June 14^th, 2003

I decided to hold off on the wiring and plumbing for now. They are both very big jobs and I don’t want to be in the middle of it when you come up. Two weeks ago I started working on the windows. If you look in some of the close-up pictures of the upstairs of my house you will notice that the ends of the window sills have been cut off. They did this when they put up the asbestos siding. They also took off the crown moulding detail that went under the window sills.

The windows were kind of elaborate when the house was first built. Under each window sill was a detailed crown moulding that wrapped around the sides of the sill. I know this for a number of reasons. One, it was one of two common ways to finish a window sill on a Victorian house in this area. Two, you can see a “ghost” of the moulding on my windows. And three, I found a six inch long section of the crown moulding nailed as a spacer where one of the decorations over the window was ripped off. This 6 inch section was painted the same color as the rest of the trim and matched the “ghost” image under the sills exactly.

I’ve sent the piece to a mill to get it reproduced. They will take the profile of the crown moulding and cut special knives for a machine that will duplicate the original moulding exactly. I just sent it to the mill on Tuesday. They said it will be ready in three weeks. This should work out pretty good. I need to repair 20 window sills on my house. It has taken me two weeks to do nine and I have 11 left to do. I should finish just about the time the crown moulding is ready. With any luck I will have it all finished by the time you come up.

In repairing the windows I am trying to piece together the original paint colors on the house. When I put up the sun-burst gingerbread over the windows I sanded down the old paint first. I found that the downstairs was a dark, olive green and the upstairs was a very light green. I’m still not sure about the attic gables. When I started to work on the window sills I first strip them down to bare wood. I’ve discovered the window sills and trim were a very dark color. Almost black. An untouched exterior door on the back of the house confirms this. It would be an eye-popping color combination but it seems like an odd choice to me. I’m not sure what to do.

I am at a point in this project were what I really need is time. The window sills are a perfect example. I’ve done 9 of them and spent about $30 on wood filler and sand paper. The other 11 will probably cost another $50 in supplies. The crown moulding will cost about $300. If you add it all up that is less than $400 spent over 6 weeks. The only reason it is taking me 6 weeks to do it is because I don’t have the time to work on it full-time. This should be a 2 or 3 week job. What I need is a wealthy philanthropist who is into restoring old Victorian homes. I need someone to give me $100,000.00 so I can quit my job. I could then go to school and take preservation courses at night and work on my home during the day. Do you know anyone like that? Maybe one of your neighbors at leisure world? Have them give me a call. We’ll do lunch.