Yup, that's mud!

Doing foundation work in Western Oregon in winter means working in mud. Lots of it! The guys doing our foundation are covered in mud from the waist down. One of the guys complained that he'd accidentally knelt in a mud puddle and when he stood up the muddy, cold water drained into his boot - ugh!! The third photo from the top shows the wood sill that the house was standing on - very well rotted! We constantly wonder what's been holding the place up!!

But this means we're within days of having a new foundation. That's exciting news! All the demolition is done on the inside, so now we start putting it back together. The interior walls were so water and time damaged that we wound up stripping most rooms down to the siding. One friend compared it to lifting the radiator cap on an old car and driving a new car under it! That's not far from what we've done. Some of the interior demolition was also due to a city requirement for earthquake supports.

We're also pretty far along with the addition on the west side. The gravel
for the floor arrived today, so pouring the concrete floor isn't far
off.

Success!!

As hard as it is for us to believe, we have permits!! After another insane conversation with the city planners, Brian went to the head of the department and said "I'm not leaving here without my permits, if I have to stay all day!" Finally, they gave us "conditional" permits, meaning we still have to jump through a couple of hoops, but we can get work scheduled. The relief is so sweet!!

The Elephant is Winning

We STILL don't have building permits! We are now becoming convinced that for some reason the city doesn't want us to save the Caton
House. We discussed suing the city, but that would just take more time
& money. We seem to be at a dead-end. The city keeps demanding more
paperwork; stuff they could have told us about months ago. One person
says they're ready to issue permits, then the next person says "no, you
need to give us a notarized letter stating...". It's insane. Every time
we think we're close to getting permits they throw up more bizarre
restrictions and demands. We're thoroughly demoralized. Our
documentation is now well over 200 pages for ONE REMODEL JOB!

Ok, I'm done venting for now.

Waltzing With The Elephant

I'm so behind on my posts, I apologize! We managed a 2 week vacation, spending a week in Provence and a week in Tuscany. We really needed a break, and came back much rested.

Our biggest problem with Caton House is dealing with the City. Early on we requested a meeting of city staffers to review requirements. Several staffers didn't show up even given weeks of notice. So requirements that fell under their purview weren't addressed and are now jumping up to bite us. Plus the fact that we paid a sizeable fee for the meeting!

Another issue we've had is that we never know who to talk to at the city. Last week Brian stopped by the planning department and asked "Fred" a question. He was told to go downstairs and ask "Jeff". So he did, only to have "Jeff" tell him to go upstairs and ask "Fred"!! That's a typical interaction with the city, unfortunately.

We have generated an appaling amount of paperwork on this project. As of a month ago we were up to 79 pages, and I know it has grown to over 100 pages since then. There's one application that's so complicated that we've had to hire another engineer to fill it out. Plus the number of times city staffers have contradicted and reversed themselves has made this project truely frustrating.

We've given the city staffers feedback on these and other issues, and can only hope that things improve. We've requested that the code books be put on reserve at the local library so we can access the info we need. We hope to have our permits soon as we have a "carved in stone" moving date.

On the positive side, we have gutters! So we're inching forward as much as we can without permits. I'm meeting with a graphics artist to make a business sign for us. He has some really good ideas!

I'm attaching a photo from Google Earth of the house. The bottom of the photo is the southeast corner of our property.

And now a paint job!!

We have one coat of primer paint going on the house today. Yesterday they (Protek Painting) finished the east side and today they're doing the west side. The difference is astonishing! Even though it's just the flat white primer and not the final paint it looks so much better to be all one color! We need to finish the foundation and replace the damaged siding on the bottom of the house before we can have the final paint applied, but this will make it look better and protect the siding in the interim.

Our renovation proposal was heard by the Corvallis Historic Resources Commission last Tuesday. We were worried that they'd want us to make a lot of changes to our plan, but not only did they say yes to all our proposal, they gave us one item we didn't ask for: they asked if the window shutters were original. We don't believe they are, and we don't like the way they look. Apparently neither did the Commissioners because they gave us the option of putting them back on after painting or not. So we'll leave them off.

