And Now for Something Completely Different...

I dream about houses. Really. Ask Carla. Sometimes I wake up and am able to tell her the tiniest details of a home I “visited” in my sleep. But I recently began work on a house that I couldn’t have created…in my wildest dreams. If you drive down the Doylestown street where the house “lives,” it’s easy to miss. Hidden behind tree cover, you don’t get a glimpse of the dark cedar structure until you’re well along the front path. …And then suddenly, there it is!

When owner Chris Grebey opened the exposed-nail shiplap door, I was sure this was a historic home. And when I say historic, I mean really old. Small rooms, low ceilings, multiple front entrances.

But it's not that old. The original section was built in the 1930s and the addition went on in the '50s. You can see here where the two meet.

Chris doesn’t know much of the house’s history except that the owner at the time of the addition did the building himself, and was pretty thorough at continuing the “antiquing” details the original builder, who was a designer, had begun two decades earlier. And when I say details, I mean even the hidden ones. Take a look at this cut nail, used since the dawn of the Metal Age, I pulled out of one of the clapboards.

Then there are the diamond windows throughout the house....and the latched "cupboard" storage in the hallway...

And get a load of this tiny door, about 5-feet tall, that leads from the living room to the garden…

But what really got me going were these... I took a picture and did a fair amount of googling. They looked like finials - and they are - but I had never seen them as “icicles” before, dropping instead of crowning a structure or piece of hardware. Three of them adorn the front of the original house. Interestingly Chris, who is a project manager, used to be an anthropologist. So when her realtor kept showing her one cookie-cutter house after another, Chris was eager to “unearth” a treasure. “I wanted a house that wasn’t like any other,” she says. It certainly isn’t.

I'll update you on the house as we complete the job, before "weather" comes. Happy Autumn!

The Story of a House (a Love Letter)

Like   in   MAY 31 COMMUNITY SERVICE FOLLOW UP "I am so grateful for my beautiful new roof. I stare at my roof in the sunshine, the rain, and from the Towpath too. I truly believe that [the NARI community service team] saved my house and have given me a chance to remain a resident of Bucks." ~Gloria Kosco, Point Pleasant Odell Painting is proud to chair the Community Service Committee of the NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry) Bucks-Mont chapter. For more on this project, click on Gloria's house. The Story of a House (a Love Letter) The first time I went to the house, in 1993, I nearly missed the driveway. But as I turned off of Route 413 in Buckingham and stepped out of my truck, I truly felt as if I’d crossed a threshold in time, my feet firmly planted in yesteryear before an imposing stone house standing like a sentinel to a property that yawned to the acres beyond. In the ensuing years, I worked on and off for the family – some large, some small jobs – growing quite fond of Judge Isaac Garb and his wife, Joan, as well as of their grown children, Maggie, Charlie and Emily – with whom I mourned the passing of, first, their mother in 2009 and then of their father three years later. One of the last jobs I did for them was putting in and painting a new handrail on the grand center stairway for Mrs. Garb as movement became more challenging. After that the Judge brought me in to do some small handyman work, ending the day by sharing a cup of tea before I departed. But as is often the case, as children have moved on and parents have passed on, there comes a time to sell the family house. It’s not hard to find the turn now; a Mazaheri Realty signs marks the drive. I want to tell you about this house, and its family. And why a particular spot on their property provides me with a warm and loving memory. First, the house. Maggie provided a bit of published history: The oldest part of the house dates back to about 1740. The newer rooms – the front hall, two living rooms and large bedroom – were completed around 1810. Its Federalist-style façade and elegant front door with Palladian window were typical of stone houses built in the first-quarter of the nineteenth century. The house’s large, gracious entry hall, however, is unusual, a sign of the prosperity—and perhaps social ambition—of its early owner [Joshua Anderson]. ...The house remained in the Anderson family...[and] changed hands just once in the mid-twentieth century before Judge Isaac and Joan Garb bought the property in 1966. “I was only four, but I remember coming into the house for the first time,” Maggie told me. “It was dark and scary and Mom took down the heavy dark curtains and brightened up the house. They particularly liked the location because my father was now a judge and he wanted be on a major road so he could get into town and never be stuck when there was bad weather.” So here’s where I tell you about the Judge. If you’ve lived in the county for a time, his name might be familiar. He presided over the infamous “Mainline Murder” case where William Bradfield was found guilty of murdering Upper Merion schoolteacher Susan Reinhert and her two children. He was also the judge who ruled in favor of the much-needed Point Pleasant pumping station – an issue over which environmental protestors, including Abby Hoffman, were jailed and over which the Judge received death threats. As it turned out the pump had no effect on the river. Last, I’ll tell you about why a particular spot on the property is so important to me. Early in my business, I worked with a very close friend. We called him – and you can see why in this photo – “Big Michael.” Here we are in front of the Garb barn in 1999, our last job together. A few weeks later he was diagnosed with a fast-growing cancer and gone a month after that. We loved spending our lunchtimes, sitting behind the barn and stone guesthouse, which I believe was the original kitchen house. We’d lean up against the cool stone of the old well... ...near the tree swing where long-ago children pumped their legs back and forth, and where I one day watched Michael, climbing higher into the summer air. Until the house is sold, Maggie is living there, and I’m helping with the little things the house needs as it waits for its next owners, families who will gather around the dining room table in what is the oldest section of the house to celebrate holidays together and perhaps throw a wedding or two, as the Judge and Mrs. Garb did for their daughters. “Of course we wanted to be married here,” Maggie says. “There’s a magical quality to the house; we could feel it as kids.” I feel that magic every time I return there. So early in July, I asked Emily if we could take some of the plantings the Garbs so lovingly tended all those years. Carla and I spent a morning, walking much of the property - which backs onto 50 acres of preserved open space - gently digging out and wrapping ferns, morning glories, and bleeding hearts, which have taken a liking to our soil, about 15 miles north. A little bit of what was there is now with us, growing and thriving. As Maggie remarked the last time I was there, “This house carries all the lives that were part of it. Now we’re all part of its story.” In one way or another, all things endure. Winner of the 2013 CotY for Residential Interior Specialty; Photo: Brian Krebs/Fred Forbes Photogroupe For more information about our services, visit www.odellpainting.com. HIC# PA044685 NJ13VH07954000    ©2014 Odell Painting | 11 Lookover Lane, Ottsville, PA 18942 Web Version   Forward   Unsubscribe   Powered by Mad Mimi ®

