Archive for the ‘2008 – 2009 Wren’s Nest Conservation Project’ Category

New, Fancy Pants Architectural Photos from Jonathan Hillyer

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Our architectural photographer Jonathan Hillyer just sent in the second batch of Wren’s Nest shots.  These are slightly better than the first crop because I served as photographer’s assistant.

See those lights in the upstairs windows?  See how they make all the difference?  Yep, that was me.

One of the stupid things that Joel Chandler Harris did when he built this house was face it due north.  The sun never really hits the front of the house, so it’s tough to get a truly spectacular daytime shot.  That said, I think this one turned out splendid.

My contribution to this photo was neglecting to call the leaf guy to get the leaves off the roof before the shot was taken.

Also, now might be a good time to mention that all of these photos are copyright Jonathan Hillyer.  Please be sure to credit him if you use ‘em.

Finally, here’s the last of our interior shots that I wasn’t able to post the first time around:

So with this post on the last day of 2009, I’m officially wrapping up our conservation project.

Thanks again to the readers who followed our progress, the donors who allowed us to continue operating the whole time, and the foundations who paid for it all.  Happy New Year.

Wren’s Nest Conservation Update — Our Non-Historic Bathroom is Finished!

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Behold: our newly remodeled bathroom — no more outhouse for us!

Gorgeous, isn’t it?  Go ahead, take a moment to drink it all in.

Perhaps you’ve already noted our expert use of light, bright wall colors and mirrors to open the space.  This is not only lovely, but necessary, as the bathroom is approximately 7.12 square inches large.

I’m not complaining; I love small things.  Especially this adorable washbasin.  Yes, I did just call that sink adorable and yes, I meant it.

Who knew that putting in something so wee would open up so much space?  Oh right, Blalock Construction.  Thanks, fellas!

Your eyes aren’t deceiving you.  That is indeed a light fixture up there, and guess what — it even has a switch!  Gone are the days of a single bulb that we screwed in to turn on — we’re living large now!

Perhaps you remember that one special time a child threw up into our vent.  It was magical.  I really, really hope no one boots into this new vent, and not just because it’s so pretty.

Want to see more?  Tough.  I told you, it’s small as a thimble.

But you can see it in person– why, this Sunday would be a great time!

Wren’s Nest Conservation Update — Bathroom Construction Is ON

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With 11 months of conservation work behind us, the entire project finally is coming to a close.  It’s been a long, rewarding road, and naturally, we wanted to end on a high note — the bathroom.

Did you ever visit our bathroom?

If so, you might have found yourself saying things like, “I think the toilet has been running for the last 14 hours.  Also, the wall is falling off.  And is the sink supposed to shoot cold, frigid water at you?  Gah!  Something just crawled in where the window pane doesn’t meet the frame.”

The good folks at Blalock Construction are overhauling everything, and boy are we keen.  Being that this is the non-historic part of the house, the possibilities are endless.  Why, this may even mean that by next week my regular responsibilities will no longer include “fixing the toilet all the damn time.”

Unfortunately, there is a bit of a downside to this.  You know how if, in your building, they’re working on the bathrooms you have to go down to another floor?  Meet our other floor:

Nothing but the high life over here, folks.

Sneak Peek of Wren’s Nest Interior

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Jonathan Hillyer, amazing architectural photographer, recently snapped a few photos of the Wren’s Nest to mark the completion of our conservation project.

All photos are copyright Jonathan Hillyer, but if you want to use ‘em, you can ask me nicely.  Here are the first four we could get our grubby little hands on:

This is the girls’ bedroom.  Lillian and Mildred, pictured above the mantle, grew up being called Billie and Tommie.  As I understand it, they were spoiled pretty good.

The living room was probably never this clean when Joel Chandler Harris lived here with his wife, mother, niece, 6 kids, and myriad of farm animals.

The table and chairs in the dining room came as a set from Sears for $25.  Note how the ceiling is wallpapered.  As I understand it, that’s kinda like buying a house today with granite countertops.

Joel Chandler Harris’ bedroom is the most famous room in the house.  It’s dressed for summer because Harris passed away in July of 1908.  When Mrs. Harris sold the house to the Uncle Remus Memorial Association, her stipulation was that this room not be touched, so it’s just as it was when Harris lived here.

The crib is an exception, but it is original to the home and the Harris family.  In fact, it’s still used by the Harris family from time to time.  When I was a wee babe, that was my crib.

Thanks again to Jonathan Hillyer for the photos.  There are a few more where these came from, too.