We found out that for Corvallis' 150th birthday this year the City wants homeowners & businesses to plant 150 new trees in Corvallis. We've been planning to plant a couple of street trees anyway so I called the (extremely helpful) City Forester and requested 2 trees. As soon as I decide which kind we want she'll order them at no cost to us! We'll plant them when they arrive, probably in late fall.

Brian has been doing a lot of tear-out inside the house. The long-term water damage has made it necessary to replace a lot of the interior walls. I've attached a photo that's typical of what we're finding. The wood is so rotten that if I gently touch it, it crumbles. Not good! (top photo) On the positive side he's discovered some neat old joinery, the photo on the bottom shows some mortise & tenon he uncovered in the flooring!

We have a new roof & an improved back yard!

The roof is finished and it looks terrific (photo above)! It will be so nice to have the leaks stopped which will stop the ceilings & walls from deteriorating further. We’ll have Sprick Roofing back to do the shop & store room roofs when its time.

We are on the agenda for the August 28 Historic Resources Commission. The proposal came to 16 legal-size pages plus one addendum! We resolved the parking lot issue with the city, but we need a written report from a specialist certified arborist to confirm that our plan will work to save the old black walnut tree. The closest arborist of this type is 45 miles away, which means we’re paying $80 per hour of driving time plus working time! And that’s actually pretty inexpensive for this type of arborist. He’s a specialist on paving that will minimize impact on trees.

Yesterday we rented a small backhoe and Brian had a lot of fun! He cleared all the blackberry bushes from the backyard, and removed an old, overgrown lilac. I wanted to save the lilac but it was beyond that, so we’ll plant some new ones. The photos above show before (top) and after (bottom) from about the same perspective - quite a difference! The backyard looks so big now, and we can really see how much our property slopes to the north. We also found many beer & soda cans and a lot of trash. I was hoping for some old treasure lurking under the bushes, but no such luck. Brian also pulled up stumps in the front yard and I went behind him collecting the flower bulbs he’d uncovered. There were a lot; I plan to add those to the landscape plan as well.

There was an old metal shed in the yard next to the walnut tree. When Brian moved it with the backhoe we could see that some creature had been storing walnuts under it. There was a carpet of walnut shells about 3 inches deep! I tried hard not to think about which creature it might have been, but by removing the blackberries we’ve reduced the rat habitat. We should see fewer now that we’ve been getting things cleaned up.

The roofers have started! AKA Shake & Bake!

Sprick Roofing started tearing off the old shingle roof on Tuesday (7/31). They're finding a lot of damaged beams, but we expected that. Brian spent yesterday rebuilding the valley above the "sunroom" while I finished stripping the front door. I can't imagine tearing off old shingles on a 95 degree day with the dust & dirt present in such an old roof. The roofers were black with dirt by the time they quit for the day. They're pleasant guys: friendly and very hard-working. They started laying new shingles on the west side yesterday. Several neighbors stopped by to say how happy they are that the new roof is finally happening, and that we chose to replace it with cedar shingles. I can't wait to see how it looks when it's finished!

We were on the August 14 agenda for the Historic Resources Commission until the City planning department discovered a code that throws a huge monkey wrench into our parking lot plans. It seems that not only are we required to have access to our parking lot off the alley, but we must also widen the alley by 3 feet, and pave it at our expense! That kills our plans for a nice landscaped buffer zone between the alley and our parking lot. Now it will just be asphalt. Nothing green! It also has us, the City Forester, and the arborists I've talked to worried about the old walnut tree. The tree is up against the existing alley, and our concern is that the paving will kill the tree. We're trying to come up with alternate plans, but there's apparently no way to get around paving it all. We'd hate to see that tree die as it is not only very attractive, but also should reduce our cooling cost in summer. Stay tuned for developments!

A picture is worth...

Someone pointed out that I haven't posted a "before" photo lately! Here's the Caton House in its current condition.

I'm a stripper!

