Thursday, March 4, 2010

Bungalow remodel

Over the course of the 26 years I lived in this home I (among other things) replaced the kitchen twice, moved the bath from closet sized into one of the bedrooms, jacked up one corner 6 inches, moved doors & save trim, tiled, re-plumbed and re-wired the entire house, replaced the roof down to the rafters, added the deck, replaced most of the window, and refinished the entire 1st floor from the studs out, including leveling the floor which was over 7 inches out of level on the diagonal.
The original house was built in 1908 as a beach front cottage in West Seattle. Some time in the 40s the house was raised and a 1st floor was put in under the original structure. At that time 2 smaller cottages were built between this house an the beach.
When they poured the the first floor slab they did not level the floor, pouring concrete over the existing grade which included the sloped front porch. This explains why it was so far out of level.
The full length enclosed porch (originally open) faced west, Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. The beach rock fireplace even had some of the barnacles still on them, 100 years later!
When I first moved in I could see south, almost to Tacoma. When I moved 3 1/2 yeas ago the entire south view had been blocked by new houses and new additions.
Living and remodeling this house is where my I got my appreciation for things old and the Craftsman style.

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