Beebe -- our 1935 Bungalow on Baker Street.

[Lily left the valley]

Lily, please check with your city's water board to see if in fact your house is dated from 1935. A lot of your house looks like ours, our bath and kitchen cupboards were added in the 1920s, so until we went to the water board, we thought the house was much newer. The water was turned on in March of 1908. (Happy anniversary to us.) We also went to the library and found old address books, which clearly showed us that our house was not built by 1906.

I am curious to see what you find, since your house looks more like it was built <1930.
Diane

Diane, I didn't even think of using this method to ID build years. Thank you for the tip! I had started, then stopped looking through the deeds and lot records when we lost the house during the first round of bids. I'm hoping to pick that back up soon because that may also give me a better idea. The property records online still don't include anything pre 1960 by address, you have to trace back through book and page #s. It's one of the reasons the deed searches prior are still images of the pages themselves because they are still typing in the info to the newer database setup.

I went back to look online just now, since I was curious and I'd been meaning to anyhoo.
These are the deeds going backwards...
us in 2017;
Daughter & Mother co-owned in 1989;
Mother & Father bought it in 1935 (he passed only 10 years after in '45);
from another married couple who bought it in 1927;
which they bought from an estate administrix for a wife whose spouse had passed away in 1918;
leading me to find that they bought it in 1906;
and 1906 is the same year the architectural plan for the lot # was made, although the property overall belonged to others before that as well before it was divided up then.

Now one thing I did notice--and I remember seeing this also with "42" in Gardner-- was that the 1927 deed had conditions attached stating what minimum value ($1500 for Beebe) anything built on that property must have "including stable and necessary outhouses", as well as set back distance and such. I can't recall where in the chain for '42 I saw that exactly, if it was just before the building was built or an older deed. If it was older, perhaps that was a standard at the time. The conditions even had an end date for both properties. It is the only deed to list such conditions, however, that's not to say that it means without a doubt the house already stood in 1935, and the Bedards immediately updated it after buying it. (The stamp on the kitchen sink is October, the sale was August) Still, I felt like I was so close to the answer, and I went looking again in the unrecorded section of the county paperwork per year/name.

When I found the page image showing them as grantees by year and last name, after some backtracking of the dissolution of a contract...I hit the motherload.

Now, the awesome part is that Chairtown Lumber is still in business, and is the same place I'd talked about being so glad to live within walking distance of as well. So I might be able to find someone there who can tell me exactly when it was finished! The entry that led me to find this note was dated December 7th, "dissolving".

But getting back to the idea of updates...this is why I think the cabinets were either moved to this wall from somewhere else, or were built in later. See that odd metal lined inset there? I think it may have been a stove vent at some point.

[awomanwithahammer]

Lily, I have been so interested in your journey with this house, and I love that you have been able to find out so much documented history.

Bonnie

[Lily left the valley]

One quick thing I wanted to share: I opened our electric bill for Beebe today. For the 21 days' worth recorded, our bill came to $16.84. So there are some advantages to not having all the appliances yet. What's even more hilarious is that our other electric bill for the apartment (29 days' worth) was just over triple that and we haven't lived there for most of those days. The first floor apartment is also responsible for the "common" areas (porch lights and basement which included the boiler for all three apartments), so the bulk of that is due to the common charges, but still. It's nice to be under $30 a month again.

Lily, I have been so interested in your journey with this house, and I love that you have been able to find out so much documented history.

Bonnie

Thank you for saying so, Bonnie, and I am very glad to have the good folks here to share this adventure with as it unfolds. One of the reasons I love old houses is because of all the history. Sometimes I feel like I've got it easy compared to most District members because our home hasn't hit the 100 year mark yet. (Although we have decided that we will be holding some sort of house party when she hits 100.)

I'm also fortunate in that the county here has so many records online, even if they aren't as easily searchable as the post 1960 records. I haven't even needed to start digging up papers or anything of that sort yet.

One of my plans since the beginning was to make a "house book" that would detail everything I found and the work we do while we live here. The intention is so that future owners will have a nice present waiting for them when they move in themselves.

[Lily left the valley]

So there might be a mid-month move in tenant for the apartment, and the weather is just laughing at us trying to wrap up the last bits. It doesn't help that, as usual, the landlady isn't shoveling right away either. Still, we're down to the last bits, save the stuff in the garage that needs to come over via a truck. Friday right now is a day off for Sean, so hopefully we won't get snow or pouring rain this time, and we can get a truck and just get those last three big things out already.

