It's all so exciting! I love when false facades coming down to reveal a handsome original!

It's pretty cool.  Things starting to move quickly now (though never quickly enough!)

The metal screen on the 2nd floor is finally gone! 

 

 

Brings a tear to my eye (of joy). 

Thank you!    A beauty revealed.  Doesn't look like they damaged too much when the installed that ugly thing.

Are your window hood moldings metal or carved limestone?  Hard to tell from the pictures. 

Thank you!    A beauty revealed.  Doesn't look like they damaged too much when the installed that ugly thing.

Are your window hood moldings metal or carved limestone?  Hard to tell from the pictures. 

 

Based on the damage showing above the windows on the first floor, it looks like they were limestone to me.  Adding a salvaged metal set on the first floor would work wonders for the final appearance, even if they don't match those on the second floor.

They're sandstone lintels and sills throughout.  The plan is to replicate them with wood and/or molded plaster to match.

They're sandstone lintels and sills throughout.  The plan is to replicate them with wood and/or molded plaster to match.

 

Awesome.  Even if you replicted the basic profile in any material, with wood being fairly easy, it could achieve a pretty good result.  I kind of like the rusticated stone that remains on the first floor.  Helps tell the story.

^ Unfortunately it's a bit too rusticated.  If they were more careful about carving the stone away, fine, but there's some big chunks that cleaved off and in fact one of the windows was originally a door, so there's pieces that also need replacing anyway. 

Any idea what the broken brick below each window used to be?  Flower boxes or just a huge sill?

^ They're decorative angled brick panels, sort of like in the attached image at the bottom but without the Moorish chevrons.  They're going to be rebuilt. 

 

It was definitely a fancy and expensive building, though apparently it was built as a 3-unit apartment.  There was a door directly into the front parlor of the first floor apartment, with a side door into the stairwell to access the 2nd floor and basement apartments.  There was also a narrow hall behind the stair to get from the front room to the rear rooms on each floor. 

Have you ever seen that continuous sill on the second floor windows? That's unusual to me, and interesting.

 

A couple of the buildings on Lang Street (which is just around the corner) have similar details, including the continuous sills, though in those the band is almost flush with the brick while at the windows it projects farther out (see the building on the left here https://goo.gl/maps/xO4U0 ).  The building whose facade collapsed also had a similar detail.  Continuous sills are much more common in Chicago which is more late 19th century and early 20th century, whereas here a lot of these row houses are from the mid to late 19th century, with the 2nd Empire style coming into fashion around the turn of the 20th.  The building immediately to the right in the last Google view has ALMOST the same lintels as on Mulberry, but with some extra carvings in the flat area and omitting the "eggs."  It's that building that the new cornice design is based on https://goo.gl/maps/1V3VF

You can learn more about this renovation on the latest episode of The UrbanCincy Podcast!

 

Also - awesome view from this place!

 

Thanks, Travis!  The panel event was fun.  Looking forward to listening to the podcast!

Lots of progress being made right now--the back addition (previously put in place) has been rebuilt to be more structurally sound.  Looks like framing is getting pretty close, windows are coming in, and all kinds of other activity.  Hopefully we can post some pictures soon (or maybe jjakucyk can post some update...)

Yup, new cornice brackets to match the originals, framing, mechanical rough-ins, stairs, and windows all proceeding. 

Windows! 

 

 

Looking good. It always amazes me how much better these old buildings look the moment they get new windows.

 

Were plans ever posted somewhere for what the finished product will look like? That tall window being framed now looks like it'll be interesting. What space is that going to be?

It's going to be an aluminum storefront type window with a spiral stair from the 2nd floor to the attic behind it. 

Cool. I was just looking at streetview and had a feeling it would be a dramatic entryway with a stair or something along those lines. Approaching that interstitial space between the buildings with that dramatic glass above the entry is going to be great.

What a truly ambitious undertaking.  My hat's off to all concerned -- you're doing absolutely great work.  It's going to be a big, beautiful home!  Wow!!!