Wren’s Nest Conservation Update — Last Day of Foundation Repair

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Now that you know how to prepare your historic masonry and how to repoint it, let’s skip all the hard work and catch up with the folks repointing the Wren’s Nest masonry on their last day.

Please recall the situation our bricks were in about a year ago.  That is, not all there –

Here’s the same wall today, sans explorers –

Seems like we could have saved a lot money using LEGO bricks instead of real bricks, but what do I know? (Answer: “Not much,” according to those who have heard this idea.)

These bricks could have used some LEGOs too –

But Richard and his crew fixed us right up with historically accurate mortar –

Richard prepared two different kinds of historic mortar since the brick and the stone were installed at different periods.

Note in the above picture: the ruddy mortar near the top.  Richard reckons this is Georgia Red Clay, straight up.  No mortar mixture — just mud.  How comforting.

We decided not to mess with it both for historic preservation purposes and the house not falling down purposes.

Wren’s Nest Conservation Project — Fixing Historic Windows

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I was reading this post on historic window repair from Villa Finale, a National Trust Historic Site in Texas, and it reminded me that I hadn’t shared anything about our own window conservation.

Most of the windows in the Wren’s Nest are original.  There’s one, however, that’s been boarded up for as long as I’ve been here.

The window is at the top of the stairwell, but it isn’t within easy reach at the top of the stairs.  The best way to get to it is actually through the secret hatch in the roof.  We’re keen on hatches.

I wanted to make sure we repaired the window as accurately as possible, but I didn’t know who to call.

That is, not until I met Tom Bretherton at the Decatur Old House Fair.  Tom kicks it so old school that he spells it ‘ye olde school’ and nobody laughs, not even the English majors.  He’s meticulous about historic preservation, and to be honest many of the details of what he did went way over my head.

Very basically, Tom removed and repaired the sash.  Then he reinstalled it, replacing a few rotten parts.

He even busted out his sewing kit.  Tom was explaining what he was doing exactly, but then the doorbell started ringing and I had to fetch it.  My guess is: sewing the rope to the rope.

When I came back we had a new window!

The glass isn’t original the to the Wren’s Nest, but it is contemporary to our glass.  There are striations and bubbles and everything.

Wren’s Nest Conservation Project – Before and After Exterior Photos

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You can stop holding your breath now.

We’ve posted before and after photos of the Wren’s Nest exterior conservation efforts.  There are a whopping 59 in all.

Also, check out Lain’s skills with Photoshop Pixelmator –

It’s like a visual time machine.

There are captions underneath each photo in the album, and remember — you do not need a Facebook account to view the photos.  (However, if your place of work has blocked Facebook, you’ll probably have to wait until you get home to see our progress.  Mom.)

Enjoy!

Previously — Interior Before and After Photos

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Features Wren’s Nest Conservation Project

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Today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran an article on our conservation project here at the Wren’s Nest.  We graced the cover of the Living Section and got a few lines on the front page too.

Online, ajc.com has a Wren’s Nest photo gallery.  Here’s one of the 17 pictures by Kent D. Johnson for the AJC –

This is probably when I was saying, “If you tell people that I only own one suit, I’ll have to get another one.”

After you check out the article and the photo album, come back here and tell me what you think.  I’ll wait, don’t worry.

Wren’s Nest Conservation Project – New Brick Path and Secret Tunnel Part 2

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The new brick pathway at the Wren’s Nest is finished, complete with a secret tunnel to divert water from the house.

Remember what it looked like before?  Not bad, huh.

Two gutters connect underground and divert water away from the house.  By moving the water a few feet from the house we will preserve the structure much more effectively.

Behold — the tunnel’s inner-workings:

Our brick folks did a great job of matching the “new” brick to the old path. They used the brick that’d just been sitting in our yard like so many foundlings.

Here’s what the foundling brick looked like in its natural habitat.

Now you can’t even tell the difference in bricks between our other path and this newbie.

Good job, bricks.  I can’t wait to walk all over you.

National Historic Marker No Longer On the Floor

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For years, the National Historic Marker for the Wren’s Nest sat on the floor.

Like so, but around the corner.

I think it’d just been forgotten.  It’s a shame because Wallace Jones went to a lot of trouble to make sure we received one in 1978.

Mr. Jones visited the Wren’s Nest with his retirement community a few months ago, regaled us with stories of untold bureaucratic intrigue red tape, and left us with this newspaper clipping.

Since his visit, our carpenter made a little frame for our National Historic Marker.

It’s just to the left of the front door.  The frame matches the windows.  Do you think we should keep it?  Or should the marker be naked on the wall?  Here’s a wider view if you need more context.