August 6, 2006

Removing an old chimney is incredibly dusty work. 

May 29, 2006

We had a long run of things failing, like this water heater.  When Dave went to replace it he found it was supported largely by the electrical cord.  Yikes.

May 23, 2006

The first of many loads of dirt taken away as Dave created our new foundation and basement.

May 7, 2006

Better than any sand box, Big Dog and the first pile of dirt.  In the middle photo you get a glimpse of the deck that was later taken down to make excavation possible.  On a side note, isn't Big Dog adorable in his walrus hat?  It was a long term favorite of our little man.

April 24, 2006

Some of Dave's digging handy work.  We used to call him Mole Man for all of the tunneling he did under the house.  Dave did all of this with a shove, pick and jackhammer.  It was crazy.  It takes a lot of work to turn a crawl space into a full height basement!

The Plan

The foundation was going to need some work. We knew that. When we talked to the contractor, we had discussed replacing the rotting posts and fixing the wall if necessary. That was it. Well, that was all I was aware of. But we'll get back to that.
Inside the house, it was pretty livable. Granted, the house sloped off to one side. If you dropped a ball anywhere in the first floor, it would try to find its way to one corner of the kitchen. I liked to think of it as a charming quirk of the house instead of a sign of a serious structural problem. I'm naive like that. Once we got on with ignoring that, we had planned to rejoin the two units, then build a wall in the upstairs unit that would make a hallway right off the stairs. This would make one large bedroom out of the current living room, and allow access to the other bedrooms. The upstairs kitchen would be converted into a second bedroom, leaving us with three good sized bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. We talked a little bit about reconfiguring the bathroom so the largest, sunniest room, the one with the door out to the second story porch would become the master bedroom. Other than that and an eventual kitchen remodel we didn't plan to do much to the house. At first.
So how, you may ask, do you come to have an 8 foot deep trench that encircles your house and an entire new foundation wall being poured? Well, let's revisit our little chat with the contractor. After I left, Curtis (the contractor) and Mr. Dog continued to chat. So while he said the basic fixing of the rotting posts would be easy enough to do, I didn't stick around to hear his recommendation.
"What I would do," he continued after the 5 year younger and much saner pre-home ownership version of myself left. "I'd dig this out and make some storage and a workshop."
And this got Mr. Dog thinking. While Curtis was envisioning a new concrete foundation wall, Mr. Dog was thinking of a 6' ceiling height storage area. Mr. Dog had bigger dreams. With his gears turning, and the property officially ours (well, technically the bank's, but you know what I mean) Mr. Dog spring his idea on me.
"Why don't we dig this out. We can put in a full basement. I can put in a workshop and we can have more living space. We can dig down and put in full height ceilings, it'll be great" And I went for it, because that is the kind of sucker I am.
From there, the process, planning and work, lots and lots of work really got rolling.

The House

So, as it turns out, the house we bought is also known as the Seely House. We found this out a couple of years ago while enjoying our neighborhood Art Walk. In Seattle, neighborhoods often have these evening events in which stores and restaurants host local artist. People are invited to walk in and out looking at the art. This year, when we entered the library, we found ourselves looking at a photo of our house. The Greenwood-Phinney Historical Society had done a feature on our home as one of the oldest homes in the neighborhood. As surprising as the circumstances were, it was interesting to learn more about this house we now call home.

From the Department of Neighborhoods Database of Historical Sites:

Built in 1906The Seely House was constructed about 1906. In May 1905, Charles Osner, developer of Osners Suburban Homes, sold two lots to recent Seattle arrivals George (b. ca 1865) and Nellie (b. ca 1877). The Seelys likely hired a builder to construct the house. The couple married about 1891 and by 1906 just three of their seven children were still living. By early 1906, the couple and their three surviving sons (ages 11, 8, and 1) moved into the house...This was just about the time that the Everett Interurban started running from Ballard through northwest King County into Snohomish County and ran past the Seely’s home, about 15 blocks away. George A. Seely, anticipating a booming real estate market created by the Interurban, opened the Sun Flower Realty office. His prediction was way off, the real estate boom did not strike this area until after Second World War and it wasn’t until the early 1950s that Seattle annexed the area between 85th and 145th. In 1912, after struggling for a few years, Seely closed his real estate office and moved to downtown Seattle. He initially worked as a baler for Gailbraith, Bacon & Co., a grain warehouse company, and then got a job as a window cleaner before leaving town towards the end of World War I. Later occupants. In 1928 John George, a machine operator, lived in the house. Bessie Cogan purchased the house in 1934. In 1954 when Seattle annexed this area Clyde H. and Isabella A. Belanger lived there. By 1962, the year of the Seattle World’s Fair, Mrs. Mary Van Wort occupied the house. Later that year Richard A. Norman purchased the house...The residence appears to meet City of Seattle Landmark criteria due to the age of the structure (about 100 years old) and minimal alterations. Sources (see below for complete citation): "Galbraith, Bacon & Co." Greater Seattle. pp. 139-140
Appearance The vernacular Seely House was constructed about 1906. It is a front and wing gable two story house with a covered balcony over an open porch on the east elevation. Doric columns support both the balcony and the hip balcony roof. Braced brackets are placed under eaves. An one story 11 x 18 foot rear (west) addition was added prior to 1930. The residence is sited on a corner lot.

I have since joined the yahoo group for the GPHS and each year when they promote their "Oldest House in Greenwood" contest, I am asked if they can use a photo of our house to promote it. I always say yes.

In our initial investigations of the house, Mr. Dog found old magazines in the attic addressed to Bessie Cogan. I hope we'll find more evidence of the past as we get past structural work under the house and start on the interior work again.