Here, we are doing our best to shuffle things where they should be, and trying to squeeze in cleaning and bits.

I admit, I keep getting distracted looking "under" things. Yesterday, I -ahem- accidentally tore off some of the ivy contact paper trying to find a spot to perhaps fasten a small trash bin under the sink, and well, it looked shabby partially torn, and then with one door's paper off and the other not, so off went the other door's paper. So both had to go, right?

There is rust, after all, but it's limited mostly to the base of the doors. with some creep up the seam where the two doors meet. From that, plus the wood ply under the sink now, I'm convinced there was a leak at some point. Not too bad, the rust, really. When I can peak under the ply, then we'll see exactly how bad it might have been.

I'm also not sure, but it does seem that at least part of the metal cabinet was an off white at one point.

One mightily unexpected turn of events...
So we're at my favorite 2nd hand shop. As I'm going through window dressings, Sean suddenly beelines over to some kitchen tables. Microwaves. I forget sometimes how much he really likes having one. And one of the two wasn't huge, and $15. So we plug it in, it seems to work, good shape, I tell him to take it upstairs.

When I finally make it up there, she's explaining why she had the micros (normally she doesn't have appliances bigger than, say, a crock pot or coffee maker) because now she has someone she's working with who's been doing foreclosure cleanouts. So that's when Sean mentions we still don't have a fridge. Next thing I know...we're following her back downstairs.

Apparently they still have the original Kelvinator from the 40s they bought for the break room that they eventually just stopped using. (The type with the pull out on the bottom.) She wasn't sure if it even worked, but when we opened it up, it looked to be that all the shelves and drawers were still in there. Have I mentioned that Sean has a thing for those sorts of fridges? Yep, of course he does.

She's going to try to find out if it still works, I'm going to head back over with a tape measure at some point. We tried to stop by yesterday, but Sean got home later than we thought he would, so they were closed. She's only open usually Th-Su, so waiting again.

I am worried it will just eat up the kitchen. They are not small. We did discuss that it could live in the cellar, and we'd still have a mini upstairs for space reasons. Neither of us thinks that makes much sense, though, since fridge wise we don't usually have loads of that sort of thing. We really were looking to have a small mini freezer in the cellar for extra ice cream and meat, really. The Kelvinator only has the small centered freezer, so that won't really work for what we'd need if it didn't fit upstairs ok. Still, if we did go with the very smallest cube only fridge, the system could work and he could still have a fridge he really likes without the space lost in the kitchen. (We are one weird pair of justifiers and bargainers, I'll tell ya.)

She still has the period furniture waiting...and it just keeps snowing and there's not much floor space open at this point downstairs still. Getting there.

I did pick up a lace curtain that with a bit of trimming will work as a light weight privacy screen for our French front door. I keep finding half a set of vintage drapery hangers, but the poles are all long gone. That's something I need to do...take pictures of what I've got. I still am not clear on what the set up was in the kitchen!

Oh, and that set of roller shades I was eyeing like the 30s style? We actually found a "valance" that was still brand new in the packaging, and now I know why they looked "cut down". They aren't roller shades! They are hung bamboo style curtains. The bric-a-brac edging is where you hang them from! I had no idea. This is a pic of something similar...
Apparently this is a Mid Century look, when you have the lines running vertical. So I might still be able to fake it with them...I really don't know anymore.

[Lily left the valley]

We're sort of in that odd head space where you know when it is, but it never quite feels like then.

On Monday, we took part in an old house podcast recording speaking about our recent experience buying a new-old house. That reminds me, I have some follow up stuff to e-mail for that. When I get word that it's posted, I'll let folks know. I know we did more on Monday, but now I'm drawing a blank. I'm fairly certain it was the day we finally started unpacking the DVDs and put them on the media unit in the office. Need to find the CD boxes next, but apparently they got buried in the parlor boxes when we ran out of floor space in the office.

We did get the office a bit tidier, finally, and some empty boxes are now in the recycling. I admit, there is so much satisfaction in finally getting rid of some boxes that have been sitting in various storages for too many years.

I don't remember if I mentioned this, but Sean tried to bake cookies on Saturday, but we couldn't get the oven part to work. We can't remember the magic combo needed. Good thing we have a toaster oven! And another day passed that we forgot to call the company again for the magic info. I might just send an e-mail at this rate.

Tuesday was discovering that one of our radiators had...moved just enough to throw off the tilt. So now we've got the knocks again. And too much water in the sight glass again. If it doesn't level itself out by morning, I'll be fiddling some more.

