I Got Old-Housed

I knew it would happen. I've done this too many times to think any differently.

But I thought, well, hoped, differently. I hoped the window replacement project - a big job all by itself - would just be a window replacement project. 

Nope. It quickly became apparent that the job would be a WHOLE lot of limestone repointing, interior and exterior, with some window construction and installation sprinkled in. That's what old houses do; they refuse to allow any project to be executed as planned -- they like to throw all sorts of extras at ya.  

So let's go back to the beginning...spring 2020. When I bought the place, the 3 windows I've been working on looked like this (from the inside):

Once I realized how many dead mice (many dozens) and buckets of mouse poop were in the basement ceiling, I decided to gut the entire thing. This is the start of that demo:

I'd forgotten about the plastic between the drywall and the insulation, which probably helped with heating and cooling the basement, but it also served as, in addition to paint on both sides of the limestone, another means of trapping moisture. Regardless, demo revealed a LOT of bad mortar, due to what had probably been decades of water infiltration, around the windows.

That's how things stood for a few years, until I started the current window project. I didn't do myself any favors by piling up a couple ridiculously tall stacks of reclaimed lumber in this space during that time, but I've been able to work around them. 

And now, aside from the brick mould - I just ordered the custom router bit I need to make the stuff tonight - and a few odds and ends, I've got 2 of the 3 windows fully replaced, operable, and lockable. I managed to sneak in some weatherstripping across the top and bottom of each window, as well as the overlap seam where the sashes meet up, and the next time I get a rainy day, I'll install the spring bronze along the sides of the jamb between it and the sashes. 

​This is window #2, sort of before and after: 

I like the color on the inside. The color on the outside is too blue. Unfortunately, it's the same color, just different lighting. Not sure what I'm going go do about that, but getting the color right is waaaaaay down on the list of priorities. 

I got window #1 buttoned up over the weekend:

She looks a whole lot better than she did when I started this project (better lighting for pics now too -- I got tired of working in a giant, 24/7 shadow):

As mentioned, there's still some work left to do, but it's nice to see light come pouring out of these windows at night; they're the only windows in the house that don't have filthy storm windows or foggy, insulated glass with busted seals. 

And then there's window #3, the final window in the series. To be honest, I'm super burnt out on the window stuff so over the next couple weeks, if the weather cooperates, I may get out the scaffold and pick up where I left off last year with the parapet rebuild. Right now I've got plastic and deteriorating house wrap covering a pretty big gap between old and new work, and I'm tired of looking at it. People walking past the house probably are too. 

That's what I've been up to lately...that and cutting down a tree, and dealing with a giant puppy that likes to eat couches when I'm not home, and all the usual life stuff. It's exhausting, but hopefully I can finish the year strong.