No, not that kind! I've been stripping coats of paint off the front door. It's a nice, solid wood door and so far I've taken 6 coats of paint off the outside! It was white originally, then red, green, red, teal, and green. I'll strip the inside of the door next, then start on another exterior door. I found a citrus-based stripper that isn't as harsh as the heavy-duty chemical stuff and although it doesn't take as many layers off at once as the harsh stuff it's gentler to the wood. Under many coats of paint I discovered the hinges are very decorative! I've posted a before photo, and I'll add another after I've stripped them of the many coats of paint.



Brian decided it was time to remove the old wood stove insert that sat in the fireplace. When he did we discovered that the birds were using the top of it for a nesting platform! At left is a photo of the stove with the nest on top which included a couple of tiny bird skeletons! We're going through rubber gloves & dust masks at an alarming rate!

Many of you have asked if we've found any cool stuff. I've included a photo of a wooden box with metal straps that we found under the blackberries. The Collections Manager at the Benton County Historical Museum said it was from a stage coach or covered wagon - the metal hooks on the bottom would have held it in place! We've offered it to them, but haven't heard back yet. If they don't want it we'll store it until we can find a place to display it. The wood is damaged in one corner, and of course the metal is rusty but it's in pretty good shape considering. We've also found lots of square nails, some greeting cards and newspapers from the 1940s, a chamber pot lid, and one mummified mouse - we didn't save that!

We're on the agenda for the August 14 meeting of the Historic Resources Commission at 7 pm in the Downtown fire station. We've submitted our proposal for renovation and have our fingers crossed. I'll post more about that at a later date.

The end of June already???

Hurray, we have permission from the City to replace the roof! Since we’re replacing a cedar shake roof with a cedar shake roof we don’t need to get the approval of the full Historic Resources Commission; the Executive Committee has approved this. We’ve hired Sprick Roofing who said they’ll buy the cedar now because the price has been going up, and it should be lower now than it will be in a couple of months when they replace our roof. Every little bit helps and we appreciate their forethought.

Our Project Managers jacked the house up to level it so we can also have the windows reglazed and replace the broken panes. Then we’ll weather-strip them and put storm windows on the inside for energy efficiency.

The open house was a lot of fun! We had about 70 people come through including a few who think we’re seriously nuts for taking this project on. Everyone else was having fun making lighthearted jokes about our sanity and the condition of the house. Yup, it’s in BAD shape!! The most interesting attendee was 96 year-old Marion Gathercoal (Paul couldn’t attend, unfortunately) who bought the house in 1940 and lived in it for about 4 years when they sold it to Paul’s brother & sister-in-law. She had lots of information & stories about the Caton House. She told us that when they bought it there were no indoor bathrooms so they lived in their camper in the backyard until Paul could install a half bath upstairs and a full bath on the main floor.

We’ll be working with Citizen’s Bank to get the funds for the renovations. They’ve been very helpful and we’ve liked working with them in the past. We have no worries about their end of things!

Brian removed the supporting beams (see photo) from under the 1948 addition making us wonder what was holding the place up. As someone once said to us the termites & carpenter ants were holding hands!



We’re having Beth Young Garden Design do the landscaping plan. We want the landscape to be easy to maintain, and not distract from the main purpose of the building. She and I haven’t had a discussion about specific plants yet, but I’m looking forward to that.

Terry Johnson is drawing up the plans, and doing a fine job, too! You can learn more about him at www.shelterwoodhomes.com. Terry is an excellent designer who we have hired for jobs in the past. Our clients speak very highly of his work and his professional approach.

Oh my aching back!

The house is officially ours, break out the champagne! Brian took this week off so we could get lots done in and around the house. I’ve been cutting blackberries, edging the lawn, and trimming overgrown shrubs. I found an interesting plant (photo) called a Voodoo Lily or Dragon Flower (Dracunculus vulgaris). I plan to dig it up before the excavator starts and save it for the final landscaping.

Brian had to dig a hole near the foundation and found an old chamber pot lid, still in one piece. Maybe we’ll find the rest of it later! The only other treasures we’ve found have been botanical, and many of those are beyond help because the landscape has been neglected for so long. Near the lilac is a rose bush that is fighting the blackberries for dominance. It has small flowers and a soft scent.