We did manage to be driving by when my favorite second hand shop was open when it normally isn't. So, park and run in we did! The fridge runs! The freezer coil was already cold to the touch within minutes. The size is about what I figured, roughly 30 x 30. It is in need of cosmetic fixes, and a few spots of not-so-cosmetic fixes. The inner freezer door is also missing, although we found most of the shelf bits along the side so it may still be lurking nearby in the corner it's been parked in for decades.

When we were home, we got an idea of how much of a bump out the fridge would be. It's really not much worse than the stove, but we're already used to the half Hoosier right there, so we're dithering. What will really make or break if we buy it at this point is price. The lady I usually deal with is not the owner for the fridge--that's the actual owner of the shop. So she's waiting to hear back. I honestly don't know at this point if he's going to be reasonable, given the shape it's in, or totally silly with the price.

We also picked up some more window dressing when we were at the shop--slowly but surely at least getting something in them all. The progress seen is good, but some days it still feels slow. The funniest thing was when we were doing the podcast talk, we realized it'd been a month since we closed. On one hand, it felt like "wow! a whole month!", but it also felt like, "Ach--why aren't we completely out of the apartment yet?" (I know that answer--money and weather. )

The unplanned bits we also picked up while there were a painting ladder and some long handled garden tools. We also spotted a reel mower with a catch bag still in the original box on the way out the door, but we couldn't get that as well today--though we said we'd pick it up this weekend.

The tools are older, but in fairly good shape. I'll post pictures at some point. My brain is still full of too much to do with moving in and new-old house stuff. As the snow has been getting washed away by our now every-day rains, I'm realizing the yard really needs a good spring tidy--and now I have some tools to help with that!

A little closer every day.

[Gothichome]

Lily, you'll never be short of puttering projects, with an old home, and gardens. Just don't make it work, takes all the fun out of it.

[Lily left the valley]

Welp, the knocking turned to serious bangs and thunks overnight, and today I started trying to lower the water level. I think it was a great idea, because we had so much water in there it may have soon started spurting out the rads.

Found the manuals and sat down with those for a bit before doing anything, just in case there were some odd quirks to the system. One thing I remembered today is that there seemed to have been a small pump or something that is still attached, but was disconnected, as the wires are just hanging down. I need to go back and look at that area sometime to figure out what it was--I seem to recall seeing something like that on a system before, but can't recall for what purpose offhand. It may have been for the older system our current one replaced, and someone was just too lazy to repipe there.

From what I've read regarding the condensate when the rads aren't tilted properly, when it finally does get back to the boiler, it really can make up for a lot of volume. That definitely turned out to be the case today.

The great news is the water level is back to where it should be...and no knocks at all! I went around with a level today and rechecked all the rads. Four need shims, I only had enough wood on hand left for one for now. I think I have some more scrap in a bin somewhere that will do, just need to find that bin.

The not so great news...the first bucket load I dumped into our old sink in the cellar...and it turns out it's cracked. So all water went right into the sump well after that. One thing it was really nice that the OP's left behind was the drainage hose. Hooked right up like a charm when I realized I'd have to also drain from the bottom and not just the upper release.

After the first heat cycle after the drain, not only did the water not do the bouncy dance while firing, but when it cycled off, the water level was exactly where it started from. Progress. When I can get the other rads up a tidge, I'll check the water level for a while to make sure we don't have the suddenly returning condensate issue again.

I did notice more particulate in the sight glass, so now I'm also wondering how long it has been since a full maintenance cleaning was done. After the first 1/4 bucket, the water got dirty fast as well. So I think the boiler needs a good skim. That may have also been contributing to some of the issues the 2nd floor was having is the oils were damping the steam formation.

Is it the weight of our stuff that's been moved into the rooms making a difference in the angles? Or maybe the fact that after months of being kept much colder, the house is settling in to itself at a much more comfortable 68°F? Maybe a combo of both? I'm really not sure.

Snow is melting at a pretty good clip now. Spent a little time outside, looking at grading around the foundation, picking up some small sticks and what not. I am really looking forward to gardening here. It will take a while to understand what's still around from prior, but it'll be a new sort of adventure.

Lily, you'll never be short of puttering projects, with an old home, and gardens. Just don't make it work, takes all the fun out of it.

The puttering aspect is part of the joy to me. Only moving and cleaning feels like work. But that's always the case. We've almost got the move part wrapped up, save some box sorting short term, so that'll be half the "work" done!