Looking good. It always amazes me how much better these old buildings look the moment they get new windows.

 

Were plans ever posted somewhere for what the finished product will look like? That tall window being framed now looks like it'll be interesting. What space is that going to be?

 

Jeffrey, how much do these windows cost? 

They're all different sizes, and some of the largest ones had to be Pella "Architect" series due to the height, while most are "Proline" which cost less.  Both lines have the same type of SDLs (simulated divided lites...permanently adhered grilles on the inside and outside, plus a spacer between the glass) and brick mould, so you can't really tell the difference.  These are all aluminum-clad wood windows, custom sized to fit the existing openings.  The ones on the front which all have SDLs are $600-700.  The other windows on the side and rear which don't have grilles at all are generally $300-500.  For quality windows like Marvin, Kolbe, and Pella the price difference for custom sizes is almost negligible for rectangular windows.  It's the oversized, non-rectangular, and especially arch-top clad windows with SDLs that get crazy expensive.  French doors too, those are around $2,400 in this case.  These are all just unit costs, not including installation, delivery, tax, etc.

I went by the project today and immediately noticed the "ordinary" windows on the garage, but most people won't, and I probably wouldn't have if you hadn't mentioned it.  Obviously it will have plenty of light from the south, but the northeastern window on the Mulberry side (above the front door) caught my attention.  I've noticed that in a lot of row houses a window on a side wall like this makes a huge difference in the ambiance of the interior space, even if the window gets no direct sunlight. 

 

I lived on Mulberry for awhile and the southern sunlight can be so overwhelming that the northern side of the house inevitably feels like a cave by comparison, even on an overcast day.  Also, the amount of noise on that street is surprisingly high.  On the south balcony you get a lot of expressway noise from I-75 even though it's more than a mile away, plus random noise from OTR like fire engines, street preachers, and gunfire.  People (and especially kids walking to Vine Hill School) on the Mulberry sidewalk are also surprisingly disruptive, maybe because there's such little ambient noise coming from that direction most of the time.  That said Mulberry is one of the best streets in town and will be very valuable once OTR is completely repopulated. 

 

 

 

 

The weird thing about Mulberry is you pretty much hear any loud noise from the basin because it is perched in just the right spot. So far (since living there in December) I haven't had any problems with the school. The north side of my house is definitely 10 degrees cooler and much quieter than the south side on a sunny day.

ryanlammi, do you live more near the Vine Street end or the Main/Sycamore end? 

Vine

The rear deck is being framed, the cornice is ready for trim, and insulation is going in.  The walls are blown-in cellulose, the roof deck is 2 1/2" of closed-cell foam plus fiberglass, and all the rim joists are foamed as well. 

That's going to be one cool deck! Can't wait to see more as it comes along.

How thick is the foam insulation?  Those look like 1" furring strips so I'm assuming that the insulation is of a similar depth.  I have done some internet research on this subject (insulation vs. exposed brick) but haven't gotten any professional advice.  What is your opinion on drafts and energy efficiency of exposed brick in a freestanding house versus what is being done here? 

The exterior walls are flat framed (2x4 studs turned on their side) but they're not tight to the brick.  There's a full 2x4 top and bottom plate, so we get 3 1/2" to 4" of insulation.  By turning the studs sideways the insulation can fill the space behind them, limiting thermal bridging.  The blown-in cellulose isn't quite as good as foam for sealing out drafts, but it's significantly better than fiberglass.  So even though we're basically just meeting code on the wall insulation where strict R-value is concerned, with the additional performance the foam and cellulose provide for air leakage, plus the extra R-value we're getting in the roof with the flash and batt system (2 1/2" of foam at R-18 plus R-30 fiberglass batts for a total of R-48) we more than exceed even the recently revised energy performance criteria for LEED.

