Before Pictures

Amy in the living room with sinking floor on the right.

Walking into the house in the beginning was pretty nasty.  It smelled like dust and neglect.  The Chimney was cracked, the livingroom floor was sinking, windows were broken.  It was pretty bad.


I credit Amy with even finding the house in the first place -- the listing had no pictures, it was out of our price range and had the message "MAJOR FIXER".

Even our realtor at the time had said that this was not a project that we should take on.

Other side of the living room.

We persevered, however, and inquired about the house.  The seller was very open and told us how much of a fixer it actually was. The list of repairs is long and distinguished:

 * foundation
 * sewer is broken
 * driveway is cracked
 * chimney needs to be demolished
 * roof has about 2 years to go
 * siding needs repair
 * and the hits keep coming...

that's the chimney and foundation you see.  Cracking.
Evidently the gas line that was added 5 or 6 years ago undermined the foundation. 
Fantastic.

 But there are some good things too.  Check out that great period builtin!

There are actually a few places where there is some actual craftsmanship.  This is one example, the front door is beautiful, the floors under the carpets are oak and fir.  Even the light fixtures are pretty -- they look like what you pay tons of money for at Restoration Hardware or Schoolhouse Electric.