We met a neighbour the other day who made the comment that our house is very "Victorian," while his house, though from around the same time period, is more "Edwardian." While I knew that our house is Victorian, I didn't know the specifics of what classified it as such, other than its brick exterior and white trim. Always looking for an excuse to do my homework, I took this on as my next question to answer. Victorian houses were built during the Victorian era, from 1837-1901, which was the reign of Queen Victoria. There was a housing boom during this time, and people of the middling class could suddenly afford to build bigger and more elaborate houses. Both the abolishment of the brick and glass tax and the new railway, which we know is a huge part of Stayner's history, made it possible for people in this area to build these beautiful houses. That being said, the middle class and working class Victorians were still thrifty where they could be, and often used what was most readily available for building materials (there are a couple of beams that were actually old hydro posts in our bathroom). Defining features of Victorian houses include: -Peaked roofs with dormer windows (windows set in the peaks) -Deep porches -Pilllars or columns -Ornate detailing in windows, trim and framing -Large front bay windows -An "L" shaped house structure (the front part of the house that juts out is the bottom of the "L") ...It was also common for Victorian houses to have two front entrances... Kyle uncovered a second front door in our house behind a wall in the living room. So, we have one front door facing the street and another on the right side of the porch, which would go into the living room. The reason for two entrances? Victorians doubled their doors for social and practical purposes: 1. The second entrance was often used as a formal entryway that led into a sitting room or front parlour. This was to be used for visits by special company and for more formal occasions, like funeral wakes. Sometimes, these doors were also used on Sundays. 2. Another reason for the second door was air ventilation. Because there was no such thing as air conditioning in that time, a door would be placed below the master bedroom, so that the owners wouldn't sweat to death in the sweltering summer months. 3. Small business owners, doctors, or ministers would use second entrances for clients. This would allow them to keep their public life separate from their private life. 4. During the colder season, many families would close off a part of the house to make it easier for heating. Do you know of a house with two front doors? Does the second door lead into a front living room? Share if you do, as I am interested to see more houses with this feature :).
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I take back what I said about how lathe and plaster is the most terrible of the demo process, because this past weekend, I met its match: insulation. Seemingly harmless, it is light and white and fluffy. “It cannot be that itchy,” I had thought to myself prior to starting on Sunday morning. But for anyone planning to take on insulation in the near future: Don’t kid yourself. It is a nightmare. Like clouds of itchy mosquitoes and bees combined, it pours out of the cracks and crevasses of the walls and ceiling, floating in the air with evil vengeance. Once it lands on you, it begins as a slight itch that burns and slowly expands across your skin until you cannot ignore it. No matter the urge, do not to itch, because this pushes the fibres of the insulation into your pores, making it even worse. This weekend, we also found two more surprises in the walls. Not the pleasant, let’s go research and preserve for display type: while digging out the insulation, two large squirrel corpses were found burrowed in the rafters. How long they have been up there, we have no idea. The boys joked that they should be placed in memory boxes, with the other findings that I have plans to keep as cool mementos for the house… Not happening. Luckily, we had a lot of help this weekend. Our parents and friend Brandon all stopped in and gave us a hand with both the last of the lathe and plaster in the living room and the dreaded insulation in the upstairs ceiling. I am amazed by how much more we were able to accomplish with just a couple of extra pairs of hands. It makes me wonder about how many people it must have taken for the original construction of the house. How many families contributed to the labour, cooking, and things like childcare? The human need for teamwork and cooperation still exists today, but is often undervalued in a time when we think that we can do everything independently. I firmly believe, especially from my experience with this house renovation, that, no matter who you are or what you have, people need people. Overall, the weekend was a huge success. We are nearing the end of the messy part of the deconstruction and I can almost see to the phase where all of my pinteresting and HGTV watching will pay off. Note: Mummified squirrels will NOT be a part of the décor scheme ;). As mentioned in my last post, we have been finding belongings of old owners in the walls and closets of the house. The strangest find so far are two pairs of shoes that Kyle uncovered while pulling down lathe and plaster in the room on the top landing. After deconstructing the room, we noticed a small, awkward square board that didn’t line up with the rest of the wall. It bothered Kyle so he ripped it down, only to discover two pairs of worn-out black shoes behind it. We knew that because it was one of the walls from the original house, the shoes must have been placed there during its construction, which was at the end of the 19th century! Curious and a little creeped out, I decided to do some research and see if there was any significance to the shoes in the wall. This is what I learned: What we discovered are “concealment shoes,” which are actually common finds during the renovations of houses dating back to the 19th and early 20th century. Concealment shoes are a part of old English folklore and were believed to ward off evil spirits and to bring good luck to a house and its owners. Shoes were supposed to hold the spirit of the owner, and oftentimes, concealment shoes were those of children, who were believed to have stronger spirits than adults. Concealment shoes were also usually an old pair that was falling apart, because it would have been expensive to just throw away ones that could still be used. They were placed in walls around chimneys and windows, or other places of entrance. I cannot wait to unearth more treasures. I am also so interested in learning more about the early owners of the house. I see a visit to the Simcoe County Archives in the near future. …More history lessons to come ;). (Fun Fact: So many shoes have been found in walls in Britain, that there is actually one museum that has a “registry of concealment shoes”). Demolition is now in full swing. The lathe and plaster makes it very dusty, so we have been wearing masks and gloves. We have torn down the walls in all but the upstairs bathroom and the kitchen. The process has been physically challenging, but at the same time rewarding. While it is difficult to sometimes picture the final product through the clouds of dust and piles of rubble, I am proud of the fact that we have done everything on our own so far. This renovation has become a huge learning experience for me, as someone who normally works in a classroom, not a construction site. Luckily, Kyle is a very patient teacher and has made sure that I don’t seriously injure myself.
