Elgin Architectural Rehabilitation Grant

Paul and I bought our house knowing it needed major work. The most pressing concern was a roof with - I kid you not - seven layers of shingles. Combine an ancient roof with non-working gutters and you get a rotten porch. Here's the original version.

Our neighbor happens to be in the business of restoring old houses. His house is absolutely perfect - which makes ours look even a bit more dilapidated. We had talked to him about our plans to fix up the exterior, and he encouraged us to apply for a 50/50 grant through the City of Elgin. We filled out the paperwork back in 2013, got several quotes (including one from our neighbor) and submitted our proposal - new roof, new porch and gutters. Total cost = $40,000.00

We learned at the end of 2013 that our house had "ranked." I don't know all the details, but my understanding is that the grant committee reviews all the submissions and applies a ranking system to determine which houses are most in need of the grant money. This my friends, is a picture of one of those winners.  

Now there are conditions on the 50/50 grant money. The first - and most important - is that the homeowner pays all the money up front. Ouch! Once we found out we were awarded a grant, we had to start another round of paperwork to get a loan for the repairs. The second - and which later became a big deal - is that your exterior must be code compliant before any funds will be released. More on that for another post.

I didn't do a good job taking progress photos. Paul and Edy painted the front of the house after our neighbor had already ripped off the old porch and re-built the base. You can see the new gutters along the roof-line of the porch. The railing hasn't been installed yet at this stage. The first picture is the patched and primed version.

Now look down. The last photo is the finished porch.

Isn't it pretty? Notice the tiny pieces of wood at the top of the beam painted the amber color? That's an architectural detail called dental. I'm guessing it got that name because it looks like teeth. Watching Paul and Edy prep, paint and install those teeth reminded me how fussy Victorian architecture is. It's eye-catching, but oh, so labor-intensive. Also, please admire the beautiful railing that our neighbor created, painted and installed.

The ground is frozen and covered in snow right now. It's refreshing to look back on these summer photos and think about enjoying this new porch in a few more months.

Some have asked about the painting plans for the rest of the house. The plan is to eliminate the pink at the top and finish the house out in this paint color scheme. For now, only the lower front of the house is "finished." We've had some issues with the paint bubbling - so we might end up having to re-do the painting. But I'm not going to think about that right now. Instead, I'm going to look at this photo and think about summer. 

Unfinished Spaces

A friend recently asked me how the house was coming along. A fair question since it has a long way to go. Winter is the perfect time to work on indoor projects. But projects require time and money, neither of which we have lots of at the moment. We have several large indoor projects to do. Two spaces in our home have been completely gutted. We tore them out almost as soon as we moved in.

The first space is the attic. It was knob and tubing electric, so Paul and his dad worked on updating that. Paul  put the sawzall to work and found a tiny alcove at the top of the stairs that used to be hidden behind a wall. Perhaps a future reading nook? That's always my first thought for any space. That?! That space would be perfect for - reading! Then I explain where the bookcase needs to go and what kind of comfy seating I'm envisioning. I want to live in a library. That's my vision of home.  

This is Paul's dad. When I say there is no one else like him, I mean it on many, many levels. He has a sense of humor all his own, loves to talk - about anything and everything, has the strongest work ethic imaginable, and is happiest working on a project and drinking a beer. We have what it takes to keep him happy. And it makes us happy to have his help. 

The second gutted space is the upstairs bathroom. When we purchased the home, it was already quite ripped up. Paul and his dad just finished the job. I've been dreaming up floor plans for that space ever since. 

To show you how long the bathroom has been sitting in its naked, bare-boned state, take a look at this picture of Caleb and Butch. We took this picture the weekend the bathroom was demoed. Baby cheeks! Entering into years now. That's how long it has been, almost two years. 

Why have we left it looking like this? How can we manage without a second bathroom? I know, I ask myself that question occasionally too. We borrowed money to do the major repairs - which I don't think I've blogged about yet - and while to some people, this may qualify as a major repair - there were others that were more pressing. You may not know this about me, but I am so anti-debt it borders the land of insanity. Taking out the mortgage for the big project was a major step outside of my comfort zone, so knowing that these projects can wait until we save up cash to pay for them the old fashion way actually makes me happy, not stressed. 

No amount of glistening subway tile and new fixtures would make me feel happy about paying interest on money that I spent that I didn't have. So until then, things inside are going to keep looking like this.