With a Little Help from Our Friends...

My wife, Carla, and I love to walk on the Delaware Canal Towpath, especially near Upper Black Eddy, close to where we live. For those of you not familiar with the walking/biking/jogging/occasional-horseback-riding stretch, this is the 60-mile terrain along which sure-footed mules once towed barges carrying goods between Easton and Bristol. For a long time, every time we walked under the iconic camelback bridge near us, we’d duck. Partly because our height perception was off and partly because we were nervous it would collapse on our heads (as if ducking could protect us.)

Okay, we weren't really worried. But the truth is the authentic camelbacks—dating back to the Canal’s heyday pictured above (circa 1920)—have been in much need of repair. Once there were more than 100 bridges spanning the Canal, most of them camelback; only six true camelbacks remain today, four of which have been restored thanks to the combined efforts of the FODC (Friends of the Delaware Canal) legislative initiative grants, the "Save America's Treasures" program, and the Heritage Conservancy. 

 
Anyway, two years ago Odell Painting became a Business Member of the FODC because we wanted to do what we could to preserve the integrity of the Canal (which in turn protects its flora and fauna) and to help perpetuate its folklore. And being in the building-and-remodeling industry, it just made sense for us to join the CAT (Canal Action Team). In May, thanks to contributions, structural repairs to the cross bracing system were completed and deteriorated materials were replaced on Upper Black Eddy's Hazzard’s Bridge, the fourth of the six remaining bridges, the one we were ducking under all the time--and whose "adolescence" is captured in the photo that opens this blog. Not being engineers, a Lancaster construction team, experts in camelback structures, did the big work. But in mid-June, CAT members Brian Dougherty, Josh Gradwohl, Gordon Heisler, Peter Sperry, and I finished the job: scraping, priming, and repainting the trusses its customary red.

This past weekend, Carla and I went for our walk--and beneath the bridge, held our heads high. But there are two more bridges waiting... If you’d like more information about the Canal's history and long-ago culture, what the Friends do, and possibly joining us, please visit www.fodc.org. 

…Happy Trails!

The top photo is reprinted Courtesy of FODC, and the middle one is by Brian Dougherty. The last one is ours; we used a timer.

A Tale of Two Roofs

You may not know this, but Odell Painting is a member of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI). And as members we have had the privilege of chairing the Bucks-Mont chapter’s Community Service Committee for the past two years. So we were thrilled to partner with No Roof Left Behind (NRLB), a national program that enlists the generosity of contractors, county by county, to help homeowners who’ve fallen on hard times literally keep a roof over their heads.  In our case, in Bucks County, the participating roofer is Eiseman Construction; and the homeowners in need? Well, it turned out a little differently than usual. First, let me tell you how NRLB works:

Step 1: Nominators upload information about the homeowner and the house.

Step 2: Volunteers review nominees; then select finalists.

Step 3: It’s put to a pubic vote; in our case, it was on Facebook.

Step 4: The winner is selected.

Step 5: The community comes out and, well, puts on a new roof.

So here’s where our new roof became…two. There was a clear winner, which is where Eiseman will be working sometime later this month on their own project. There were also two other nominees whose stories – and massive voting results – couldn’t be ignored. That’s where we on the Community Service Committee came in. While GAF was gracious enough to help us out with materials and Eiseman the roofer, many contractors and craftspeople in our NARI chapter donated their time and materials on NARI’s two service days: March 22 and May 31.  Nature was kind enough to give us two beautiful days to help our neighbors in Warminster and Point Pleasant.

Here’s the roll call of our supporters and participants:  

Melissa and Phil Eiseman from Eiseman Roofing, GAF...and the NARI team:

Joe Billingham (Billingham Built), Tom Bruning (Opdyke Lumber), Steve Kalevich (Neighborhood Builders), Ed Randzo and Ben (S.A. Morris and Co), Laura Hawley (Ambiance Design), Mark Glidden (Stone + Glidden), Beth Farquharson (BF Interior Design Studio), Nick Lauro (Lauro Wallcovering), Steve Rush (Sovereign Construction Services), Joe Ryglicki (Wehrung's Home Center), John and Kristy Young (Thrivent Financial), Kyle and Nicole Adamcyzk and Mike Stanwick (K & M Home Enhancements), Tom Hawks and Earl (Total Home Solutions), Pam Kofsky from (Elegant Interior Designs), Brian Drumm (Drumm Design Remodel), Jamey Weisberg (J. Weisberg Custom Builders), and Ryan Rosenbaum of Bucks Mont NARI.

Photos are by Mark Glidden and Carla Odell.