Lessons Learned During Demo Thus Far: 1) It is not “laughing plaster,” it’s lathe and plaster (there is nothing funny about this chalky, horse-hair mixture :p). 2) Never try pulling the lathe (wooden slates) off the wall in the middle of the board, because they tend to snap and stab you. 3) Using a sledge hammer to break up the plaster before pulling it down with the crow bar makes a world of difference. 4) Working as a team is the best way to tackle any demo project. Be grateful and accept all offers of help! 5) If you find a clump of leaves in the wall, it is not fascinating early settler insulation; it is just an old mouse nest. 6) Be careful when you swing the sledge hammer. Sometimes it bounces back. Pulling down the walls has also led to some really neat discoveries. We have found old shoes, toys, and schoolbooks. Kyle also uncovered the original front screen door in the living room wall! Still perfectly intact, we plan on using it when we take out the old screen door. All of these findings act as clues to the people who inhabited this house over the years. My dad was the person who inspired me to keep this running journal of our house renovations. The idea came up while Kyle and I were taking a supper break with my parents after a day of tearing down walls. We were chatting about how dirty renovating was, and my dad asked if we were taking pictures of our progress, pointing out that it will be cool in two years' time when we are sitting in our completed home and can look back on the transformation and see all of the work that we put into it. I jokingly replied that "hopefully we would see the improvements," but he got me to seriously think about how important it was to keep a record of our work. Like with any kind of project, once it is all said and done, what remains are merely the fleeting memories of what it took to get from Point A to Point B. However, with photos or a journal or another form of documentation, the experiences and lessons taken from the project can be re-lived over and over again, and even shared. So, here is my memory-box of sorts, my way of preserving this chapter of my life. While the week leading up to our closing day was stress-ridden and admittedly, with a few tears, when we finally unlocked the door as official homeowners, I could only think of how excited I was to start this project with Kyle. Our house has history and charm and so much potential. Something that I noticed right away when the sales agent took us through the house, was how each of the rooms had its own personality, from the colours of the carpet and wallpaper, to the shape and size of the windows and doors. This is something that I love about the house and about older houses in general. Houses that already hold stories and memories of its past owners are special in their own way, kind of like a worn-in baseball glove or a used book with a loving note from a grandmother or friend inside the cover. This house has been witness to countless birthdays and weddings and graduations, all of which give it a sense of wisdom and honour. That this house was also around during both World Wars, saw all of the changes that came with the Cold War and social revolutions of the 60s and 70s, and what has occurred in the new millennium is also very impressive. I cannot wait to learn more about this house, because I am sure that there is still a lot to discover within its walls. On taking ownership, Kyle and I immediately started to create our own vision for the house, and I look forward to adding our own story to it. Below are a few "Before" pictures of the house. These were taken after the grungy carpets had been ripped out, which we got rid of right away. |
About MeKyle and I just became new homeowners. The house we purchased is not what one would classify as "move in ready"; in fact, it is quite the opposite. Built at the turn of the 20th century, our Victorian style house is both beautiful and terrifying in its ancient status and will be a project in renovation. This is a documentation of our triumphs and lessons learned, as we deconstruct and reconstruct this house. The end result? A space that we can proudly say we created. Archives
December 2016
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