What's behind Door #3?

It figures....  the Crow River is the highest it's been in 40 years and Dale's been focusing on that, but somehow managed to get a lot accomplished at the building.  He rocks!!  Thanks again to our friends at J&J Glass for installing the new back door!  And I hear the windows are coming tomorrow!  So exciting!  I headed upstairs to begin prepping for the demo work that is about to begin.  I know Delano doesn't need anymore water, but if I can be a little selfish, I would like a rain-day (or two), so we can pull in some of our friends that work outside.  Instead of heading home with nothing to do, they could come to the building and give us (me) a hand at the demo work! :)

So now I'll try to describe with the pictures what we've been up to lately (with more commentary half-way through).

New back door next to Delano Floral and it has a transom window just like when it was built.

Windows had to be boarded up, but rumor has it, they'll be installed on Monday, 6/30!

Here's a shot from the inside.  We are SO EXCITED to see what it looks like with windows!!!

You can actually see from the back door all the way through to the front door!  I wonder how many years it's been since that could be done?  Maybe never, since those used to be solid wood doors on the back!  Our favorite part is seeing all the finger and nose prints on the windows!

The pieces of plywood are up on the structure.

The structure is complete as of this morning (6/29)!  Dale is getting smarter and it may be the last structure he has to build (YAY)!  He was able to cover the Alley building plus one window on the middle building.  As you can see in the picture, there is one back door and a big window.  If all goes as planned, he'll be able to take out the door and window and have J&J Glass install the same day.  So cool!

Back of the building 6/29/14.  We also secured the upstairs deck because with all the demo that will be going on, we don't want anyone wondering in and getting hurt.

So what's behind Door #3 you might ask???  I'll show you since it will be awhile before this structure is removed.

We have a lovely, private, courtyard.

This will be Dale's workshop for quite awhile.  I don't know how long, but it'll be awhile.  I like that I watch over him from the deck to make sure he's not slacking!

Every wonder why Dale is so trim?  All he does is move sheets of plywood around all day.  Anyway... to explain what needs to happen here....   Each building has a door and two large windows.  At one point the alley building had the door boarded up and a large metal door was installed where there was once a window.  This was an exciting day for us because we've never had the back of this building opened up.  We can't get the metal door open, but Dale tells me that he can remove it.  mmmm.  

This is the back door that was boarded up on both sides.  It's an original door.  So cool.  We're going to have to find a home for it somewhere in the building, but I haven't run that idea by Dale yet.

Again, I actually do more than just take pictures and blog, but not much more.  This weekend I was to spend time upstairs labeling the wood trim so that we we pull it off before starting the demo work, we'll know how everything goes back together.  I don't think I've ever procrastinated so much in my entire life!!!  How hard can it be to put blue painter's tape on the wood and number it?

Well, we talked and determined that I should clean all the wood trim before doing that so that it's clean when we put it back up.  So now my one-day project is turning into a multi-day project.  And that means a lot of time spent on the floor scrubbing baseboards. So... I procrastinated a little more... I can tell you that it is 147 steps from the apartment I started in down to the main floor bathroom for water.  Finally, I started working on a door and the trim.  I had the green scotch pad and my spray bottle of water and Dawn dish soap.  The grim I was pulling off about did me in.  Ugh...  this hasn't been touched in FOR-EV-OR!

Okay... done with that project for the day.  Need to figure out a new strategy.  I better go home and take a nap so I can think more clearly.

I'm rested now and ready to shift gears.  Head back to the building and I'm going to mark the trim with blue tape.  I don't care that it's not clean.  What's the priority?  It's to make sure everything is marked in case it rains and we have a bunch of guys here to help.  I started on the back apartment/office on the alley building since it was the sunniest.  I needed all the help I could get.

So cruising along, but never realized how many pieces of trim it takes to finish off a room!  Over thirty pieces of tape later... and I realize I just numbered everything with the wrong suite number. :(  I thought I would start at the beginning (#210) and then decided to start on our office, which was not #210.  Not my day.

So I head back home to regroup.  I am not into this today.  Back to the building because I WILL get through this!  So I had tagged our office 210 and started on the next one labeling it 211 when I caught the error.  Each building has 6 offices so if 210 is in the front then obviously our office in the back would be 216.  Easy enough to turn a zero into a six (30+ times).  I was getting ready to change the numbers in 211 when I decided I better check the plan.  Not my day.  If you have 6 offices and it starts with 210, that means it only goes up to 215!!!!!  So, they're still numbered wrong.  I don't care.  Those will remain number 216 and we'll see if anyone can figure it out when we put the building back together.  Time to head to Dave's Town Club.  That was my Saturday.

