Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
This Old Money Pit Sometimes I wonder if the renovation is getting to Andrew. I find hints of a psychotic break around the church.





If the jigsaw begins chanting "red rum," I'm out of there.

We haven't moved back yet but we do have a date for our grand return to Towanda: March 17(ish). We're still figuring out which year.

In the meantime, we've been inching toward getting the place habitable. And of course getting the bridge finished was absolutely necessary for that goal.

Of the many design changes we've gone through during the past 6 years, the one thing that never changed was having a bridge span the sanctuary. We still need to build railings for the sides of the lofts, but the bridge itself is done. Andrew cut the treads from wood salvaged from an old corn crib.

He then designed a clever system to clamp the treads to the base of the bridge. The footing is remarkably solid.

The railings went on fairly easily and the labor cost only a few beers.

I polished, stripped, and rustproofed the railings and put 6 coats of tung oil on the treads to bring out their character.


We often get asked what we're going to do with the apse loft space. I have no idea because the loft was built to support the bridge, not the other way around. Maybe we can turn it into an ultra exclusive one-table restaurant. BYOF.


The kitchen will remain somewhat rough for the time being until we get around to building the cabinets. We did get some paint on the walls, got a couple new appliances, and put tile on the floor.

The color will perfectly match the fires we start from attempting to do real cooking (Hot Pockets in microwave).



The master bedroom has been our main focus lately and it is almost ready for us to move back and forget about all the other unfinished areas in the building. Andrew installed a maple floor with some help from his coworker Don.






This is where our vanities will go. Did I mention that Andrew is building those as well?

He also crafted a nifty top to go around the tub (made from ceiling nailers that supported the plaster and lath).

He then added a few coats of thick, shiny epoxy, the kind you see on bar tops, to finish it off.


We still need to add a tile back splash on the wall around the tub and tile the front apron and steps.

Deciding on tile for the shower was a source of conflict. I prefer dark tiles to hide my shame, while Andrew likes bright tiles to celebrate his. The compromise was a little of each.




My favorite part is the river rock floor.


Also, we have a toilet!

And the cutest toilet brush ever!


Moving from the bedroom to the back hallway, we got a small part of the sanctuary floor refinished.

We were stunned with how well it turned out. You can see the unfinished wood in the foreground on the picture above and how striking the difference is.

We can't wait to get the rest of the sanctuary floor refinished.

Here's a view of the back hallway.

The bedroom is straight ahead and a guest bathroom is tucked away on the right.


Turning left at the end of the hallway is another short span of hallway with the back door on the right and the laundry room on the left.




Going to the opposite side of the building, here's a view standing in the front entrance (which will one day be an open porch) looking into the building.

Just on the inside to the left is a partition for the basement stairs.

I spent last weekend putting the final coat of paint on this area.

I'm not crazy about heights but fortunately I've found that drinking beer gives me a reassuring sense of confidence.

I'm also working on refinishing some doors we found on Craigslist that came from an area church.

This anatomically suggestive door will be a pocket door for the back bedroom entrance.

The bedroom windows are kind of, sort of, maybe getting close to somewhat finished. Andrew has done a remarkable job building new sashes and refinishing old ones.



Finally, I want to give a heartfelt thank you to my parents who have spent many long days here helping us.


We couldn't be considering moving back next month without all you have done to get us this far. Thank you also to Dave for cutting in our walls with razor precision. Last but not least, thank you to any children Andrew and I may have for understanding that having a bridge in our living room was more important than saving for your college education. College are overratted, inaway.