Lenox
Condos
Victorian House for sale in NY
Local
Lodging
Berkshire MA Inns
Home buying articles
Berkshire-realestate.com
Victorian
House for Sale in NY
New Baltimore, New York
Page 3
Now, here is the real scoop: This is an 1874 or thereabouts
Victorian, probably the manor house of the small hamlet of New Baltimore
in those days. In 1988 it was in great disrepair. Current owners saved
the building and did a great deal of work, always with an eye to period
feel.
The bottom line is, this house has been habitable for 15 years and looks
the best now that it has since at least the '40s.
THE BIG, EXPENSIVE PARTS OF THE RESTORATION HAVE BEEN DONE.
This includes repair or rebuilding of foundation, roof, mansard, entire
south side. Hot water radiator system, electricity, insulation, plumbing,
all modern installation. First two storeys are finished inside.
INQUIRIES: Don Fontaine, (518) 945-2125
Fontaine & Associates
(888) 800-3222
21 2nd. Street, Athens, New York 12015
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE:
Foundation and sills have been completely rebuilt and restored where
needed. On the north side of the house, a 20-foot section of the stone
foundation was on the ground, with the house sagging accordingly. This
was jacked back up and rebuilt in stonework by a master mason. He continued
around the basement and house, rebuilding or repointing as needed. The
forest of jacks were all able to be removed.
The south side of the house had been stripped down to the sheathing, and then the project abandoned for a few years. Most of the sheathing and a lot of the framing were rotted. In some places this included the first foot or so of joists and floorboards. The latter were sistered and replaced as needed. Frame rebuilt, new plywood sheathing applied and finished with tyvek and cedar clapboard.
The mansard and "Philadelphia gutter" were repaired or rebuilt as needed. Dormers were flashed and covered with roofing rubber, mansard finished in hand-shaped, stained cedar shingles, gutters lined with rubber. The roof itself was redone in 2005. About half the sheathing was replaced, the rest turned and trimmed, and the surface is Whatchacallit. Top of chimney was rebuilt.
House was wired, plumbed ,insulated, and hot water oldstyle
radiator system installed. Most of the plaster walls were decayed and
had to be replaced with sheetrock. Three original plaster medallions
remain, and an ornate, large mirror with marble shelf remains in the
parlor.
First two floors are finished and decorated. Floors are wide board. Kitchen was gutted from crawlspace to ceiling joists. New floor is wood from a barn bunkhouse. Ceiling is antique tin. Stove sits in a large dutch oven with added brick facade (same mason). One counter is a church pew, one butcher block, and the other granite. Window over the granite is a Victorian storm door insert turned sideways. Cabinets were salvage and after 100 hours of sanding off a dark stain, proved to be book-matched pecan (or something --- no two experts agree).
There is a full bath on the second floor, also a half-bath. A half-bath was added under the stairs in the ground floor center hall.
The entire north side of the ground floor is the "Ballroom," 13' x 32', with an archway in the middle.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE:
Some of the exterior is ready for repainting. You will want to improve the gutters, but they keep the water out of the house. Downspouts need to be added. The front porch roof wants to be repaired. And sealed. You could rebuild it entirely, but that is not necessary.
There are places, mostly on the back of the house, needing finishing --- soffits, trim, window woodwork. Most of the old gingerbread remains, more could be copied and replaced if you want to continue in the spirit of restoration.
Third floor is currently unfinished, unheated storage. There are seven more rooms up there if you want to expand your living space. You'd want to gut it, sheetrock, refinish floors, and so forth. Current owners planned an extensive master suite on the third floor, and access has been left to get the plumbing and wiring up from the basement with minimal disturbance.
Actual move-in things needing to be done are replacement of the faucets in the bathroom sink [the old ones worked fine but some misguided realtor thought they should be replaced.....new ones don't work so good!], and whatever you want to do about a shower. Current owners installed a footed tub with shower curtain and a tub spigot that can switch water up to the shower head. After 15 years the spigot wore out, and was replaced with a used one from the Historic Albany warehouse --- which also wore out. You can buy such a rig new for too much money, or plumb in another set of nice copper pipes with separate faucets for the shower.
The house is being presented on half an acre, including an orchard of a dozen antique variety apple trees and a GOOD pie cherry tree. There is a copse providing privacy beyond the orchard.
AN ADJACENT ACRE IS OFFERED FOR ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION.
This amounts to two possible buliding lots within the hamlet --- "downtown"
New Baltimore. That will be valuable in the future, or will provide
for your space and privacy. The additional land goes through to the
street behind, where, for instance, a garage could be built.
If you are ambitious about this sort of thing, you could have a tennis court and 4-car garage, and the entire property could be a park. At a minimum, you have a lot of buffer space.
Current heat is oil. You want to think about switching to wood or corn! Electric water heater.
And --- is this a caveat or a fillip? --- current owner now lives about
45 minutes away and will be happy to consult on how to do everything
that needs doing. He m-i-i-i-i-gt be available for hire to do or help
with the rest of the restoration, but that has to be cleared with the
Missus!
INQUIRIES: Don Fontaine, (518) 945-2125
Fontaine & Associates
(888) 800-3222
21 2nd. Street, Athens, New York 12015