We’ve been pulling a lot of old lumber from under the house. Some of it we can use but what we can’t use we’ve been piling near the street with a “free” sign on it. It’s been disappearing along with other items we’ve found: an old chicken coop or maybe rabbit hutch, and the old kitchen stove. We’re glad that stuff won’t end up in the landfill. One man who stopped to get some pieces of the newer siding said he has the same siding on his house and needs a little more to repair damage!

The open house is on track and we’re really looking forward to seeing everyone. I’m having a “future home of...” banner printed at AlphaGraphics as well as some posters for the open house. They do a great job and offer good customer service.

We're Having an Open House!

Many of the people we've told about our purchase of the Caton House have expressed an interest in seeing the interior before we start working on it. So we're having an Open House (or Before Renovation Tour) on June 10 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. We hope lots of folks will bring a friend or neighbor to see the house before we start our work.

We've met with the City inspectors to get an idea of what they'll require, and we're starting to put together the information we'll need to meet with the Historic Resources Commission. Brian is taking the bottom of the siding off in preparation for fixing the foundation problems. And they are many! First there are the rats - yes, rats!! They've been living under the house and in burrows under the blackberry bushes. We've set some traps, but eventually we may hire an exterminator. I've called several to ask questions about how they do it; we don't want to just poison the whole place! We're looking for an environmentally friendly solution which some of the companies offer. More on that when we get to that point. Brian also discovered that the 1941 addition just south of the carriage house has a foundation under only part of it. We can't figure out what's holding it up! There are apparently no headers above the windows or doors, but there are long turnbuckles stretched across the room in 2 places from wall to wall. Brian explained that they're holding the walls up. It's going to be a real challenge to restore that part I think!

I'm posting a photo that will give you an idea of the number of additions this place has had. Some of the dates are guesses but they should be close to the real date.

Wood rain gutters

I promised a photo of the old wood rain gutter I found. Apparently they were made from either cedar or redwood. They would have been oiled in the center where the rain ran through, and had a piece of tin nailed to the end.

Yardwork Day

We spent most of today doing more yardwork. We rented a chipper to take care of the piles of blackberries and limbs - that's Brian in the photo feeding the hungry chipper! We got it almost all done so now it's time to get back to cutting blackberries. A BIG thanks to our friend Shawn who spent the morning helping us and getting skewered by thorns! We got a lot done.

We take possession in a month and Brian has been creating a "chain of events" checklist. He has submitted plans to the city; they called with some questions so we know they're working on it. The other photo I'm attaching is the CAD rendering Brian drew - doesn't look like the same house! Last week while cutting blackberries I uncovered a section of what we're guessing was the original wooden gutter! I'd heard of wood gutters before but I'd never seen one. I'll post a photo of it soon, it's pretty cool!

Corvallis has a Spring Garden Festival tomorrow where folks can buy & sell plants, planters, and other garden supplies. I always get there early and buy plants for home but this year I'll want to buy things for the Caton House as well! But until I have the landscape design finalized I guess I'd better not buy too much. I had a landscape contractor walk around the house with me last week - he had lots of great ideas! We're also considering hiring him for long-term maintenance. He's starting a new company as soon as his contractor's license comes through so I can't share the name of his company until then. Stay tuned...

Several people have asked me how to pronounce Caton. Without a TARDIS (time machine) we can't ask the original owners! We've been saying it to rhyme with payton, and hope that's right.

And you thought I was kidding about the blackberries!

The Caton House is officially ours! We signed papers the 20th and hope to take possession before the June 4th deadline. The nice folks we bought it from have found some old tile and hardware that they're giving to us! They're really glad that we bought it because they know us and they know we can make the house look beautiful again.

There's an estate sale company going through the inside sorting stuff for the estate sale next month, and our employees and I have been working in the yard. I was there most of the day today and my arms are so sore I can hardly lift them! Take a look at the latest photo, that's John with the loppers. We made a lot of headway, and actually found the magnolia tree that's deep in the blackberries. And that's just one patch of them - the whole alley is lined with a huge blackberry "hedge"! Then there's the bamboo which I'm fairly certain is the running kind which means it spreads like wildfire! Not good. I like bamboo but it can be extremely hard to control unless it's the clumping kind. There are also forget-me-nots (Myosotis) blooming, as well as blue bells (Hyacinthoides) and of course dandelions! So there's a lot of work ahead in the yard as well as in the house! The starlings are raising a family in a birdhouse that's nailed to a huge black walnut tree at the rear of the property so we were being serenaded by the chicks peeping and the adults scolding us.

