chip chip chip

We have been slowly chipping away over at Hobbs as we wait to get permits to do the really major jobs. While working with the Historic Landmarks Commission has been a surprisingly pleasant process, it has added a few extra steps. Before we can begin applying for construction permits, we had to receive a certificate of appropriateness from the Historical committee. Thomas has attended various meetings to go over plans he drew that included everything from windows to the type of rail on the front porch. The Historic Commission wants to maintain the original appearance of the mill house as much as possible, but they still allow for many updates in terms of materials. Last Monday Thomas met with the Commission and received approval to go ahead with a plan!

Until we get our first permit, we are continuing to work on stripping the house. This week it was my turn to feel like a prisoner doing manual labor. I started chipping the mortar off of the bricks that Thomas and Walker drug out from under the house last week. I don't like to take the babe in the house with all of the asbestos, lead paint, mold, etc., so I need a job to do outside. Since we are going to make the front walkway out of the old bricks, they need to be cleaned and stacked for later. Not the most glamorous job.

Thomas spent the day clearing old plumbing out from underneath the house, reinforcing the floor system and foundation, throwing out materials from the attic, and then cutting old wire out of the attic. He is amazed at how many different styles of electrical wires the house has seen. It is pretty incredible to think about what the house was like when it was built. The first electrical system was knob and tube pieces in the attic that ran a network of exposed wires. While it is interesting to see the development of electricity, we need to get rid of all that excess wire :)

It's hard not to wonder about the lives of all the people that have lived in this mill village for the past 100 years. It's fun to explore a house in search of clues of what it may have been like at different times. When my sweet niece was over a few weeks ago, we were talking about what would have been different about the house when it was built. As I mentioned that there wouldn't have been a garage because people didn't have cars yet, she said, "Then how did they get to Target?" I explained that everything they needed was in walking distance and that believe it or not, Target didn't exist. Everyone worked at the mill and shopped at the mill store which was really small. She then asked, "Costco?" "Walmart?" What a different world it must have been.