: ‘very good’. ”

It made sense to go above the basic requirements, or “beyond code”. John didn’t intend to replace the new wiring for a long time.

He knew the job would take a lot of time and involve “lots of new switches, plugs and all new wiring everywhere!”

Which meant punching holes in beautiful plaster walls.

“Yes. The holes are 4 inches in diameter and these allow them to fish the wires through the ceiling and around the joists. Very complicated and very time consuming. But it saves the plaster and the crown moldings!!”

The plaster and crown moldings in most of the rooms are remarkably beautiful. (I’ll show them to you in next week’s story.) They’d cost a ton of money – and time – to replace today.

But boring 4 inch holes isn’t enough access to remove and replace all of the wiring. John had to rip up the floors on the third floor.

“To get rid of all the knob & tube wiring on the second floor it was a better to remove the 3^rd floor flooring so we would have access to the ceilings and walls of the 2^nd floor”, John explains. ” That way the new wires could be sent up from the basement to the third floor, then dropped down into the appropriate room on the second floor. This saved a great deal of grief!”

I think I understand that…..

Electricians Bob and Brian did the wiring work. That left John to do the rest… the re-plastering on the second floor, the replacement of the flooring on the third.

“I am working on it right now!” John says.

He’s working hard. Time flies when you have a promise to keep.

John promised his wife Ann that they’d move in by the end of April. That’s three weeks away.

And there’s still a lot to do.

So, fingers crossed…..

And good luck to John.

Photos by John Garside.

A Good Home, Couples, Following your dreams, Home, Home Decor, Homes, Inspiration, Interior Design, Life in canada, Lifestyle, Prince Edward County, Renovating, Restoration, Spring, Woodwork

Part 2: John’s House in Prince Edward County

March 27, 2014February 11, 2015 Cynthia Reyes

TACKLING THE GREEN ROOM

John Garside and his wife Ann sold their home in big-city Toronto last year and bought a house two hours away in Prince Edward County. They’ve been living in a condo nearby while John renovates the house.

Prince Edward County is known for small towns, farms and lakeside living. In the last decade, its vineyards and wines, fine cheeses and restaurants have also become popular. The County is a well-known mecca for artists and weekenders.

John has bravely promised Ann that they’ll be able to move in by the end of April.

But their “new” home is more than a hundred years old, huge — almost 4,000 square feet — and needs repair. John, who has never taken on a project of this scope, is doing almost all the work by himself.

The first room he tackled was “The Green Room” on the main floor.

“It was the worst room in the house, ” he says. “A water leak from the 1980’s had caused a great deal of damage to the plaster ceiling, walls and the crown moldings.”

John took on the challenge –– very carefully. He rebuilt ceiling, walls, and even the crown moldings.

“I repaired what others would have scrapped, and I did it all by myself! And I had never done anything like this in my life!” You can hear the joy in his voice.

Every time he looks at the room, John feels “a glow of satisfaction and a sense of oneness with the house”.

The house is full of beautiful features worth preserving. John has to proceed cautiously.

He says, “You think about each action a great deal before you act. That way the unpleasant surprises are held to a minimum.”

The skills he learned from his grandfather — extreme patience, careful planning, attention to detail and observing safety rules –are all essential right now. ‘Measure twice, cut once’ is the rule.

“You must understand,” he says, “that the project you are working on is not modern, but 100 years old. So you must take time to think about what you are about to do, and plan in detail how you are going to achieve success.”

John puts in 8 hours every day — and no slacking off. After all, the end of April is just around the corner.

Will he make the deadline? We’ll keep checking in.

Original Photos by John Garside