1800's Farm House in Serious Need of Some Help
Sometimes an old gem has been left alone for too long, and then someone comes along and wants to treat it right. Those are good stories, and thankfully the case for this house.
The original farmhouse built in the 1800’s but had been added onto numerous times and a part of it had even been lost in a fire in the 1920s.
Numerus owners and not enough care and by the time your humble writer had been brought into consult on the house, the paint was in serious disrepair and rot was rampant on the siding. Thankfully the clients wanted to set everything right.
To bring this house back to its glory would require a complete scrap of all the layers of paint to return to the bare wood.
The reason for this extra step is because modern latex paints tend to trap moisture inside between themselves and the wood, causing siding to rot quickly. By removing all the old paint, the homeowner is able to put on a a Linseed Oil Paint that is good for an average of 8-12 years before it needs to be refinished.
The process is slow and time consuming, but the return on investment is quite high, and the finish is unparalleled.
During the scraping process, your humble writer recevied numerous comments about how the bare wood already look leagues better than the old flaking paint.
Once the scraping was complete, it was time to begin the process of repainting. Ottosson Linseed Oil Paint is one of the top brands with a time tested product.
Working with the client we were able to settle on a good color scheme that highlighted the original moulding and even some of the newer decorative rafter tails from a later renovation.
In the NewYear, work will continue as your humble writer will continue to replace and match the historic moulding as well as design and install an approriate greek-revival porch in the front corner of the home.
Such renovations as undertaken by this beloved client are often expensive and need to be spaced out over a number of years, but the value they add to the home is truly hard to beat.
Even with only half of their home repainted, my beloved clients have been quick to inform me that they have recieved numerous compliments on the new look of their home.
The compliment that is dearest to my heart, however is from one of the owners: ” I can’t get over how deep the color looks! it just draws me in every time i get home from work.”
Comments like this are what continue to ensure my dedication to quality work.
