On Summit

You win with people. In Columbus, Ohio and particularly around The Ohio State University campus, it's a saying that's both well-known and well-loved. I use the phrase lot a myself, partly in earnest, and partly in sardonic reference to the deeply flawed and equally revered man who made it famous, OSU football coach Woody Hayes. Hayes coached The Ohio State University's football team to remarkable success during his two-decades plus career. Along the way he wrote a book ( You Win With People! ), supported Nixon, said objectionable things, and often exhibited such a volatile temper that one might rightly wonder why people would stick around long enough to do any winning at all. But I digress. As with most maxims, this one is true. Woody Hayes was right. You really do win with people. Sure, plans help. Budgets help. Strategies help and material resources help. At the end of the day though, success in any endeavor hinges on people. I've been thinking about this a lot in the...

While we've spent a lot of time this year working on the Akron almost-mansion, I don't want people to get the impression that's the only thing we do. Though it's maybe not reflected all the time in this blog, my wife and I have interests that extend beyond removing wallpaper, wandering around big box home improvement stores, and talking with contractors. Music and art remain interests of ours and we're quite happy to travel either when we can. A few weeks ago we went to Chicago and got to enjoy both. My wife is the biggest Patti Smith fan I know, yet she'd never seen her live. So when Patti Smith announced a series of concerts to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her seminal album, "Horses" we jumped at the chance and purchased tickets for one of the shows at the iconic Chicago Theater. It was an amazing show, made even more special by the fact that Smith was born in Chicago and clearly holds the city close in her heart. The band and the venue sounde...

I feel like home renovation programs and content creators focus a lot on the before and after comparisons. To the extent that the goal of these undertakings is typically to go from one (before) to the other (after), this makes perfect sense. What gets lost though in this focus on results and comparisons is what it's like during the process. I was especially struck by this over the last month. During that time we've had four separate contractors in the house working on four separate rooms or projects.  Bill has been working on the kitchen. Matt is doing the second floor en suite bathroom. David and Pecos are doing drywall, and James has been doing some miscellaneous electrical work. And that's just the regulars. Add in the garage door technicians and the crew that came out to install the new radiator, and the almost mansion has been busier than ever in recent weeks. And it shows. Not only do people need room to work, they also need places to stage and store fixtures, materia...

Back in August my wife and I decided to each take a week off from our respective works and embark on a "Renovation Vacation" at the Akron almost-mansion. The impetus behind the trip was two-fold. One consideration was our realization that it's really hard to make any kind of concerted progress when you live two hours from a job site. By the time we get everything packed for a typical trip, drive to the house, get our work area organized and start working, it's just about time to head back home. The other consideration was that with all the delays we've seen with this house, we thought it would be good for morale if we could make even some small progress on our own. The plan then was to spend a week "camping out" at the house and doing light projects and cleaning while we were there. I say camping out since it's kind of what it was like. Yes, the house has electric and 70% plumbing (including two functional toilets), but there's no heat, no kitche...

Things have been happening at the Akron almost-mansion. The raccoons are gone and the roof is secure. The garage roof is mostly done (Long story. Don't ask). Work is commencing on the second bathroom, and the kitchen is in progress. Major appliances have been delivered. Tile is being bought and fixtures are being procured. Unfortunately, I've been doing a pretty terrible job of documenting this recent progress, so this post is something of a clip show. That is, progress told in the form of pictures other people had the foresight to take. Let's start with "Appliance Saturday". Since it's not always easy or convenient for me to be on site for deliveries, I tried to bunch all the major appliances to be delivered the same day in July. That included a washer, dryer, refrigerator, stove, range hood, and dishwasher. I feel lucky to have family in the area who are both supportive and flexible and who were able to be at the house and accept delivery for the earliest ar...

The refrain we keep repeating as we continue the work of  reviving our Akron almost mansion is "one step at a time". In this context one step could mean anything from one purchase, to one phone call, one project, one payment, one trip to the hardware store, one meeting with a contractor, one online order, one decision, or even one well-deserved break. The point being, this work isn't so much a big project, as it is a thousand little ones. It's the accumulation small efforts, applied consistently with the goal of mostly just keeping things moving forward...one small step at a time. So today, we'll celebrate some small steps and small wonders along the way. A pink toilet is pictured with a pink sink and in a bathroom tiled with vintage pink tiles. The pink Kohler toilet has a assumed it's rightful position next to the pink sink in the pink powder room. I mentioned previously that this was clearly a 1950s remodel. As you can see, it's an aesthetic that we...

After spending much of the last six months negotiating work, planning for work, talking about work, scheduling work, rescheduling work, and waiting for weather that might accommodate work, I'm happy to report that work has commenced. The Akron almost mansion has recently enjoyed the fruits of many a laborer, and the results are becoming almost photogenic. So, in no particular order, here is an update of what's happened since my last post. A wooden door with a crystal doorknob is pictured against a light blue wall. We have removed more wallpaper. This picture is from an upstairs bedroom and is notable as that means all the wallpaper on the first floor has been removed. I like the color and composition here, and offer this as a good example of how most of the interior rooms were handled. Trim throughout the house is painted that creamy white, and all interior doors have maintained their original finish. Remember pals, these houses are only original once. A pink bathroom sink hang...

I've been thinking a lot about the amount of imagination it sometimes takes to see what's possible in this house we bought. By that I mean, it can be easy to get caught up in processes, problems, and what needs to be fixed next, and lose sight of what we're working towards. So, in this post we'll be looking at a few of the projects in process and dreaming of successful resolutions. Unfurl your imaginations then, and join me! A vintage cast iron radiator sits beneath a tree in a front yard. Imagine this 900 lbs radiator carried up two flights of stairs and into a second floor bedroom. There it is connected to a boiler system, successfully holding water and heating the very room it occupies. It could happen! A raccoon trap hangs from from the rotting eaves of a 100-year old house. Dream here that this wire enclosure will trap any and all raccoons that would cross its threshold. Dream away too the trees and branches that make it so incredibly easy for raccoons to get up th...

I mentioned in my previous post that our Akron almost-mansion was built in 1925 by Akron entrepreneur and wallpaper baron W.D. Turner. And while we appreciate that Mr. Turner was willing to put his money where his house is, the wallpaper selections he made those 100-odd years ago will likely not be accompanying the home into its next century.   A hole cut in the wall shows off our brand new PEX plumbing supply lines as well as 2.25 square feet of wallpaper that won't have to be removed. Win. Win. So, we continue to remove wallpaper. It's slow going, messy, and not particularly glamorous. Favoring the "kitchen sink" approach, we're tossing everything at the removal process. That includes steam, scoring, fabric softener, more steam, sharp objects, still more steam, and good old elbow grease. With a bit of perseverance, we've got two rooms done and maybe three to go.  I know I said this work wasn't glamorous, but I do like how the window, the diagonal light, ...