Sunday, I headed to the store to get the biggest, fattest Sharpie I could get my hands on!  I am writing on the walls so I know where the heck I am!  Dawned on me later that I could've bought spray paint - how fun would that be?!?!?

I tagged every room with the number and the direction of the wall so I'll know exactly where the trim belongs.  The thing I forgot to mention is that I really haven't been up there much since last fall.  I had shorts on today, and was walking through so many spider webs.  My skin was just crawling.  There's one room (#222), I just couldn't bring myself to go into.  Just not my weekend.

See what I mean?  Spray paint would've been so much more fun!  I may go back and tag all the walls.... because I can!!!!

I really need to complain to someone about these working conditions!  P.S.  If any of you have one of our plans, you'll know exactly where this picture was taken.  Maybe I should try to figure out how to upload a plan...  another day.

So this is #215, which is labeled #216.  Do you see all the blue tape?  Not a fun job and one I thought would take a half day!!  Honestly....  I'll be lucky to have everything tagged in 2 DAYS!!!!  That would be solid days and not procrastinating days.

And then I see what our friends at Google do to pictures when they upload them from my phone.
I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!!

Two new doors on the front and new sidewalks.  The street will be finished this week.  We're finally getting there!

P.S.  I heard that back in the 70's, the top of the building was painted to look like a circus bigtop.  Well they accomplished that!

So much going on!!!!

The month of May has been very busy.  Luckily, phones have amazing cameras so I realized that a majority of the month had actually been captured and now I can bring you up-to-date!

We'll start with today and work our way back.

 May 31

The street in front of the building is under construction.  Since they were there, Dale had them cut a pipe into the building--now we don't have any water.  Sometimes, it's just better not to ask.  So luckily it rained today so we had running water from the downspout.  We're back to filling a 5-gallon pail to flush the toilet.  We could always travel the 5 blocks back home for modern conveniences!

This is one of the back doors.  Dale was getting ready to throw it into the dumpster when he had a great idea for recycling it.   

There have been many pictures with this stairway in it.  And for those that live here in Delano, this was the main stairway leading to the basement will all the toys!  The top was removed sometime in the past week.

This afternoon, the walls of the stairway started getting dismantled and a new frame was getting installed.

And Viola!  Door recycled!

While we were working today, looked out the back door to see these cars!  I love Delano!

Ok... so I don't have the whole "selfie" thing mastered. :(  Here are some of the piles that will be cleaning up today.  I'll explain the process below.

Step 1.  Place the empty garbage can on the dolly and begin picking up each piece of wood and placing it carefully into the garbage can.  This is done so that maximum capacity can be reached.

Step 2:  Wheel the dolly 90 feet to the back door, down the ramp and then up the ramp into the dumpster.  NOTE:  The second ramp becomes VERY slippery when wet.  I slipped when I was pulling the dolling up the ramp.  Ouch.  Caught a slight nail gauge in the arm... wish I could remember the last time I had a tetanus shot... maybe I should check into that. 

Step 3: Once the garbage can is loaded onto the dumpster, unload the wood piece by piece so that it can be carefully stacked to ensure that every nook and cranny is filled.

See how nice and neat everything is stacked!  And that would be the wet ramp I slipped on.  What a great day we had today!!!

May 30

What?!?!?!?!  A handmade piece of furniture???  I thought Dale was working on the building and it appears he's taken up furniture!

As I mentioned before, the street in front is getting redone.  Over to the left is Dale and our neighbor, Norm.  And up on the scaffolding on the far right, is Craig who is tuck-pointing the side of the building.  We found out that back in the 70's (I think), the top of this building was painted to look like a circus big-top tent.  Well I think they succeeded!  I can't wait to get that painted!

Craig tuck-pointing the brick so that it'll last another 100 years!

See the round circles in the bottom of the pillars?  Those are bolts to fastened the loose cement and hold it in.  Then they'll be patched in so you won't see them.  Dale's so smart!

May 26

Lots of roadwork going on!  Soon there will be a new street, 10-ft wide sidewalks and TREES!!!!!