[Lily left the valley]

So the neatest thing happened last night when we were grabbing a few groceries for dinner. A gentleman walks up to us, looking eager and says, "It's Lily and Sean, right?" I said, "I know I know your face, but your name escapes me." Then he says, "Chairtown Lumber", then , but still no name to go along. He was so excited to have remembered our names, and I babbled at him about how I just found out that Chairtown was the supplier for the building supplies for our house while he just smiled away before saying, "I even wrote your names down so I would remember," and then he dashed off to finish his own shopping before I could ask him for his name again, which we puzzled over without luck for the remainder of our shopping trip.

So...Beebe. Poor Beebe.
Slowly but surely, bits of cleaning are happening so rooms don't look like this anymore. I still have much to do, but there's no rush on that, fortunately.

Cleaning also led to this interesting puzzle:
These pieces were found in the lower left cabinet in the kitchen. The composite flooring bits looks to have been samples, and the trim...we have no idea what it belonged to at all. I guess the sample stuff was too expensive, hence the fake wood vinyl planks. Both trim pieces are the same, with bits that appear to have been cut to fit into/around something. Yet despite the fact that the finish is the same as in the kitchen (and honestly most rooms in general), we have no idea where they belonged in there--they don't seem to be missing from the kitchen cabinetry, at least.

Update on the fridge: we did meet the owner of such when we went back to pick up the lawn mower and two other bits. His price isn't terribly far off, but given how much work it needs, we can't justify buying it right now. We were clear that we are still interested, but it's going to be a long time down the road, so if it gets sold before we get it, that's that. Sean loves it and still wants it, but he knows this is the best budget wise right now. We did finally order the mini compromise for the short term, and hopefully later this year we'll get the mini freezer. It should arrive on Tuesday which is great news because we can no longer use the cooler. It's now too warm outside, which has led to a frantic amount of baking before the butter and such turn bad. It was also cause for ground turkey and refried black bean tacos for dinner, as the last of the cheese was about to give out as well.

The good news/bad news about washer/dryer: is that although we bought a washer (not enough funds for fridge, washer, plus dryer, plus, plus, plus...), we realized that apparently the last washer dryer that was here must have been a stackable, because there is no outlet for a washer near the sink. The closet one is the plug by the door to the backyard that has the sump pump plugged into it. We really do not want a stackable system in the apartment sized, therefore one cord sense. So I need to call the appliance guy to see what we can do, as he likes to make sure (being it's second hand) that everything is working when it's delivered, and if I find later today when I test the outlet that it is indeed a 15 on the panel and not a 20, we may be needing an electrician soon. We do have an open 20, but it's not hooked up to anything right now. The washer should be here later today.

I am looking forward to this: Now that the weather is rolling into spring (and even summer temps are expected this week!), the unkempt landscaping is now laid bare as the snow is almost gone. I have my work cut out for me this week just tidying up.

I'm not looking forward to this: all the concrete slabs that were put in on three sides in lieu of gutters. They settled, and are now pointing towards the foundation. So I'm going to have to lift them all up and either remove them to somewhere else or make them lean the right way. I also confirmed that part of why the west cellar wall is so wet is the hardscape rocks that we're still not sure is ours or the neighbors'. Again, the grading over there needs fixin'.

Speaking of grading, I've been looking into swale cutting and rain gardens. My biggest math issue is most recommend 10' distance between house and rain garden. Our front porch is not over the foundation, so I'm not sure if the 10' is supposed to be from the foundation itself, or any outer structure. If it is any outer, I think we are just shy of the 10' for a rain garden in the front anyhoo. We can still do one in the rear.

Oh...speaking of the back yard. I didn't go out to take a picture yet, but now that the snow has melted? My suspicions have been confirmed. There are huge burnt pieces of furniture wood on the makeshift fire pit. So at least some of what was in the garage...fueled their ridiculous fire.

The "oh noes" of late: is the boiler. [I may have found out what's going on. I'll post the followup below this.] I noticed as the weather started warming that the heat was getting odd. Somehow, radiators that had a slight lean are now too level. Shimtasticness, and still knocks like you couldn't believe! Now the boiler is overfilling every day and rads that were heating fine still are not now. If we don't drain the boiler down daily, by night time, the knocks start and are very bad because the sight glass is once again full--meaning so is the tank. I cannot for the life of me understand what the connection between the loss of proper level is to the now always too full boiler. Worse, we've been draining only from the bottom and the smell! I am now convinced we have to skim, and I am not ready to do that from the skim port with confidence yet. So we'll be needing to make another call so a) we can be sure it's done right and b) hopefully they can explain why we're having the water level issue now. More funds we don't have just yet (but another reason we held off on the dryer because I had a feeling this might be coming.) We've both read the manuals front to back several times now and cannot find an explanation. I've read countless pages on inspectipedia and heating system site I trust, but nada. We checked all the intakes, and nothing is on that shouldn't be. The only thing left is a possible auto feeder that we don't have paperwork on (not standard for our boiler), and can't seem to find on the exterior at all if there is one. At first, we thought the excess water was just the condensate from the tilt change, but it's now been days of this. Too much to be just that.

