When the crew arrived, they realized the siding had to go, because it was loose and bowing and impossible to put the new over the old.
I was heartbroken. We were told it was original to the house and we were serious about preserving it. I railed against the wind. And then reluctantly. From work. I agreed.
I continued to worry all morning that we had not made the right choice. It is a charming home, and perhaps somewhere in the future a family might want to authentically restore it. Around noon the Hubs who was project managing started texting me. The project was underway, and there were some exciting discoveries.
The top layer was not the original siding. Look!
Under the porch along the front of the house they discovered like-new lath and plaster walls. Un-insulated. That explained a lot.
The south wall is a big 2 story section with the office and hall bath below, and the Dormer guest room above. Under the top layer they found ugly green vertical siding with insulation dating to the 60s. Under that was a layer of solid horizontal tongue and groove hardwood they guesstimated to be from the 20s or 30s. It was in nice shape, with weathered patina and a couple of tins of Sheik condoms tossed in the walls. (Rudolph Valentino was very big.)
And there in a tiny little corner under an original electrical panel was one tiny section of rough hewn vertical tongue and groove slats that everyone is pretty sure was the real deal from 1902.
The north wall is the largest section, with the kitchen and dining room down, and a large bonus room up. There were no layers other than the top layer of siding, and just enough insulation to cover the ground floor. We had thought the a/c unit wasn't strong enough to cool the bonus room, but now we know...
No one would have bothered insulating the upper level because until about 6 years ago it was unimproved attic space. Now that it's a bonus room, we will be grateful to have fixed that problem. We got to see the old chimney that used to go to the wood burning stove in the kitchen. The top of the chimney is still on the roof and it's all sealed up behind the walls. We got to see all the straw nests the birds built in the space above the porch.
With added insulation, repairs made to long-ago damaged support beams, and a permanent fix for a couple of incorrectly anchored windows, and maybe this sweet old gal will last another hundred years. I'd like to think that.