 

Exposed bricks can be a big problem.  Our LEED consultant specifically mentioned the issues they've run into with exposed brick in OTR.  Even where two buildings are side-by-side, like we have here, the joint between the two walls is enough to allow a lot of air leakage.  It can cause the building to fail a blower door test, simply from the brick being so soft and porous, plus more than a century of cracking and loose mortar.  Painting one or both sides of the wall is the only real option short of enclosing it, and even that can be difficult to make work without a lot of caulking and multiple coats of paint.  There's some clear sealers too, which can help, but they won't work as well as paint and they darken the brick and can make it shinier too.  None of this changes the R-value either, which for an 8" brick wall is only about R-2, roughly equivalent to a standard commercial glass curtain wall. 

The exterior walls are flat framed (2x4 studs turned on their side) but they're not tight to the brick.  There's a full 2x4 top and bottom plate, so we get 3 1/2" to 4" of insulation.  By turning the studs sideways the insulation can fill the space behind them, limiting thermal bridging. 

 

Aha.  I see it now with the way the window box is significantly deeper than it would have been historically.  Was there original window molding to save?  I imagine that the final finishing could still look good with that molding even with the exaggerated depth.

 

This appears to be a far superior insulation method as compared to adhering rigid foam insulation (typically intended for basements) directly to interior brick, with the drawback being that it is significantly more work and that it shrinks the room by about a foot.  Several manufacturers make a rigid foam with regularly spaced indents for furring strips, and that allows you to keep your current windows intact, but I'm not convinced that the insulative effect is worth that effort. 

 

A problem with your method appears if you have an interior staircase that is attached to an exterior brick wall.  You can't insulate the wall as shown here without either moving  the staircase (only possible if the house has been gutted) or sacrificing 6-8" of staircase width, which could cause big trouble when trying to move pieces of furniture. 

 

 

 

 

 

The effect of the insulation is startling even in this state.  You can really tell a difference in sound and air pressure in the rooms where it has been blown in, versus those where it has not. 

Is UrbanOhio invited for a party on that deck!??!  FORUM MEET @ DECK!?!?

I'll have to check with the boss on that one, but it may be doable. 

Is UrbanOhio invited for a party on that deck!??!  FORUM MEET @ DECK!?!?

 

I was just wondering when the next forum meet would be lol.

Is UrbanOhio invited for a party on that deck!??!  FORUM MEET @ DECK!?!?

 

Don't forget the Klotter St. shuffle.  We gather on my back patio, get drunk, then bum rush Zach's house. 

Things are moving very quickly now.  Deck is done, and the drywall is nearly all up--next step, mudding/taping/sanding etc. Front door is in, too.

Here's a few photos from this morning.

Wow that Solid Rock Baptist logo is hilarious. I assume you're keeping that

I believe it's getting painted...

 

It's all moving very quickly now.  Assuming that we get the first coat of paint on everything inside this weekend, then the floors and cabinets will be next.  Kind of crazy actually. 

Looking good! It's always amazing how quickly things come together at the end. One minute you're looking at rough framing and then suddenly the walls are all covered in drywall, the trim is going in, finishes are being placed and it looks like an actual home.

Looks like it's going to be a great home! I am also impressed with the speed at which this is all coming together.  The house that is being constructed on Ida Street in Mt. Adams can't be much larger this this house, and it's taken for-frickin-ever to get that place built, and I thought new construction was supposed to be easier and faster than renovations.  Looking forward to future updates!

^We started construction in earnest in March, and it seemed like it moved slowly for awhile, but it's definitely picked up a lot of steam in the last few weeks.  I think that new construction typically does go a lot faster.  A lot of our time related to brick work, wall cuts, framing with all the twists and turns of old buildings.  But now it is definitely moving along. 

The large window on the front connector is going in today.  Exciting stuff. 

 

 

New front window is completely installed.  And the inside of the house has been painted except for a couple of spots (two coats on the ceilings already).  It's getting closer...

 

 

Cornice work is going on right now.  I have no idea how long it has been since this building has had these decorative pieces, but it has definitely been decades.  Should be done with the cornice work by next week.

 

 

Beautiful corbels under the eaves and  they are period-correct for a Victorian Italianate style building like you have. With the cornice reconstructed, the building will look as part of the historic neighborhood again.

New cornice nearly complete.