Brian has been working on the plans to restore the exterior as well as looking for replacement materials that are in keeping with the period of the house. We've found that part of it has wooden gutters! We are also looking into roofing material that will be historically accurate-looking, so either cedar shakes or a composite material that looks like cedar but is far less combustable. I'll post the results of our research as I find out the details.

Now, I'm going to go soak my sore muscles in the Jacuzzi!

Paperwork, paperwork

It's been snowing paperwork here for 2 weeks now. And we haven't even closed yet! We've been meeting with our realtor, attorney, accountant, banker, and city planners. I'm already tired of signing my name and closing isn't until Friday. We hope. The title company has found a glitch in the title: a document that was never recorded. The folks at the title company have been working hard to track down the errant paperwork so we can move forward. We've used this title company before and they've always been great! First American Title if you're interested.

If we close on Friday 4/20 as planned we won't take possession until June 4. The current owners have lots of stuff to sort thru as Bob was a packrat of cosmic proportions! We knew they would need time after the sale so we're letting them occupy the house until then. In the meantime we'll be able to start working on the yard, and do a little work on the outside of the house. The backyard has been taken over by blackberry bushes which are hell to remove. Blood transfusion anyone?

We met with 2 city planners last week to get a feel for the permit process. Because it's an historic building we'll need approval from the city Historic Resources Commission (HRC) before we make any exterior changes. It sounds like the process will take at least a couple of months, partly because the HRC only meets once per month.

I've been doing some horticultural research to find out what plants were popular here 150 years ago. I know the pioneers brought some plant material with them, and I'd like to keep the landscaping historically accurate. I realize that I won't be able to use accurate varieties in some cases but I can get close. I'm not good at waiting, and am itching to tackle the place. Brian has been working with CAD to prepare an "after" plan and images. The elevation drawing makes the place look amazing! I can't wait to see it like that, as it once was.

One of the most inspiring things has been the reaction of friends & family - very happy for us, and encouraging us, and we've had offers of help from surprising places. Our attorney, a young couple we've only known about a year, and an old friend we haven't seen in a very long time may be coming here to pitch in! Although the young couple I mentioned drove by the Caton House today and emailed me "You bought that? On purpose?" Another friend (and our insurance agent) said when he drives past the house he hears the theme song from the Addams Family! I think we know too many comedians...

The Caton House history

Jesse H. Caton left his home state of Missouri in the company of the famous Applegates to travel the Oregon Trail. He helped to bring the first wagon down the Blue Mountains. He met and married Precious Starr in 1848; she had come here on the Oregon Trail earlier that year. They lived in several areas of Western Oregon before buying a house & tract of land (Lots 1 & 2, Block 16) from Levi Phillips in Corvallis in 1859. Jesse lived in the house until his death in 1863, after which time his family continued to occupy the property until 1913. On March 29, 1913 Jesse’s daughter & son, Ida Forston & J. L. Caton, sold the property to Anna M. Irwin. On April 12 of that year she sold the house to J. H. D. Goldson. Georgia & J. H. D. Goldson sold the house on May 3, 1921 to Sarah J. Brown, who sold it to Stella Brown on January 17, 1925. Stella Brown, a Corvallis bootlegger, quit claim to the property on February 16, 1937 and left Corvallis. On October 30, 1940 Paul & Marion Gathercoal bought the house and property for $800 from the City of Corvallis. They sold it to Paul’s brother Jim & Cleona Gathercoal on November 13, 1944. Jim was a local architect. He sold the house in 1953 to Robert Irwin who lived in the house for about 50 years. Bob’s son & daughter-in-law, Tom & Jill sold the house to Brian & Kris on April 20, 2007.

We (Brian & Kris) own a design/remodel firm and intend to restore the outside and yard to its original beauty, and convert the inside into our showroom & offices.