Susan's Page

The third floor appeared to be finished. It has old sconces on the walls and it had old wallpaper and flooring. My children use the 3rd floor as bedrooms now. I insulated and finished it a little more. My electric is 200 amp at the circuit box which then ties into the knob and tube which proceeds to run through the rest of the house. The 200 amp at the circuit box is what tricked me into thinking the whole house had been updated. Turns out it isn't. And it will cost something to the tune of $7000. - $15,000. to upgrade. Not happening. I know I will have to do it someday if I ever decide to sell. Unless I can find a buyer who is as naive as me! : )

Jennifer and Susan -My sense is that rewiring can sometimes be cheaper if done a little at a time. I have all of my wiring done by a retired codes inspector who does moonlighting on small jobs for a reasonable cost. By doing one circuit at a time, you can hire a small job contractor like mine and then also take care of the plaster and paint damage by yourself, rather than be overwhelmed by a giant job all at once.

Hey Susan! The house I bought is in Middletown Ohio.. I think your town is pretty close to mine. I really like your house. :)

Ah your house is up north!! Our house is between Cinny and Dayton. I look forward to seeing the progress with your house :) thanks for the compliments on my house.

Is that a flat seam copper roof on you tower with a green patina, or is it steel painted with a copper green? Either way, that is sharp!

Thanks Susan! Your house is AMAZING! Yes, we've considered the heat implications regarding the darker house colors but... for some reason dark red or green just feel right. I'm looking forward to browsing through your photos when I get a moment. I'm looking at a copper roof for our tower and the bay off the kitchen as well. You have great taste!

Thanks Susan! There is actually a fair bit of history we have on it, though exact year of construction isn't one of them. It's 'roughly' 1880. I think we'll be able to nail that down further in time. There is a section in the history books they put together for the county the house is in on, on this house and the family(s) who have lived here so we have a LOT of great stories and information. What we do not have, is pictures. Hopefully we will get some as we start making friends with the families who have owned/built the house (lots of descendants still in the county!)

Hi Susan, great house!! love all the architecture! I just remarried in April and moved to Marietta, so am still ambling around in awe of the homes here in the city. Someone told me that a blacksmith once owned a home down the street and built our house and a couple others between. I haven't found out for positive if that's correct yet, but am still looking for people that have information. Our house has been 'remodeled' thru the years, from what I can see, but it's hard to tell where the old stops and the new-er starts! LOL Last weekend we found an old rasp bit tied to a string that looks like someone used it for a plumb-bob in a wall that we were insulating. I'm planning on cleaning it up and making it into a light pull for posterity sake (hubby thinks I'm nuts....). But it's fun to find old stuff in the walls and attics like newspapers and things people forgot or left.... The house originally had a slate roof, but remodelers had them removed and shingles put on. We still have a pile of the slate left. I would love to put it all back original, but that isn't in the budget at this point. Are the colors inside original or did you select them?

We dont' even HAVE a historical society! Luckily the county is very rural (sparsely populated) so everyone knows everyone back 200 years. I don't know how many people have stopped by, pointed to the upstairs north east bedroom and said "I was born in that there room in 19**". We love this community. Official records though? Not much. We're basing the date the house was built on the date the first owner was married. The house was built as a wedding present from his mother (who'd been shot in the arm by a yankee bullet during sherman's march to the sea). We know he was a college professor, and his son who owned the house later was a state representative, etc... the names get confusing though. There are LOTS of Monroes, Fullers and Reids in this county (those are the families with primary history in this house). I'd love to hear more history on your house! Make sure you post it as you discover it!

Amazing.