In 1979 I bought this abandoned weather beaten house in Skyler Falls, NY. The story goes that it was once used as a funeral parlor. It sure was a creepy enough place. I added a solar greenhouse with a special type of fiberglass reinforced plastic to brighten it up. I experimented with some inexpensive rough cut diagonal siding. Not exactly a palace, right? Oh well... it was fun putting together and it gave me a place to live for a while. A workshop garage was also added.
In 1980 I got together with two other dudes to convert this Plattsburgh ranch into a full two story house. Dormer conversions are quite common but what made this project special was the manner of conversion. To save building materials, but mainly to put on a show and get new customers, we decided to jack the roof 8 feet straight up and then build walls around it. When the roof was about 75% from its designated height a thunderstorm came up. The roof heaved and yawed like a great whaling ship and so did we. I do not recommend this method for dormer conversions.
In 1987 my wife and I bought this cute little 120 year old West Sayville colonial. I couldn't wait to get my hands on that old rotted cedar roof and build a dormer.I remember kissing Patti goodbye and telling her not to worry. "It never rains in July," I said. So on this hot dry July day I ripped off the roof. Unfortunately in rained that night like it hadn't rained in 18 years. The plastic tarp that had been so carefully stretched over the exposed ceiling joists was no match for the torrential downpour. By the time Patti got home from work the livingroom ceiling was on the livingroom floor. Patti sloshed around in the livingroom for awhile before she looked me in the eye. "Never rains in July, huh?" she said. Patti was very angry. I made it up to her by adding a traditional 35 foot porch to the front of the house.
Last year I bought this condemned building in Walton, NY. When first I forced the front door open to inhale the putrid fungus laden air I began to appreciate the extent of damage that had made this 3.6 acre property affordable. 95% of the floor joists were rotten and the main carrier beams were all but a memory. I probably should have given this baby to the fire department for practice, but the challenge was too inviting. "Rescue me! Rescue me!" said the house. What could I do? I was fortunate to engage the aid of some locals and together we hacked and dug and carried out 40 tons of clay and stone and bedsprings and boots and other garbage. Then we tore out the floor, replaced the rotted floor joists with pressure treated wood, jacked up the house, leveled the blocks, added another layer of blocks, dug a drainage ditch around the perimeter of the house, insulated the outside of the cement blocks, constructed and installed a 32 foot pressure treated carrier beam, installed sixteen windows, six doors, forty outlets, a toilet, a tub, a kitchen sink, one hundred sheets of drywall, vinyl siding, and a new higher roof. Twenty hours of bulldozer work smoothed out the rough terrain and 45 yards of gravel were imported to keep the mud in place.
Walton is a wonderful place when it's not raining. Or snowing. Did you ever wonder where that good tasting water for NYC comes from? That's right, Walton, one of the precipitation capitals of the world. When I think of this project I'm reminded of myself at age 12 protecting a castle from the raging surf of Jones Beach. An interesting experience.
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