May 25

Window came out of the back of building and the structure is just beyond that to help secure the building until the glass gets installed.  Dale tells me that should be in the next 2-3 weeks.  So exciting!

The Jerome has been fixed on the left side of the picture.  Look just right of the scaffolding.  Notice that the brick are very "textured".  That's what we're fixing.  The entire alley side needs to be done, but for now, we're focusing on the top because that will allow us to put on a new roof and have it go up and over so the water won't leak in.  As Dale says all the time, "there's a reason for everything he does"!

May 24

First window pulled out.

May 17

Tuck-pointing begins.

May 11

These are Jerome's parents. :)

May 10

More tuck-pointing completed!  It's looking so pretty!!!

The crumbly mess at the top will be fixed by Craig!

A lot has happened in the past month!

Three main accomplishments (with very little commentary because I'm beat).  But we're making progress!!!

1.   The two rough openings from where they cut through the brick to make walkways between the two buildings, is now getting completed.  This picture was taken about two weeks ago.

And now their complete and oh so pretty!

This is a shot from the other side.  The brick will lighten up as the cement dries.  We're thinking we may leave the plaster as is because it's kind of cool!  

2.   This is the last storefront, which was the main entrance for Coast-to-Coast/True Value.  It's time for it to go!

Storefront is out and this is the enclosure that has been out on the sidewalk for a couple of weeks.  Dale built a temporary roof with poly to keep the rain out.  Good thinking since I believe we had about a solid week of rain this past week!

Good friend, Al, stopped by to lend a hand on Saturday!

Finished but the front and now the enclosure can come down. 

We're so close!!!!  Now we just need glass and new doors!  Enclosure was removed just in time... They're tearing up the street and sidewalks this week!

3.   And I finally finished chiseling the plaster out from the grooves.  My weekend project turned into 40 hours of work.  I don't know that the other two walls will get done.  Now I get to sand this thing!  That may wait awhile -- I need a different project for awhile!

The Signature

I almost started to cry when I came across this signature on the wall.

What's the last name?  We need help figuring this out.  First name is Leo and last name starts with an "H".  One thought is Leo Hansmann, but it doesn't look like two n's at the end.

And Leo signed the wall o Aug. 14, 1905.  I think we should sign the wall right below it showing the date it was restored.

Finding this on the wall got me thinking...  We have many areas throughout the building that have been torn apart and will be rebuilt.  After talking to Dale, we're going to put pictures and love notes about the building in the walls.  I'm sure someone will come across them sometime in the next hundred years.  It'll be fun to throw some of the before and after pics in there.

Then I was thinking it would be really cool to have everyone come help chip away at this plaster and then sign a board!!  Wouldn't that be cool!  I'm sure everyone would want to come help.... I'm just sure of it!  Three walls to accommodate everyone!!!! :)  Just think about it!!! It would be so much fun!  okay... what if I offered beer?!?!?

We're back! And totally energized!

It's really starting to hit home how much work is in front of us, so it's time to dig in and 'git-r done'!

For me, that means cleaning the plaster out from the wood walls of the stairwells.  Three BIG walls.  One groove at a time.

The lower grooves have been cleaned the upper grooves.... ugh.

The area above the doorway and to the lower left took about six hours.  I've got to find a more efficient way to remove this or there's 3 weeks of work ahead of me!

Found efficiency!!!  I call this a hammer drill, although I've been informed by the boss that it's just called a hammer.  That may be true, but last time I checked, you don't hook a hammer up to an air-compressor!  Anyway...  this thing is amazing (and quite loud) when it comes to digging the plaster out from within those little groove.  Next thing on my wish-list...  a pair of earplugs.

For Dale, that means bringing Spring into the building...

Ooooo.....  let there be light!

Ta-dah!!!!  One down and 5 to go!  Notice how massive these windows are compared to the door.  These are double-hung windows and at one point in their life, the bottom half actually slid up to allow fresh air into the building.

Unveiling from the outside (and another butt shot).  :)

The Jerome is going to look SO magnificent when J&J Glass installs the new windows.  I can't wait!

So tempting to wash the windows even though they'll be replaced.  I'll do that if it EVER warms up!  But since it's only about 20 degrees outside, not happening today!

 

I made this picture as small as possible.  Why is it that other people find treasures or money in the wall and we find this?!?!?!!