General Discussion & Chat: Coffee and ..... for Wednesday, September 6th, 1 by woodspirit1

woodspirit1 wrote:
Here is the front of the house. It's hard to believe that it isn't leaking although it was last roofed over 50 years ago (tin roof). The floors are amazing. Large, very tightly fitted heart pine, I think. 9" baseboards. The upstairs front rooms are very bright and light but no bathroom up there; that will be an interesting project. 4 rooms downstairs (huge kitchen/dining area) and 6 rooms upstairs.
North Carolina has a large statewide organization called Preservation/NC. They buy or get an option on endangered historic structures and resell them with protective covenants and a schedule of restoration attached to the deeds. They call their fund a revolving fund, because they turn the houses over quickly.
The only residents in the house since the 1950s have been hobos, the homeless, and teenagers partying. I have been on 1 big clean-up party. I had a room that was shin deep in fallen wallpaper and leaves. The windows are broken out so that's how the leaves got in. I can't believe the floors appeared undamaged. I took out 8 garbage bags full of this trash from the one room. Also old torn papers and (urk)! condoms. Other rooms had several torn old cotton-stuffed mattresses that fell apart when you tried to move them.
Another clean-up party is scheduled for this Saturday and then on the 16th, Preservation/NC volunteers will come to nail up plywood and plastic sheeting to keep out the intruders and the drunks.
Yesterday, while i was working in library's history room, a man came in that wanted more information on the house (I had plenty) and is considering buying it! Woooo-hooooo!
By the way, the price is $25,000 for the house, carriage house and 3/4 acre. But that's a drop in the bucket for all the work that has to be done.