So that's where we are with things.

[Lily left the valley]

Vocabulary is so darn important. Apparently my word choices were what was keeping me from finding what may be the issue with the over watering.

Above I had mentioned that some radiators had lost their tilt. I'm still not sure if this is due to the house getting used to not being 55°F or less for extended periods of time, or the additional weight of our stuff in a house that was empty for so long or what. Whatever the cause, I need to check them all again, and at least further boost the ones that are now not heating, or not heating all the way across.

Apparently what happens when you lose the tilt (or the returns themselves loses same--another step I'll check after giving this latest attempt a few days to settle itself or not) is that because the cold condensate takes so long to return, the feeder in the boiler thinks more water is needed, and adds it. Then, later, the slow as molasses condensate finally makes its way down to the boiler again, and now there's too much water.

Simple, right? I sure hope so! Unfortunately, I'm going to have to wait until Sean gets home to help heft the rads the extra bit more. I really hope this is the fix, as I'm already not looking forward to the washing machine guy telling me we do have an issue regarding the plug.

[Lily left the valley]

This entry might be best served if you listen to "Manic Money". Unlike the song, though, I feel really good about today.

Started the day by realizing that the PO had a stackable washer/dryer with the single plug. There is no other "near the sink" plug for a washer. The closest one is a few feet away, next to the door heading up to the yard, and already powers the sump pump and...is only a 15 breaker. Depressed by this news, I then notice the boiler is taking on water again, lower it down and then tromp off to try to find more shims to no avail in the house.

Then the delivery guys showed up, and did the best they could (save test it) hooked it up in place for now. So we have a new old washer we can't use. Time to start calling around for electrician recommendations. We do have a 20 spare in the box, so I guess it will be getting used soon enough.

After I walked the delivery folks out, I realized that it was amazing outside. So I did what any nonsensical person who hasn't slept would do, and spent the next 3 and a half hours picking up garbage and recycling in the front, back and side yards. There is so much more--and so much broken glass. I don't know if was tenants or the house prep weasels, but someone(s) drank a lot of trendy alcohol by their makeshift firepit and then hurled the glass bottles around--I guess for fun. Did I mention that not only was the lawn not mowed, so there's tons of tufts that glass can hide in, but apparently the boulder border was made by rocks from the site? Lots of jutting rocks. So glad we didn't get a power mower.

Then a round of picking up branches, smaller woody bits and then, I had to address the elephant by the garage.

Two tools, still useful wood bits and at least one very grateful piece of assorted hardware thanked me for being saved from the clutches of "Ground". Have you ever seen strawberry leaves more numerous than guppies? Well I have. We'll not speak of the creepers that had managed to infiltrate both the concrete block garages' weak seams as well as the amazing warehouse like window. Not...a...word.

When I was about to quit and go in to rest a bit, the die back that was never cleared before winter in the driveway and front beds cried out it wanted to move to the new growing compost pile, so a bit more time and done way more than I intended. Although that looks much better, I'm worried if we get a good rain, half the dirt from the porch area bedding will swim right down to the driveway and out to the street. I need to go pick up the last of my garden stuff at the apartment tomorrow. I still have most of a bag of mulch, so I can pitch that down in the worst bits after I fill a bit with some of our many, many rocks. I wanted to do it today, but Sean wasn't feeling well, so we skipped it.

Then, it was back inside, and still feeling a bit manic, I decided I needed to see whether the kitchen lino under the vinyl did have a detail trim like the dining room. And it did. {Edit: fixed the link}

Still wired (no pun intended), I finally grabbed some tools and tried to amend our balky doorbell. No power at the definitely not upgraded wires (it's a doorbell. I'm not worried about fire, it just amused me to be tooling with old wire again). So I still need to find the transformer and see if it hums or not. The spring in the ringer seems shot, but I didn't have a good spot to take it apart all the way to be certain.

After putting my tools from that away, I finally collapsed and laughed at myself, yet still felt quite satisfied.

Fridge should be arriving tomorrow! Woo!