Bringing Back Sligo

Breathing new life into an Italianate home in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Bringing Back Sligo
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    • A Progress Report

      Posted at 1:43 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on December 13, 2019

      Yikes!  Why didn’t someone tell me it has been six weeks since I last wrote a blog post…and even then it wasn’t much of a post.  I was planning on writing something about the Civil War in Fredericksburg and how it affected the Ferneyhough family at Sligo but maybe I’ll take a minute to catch everyone up on how things are progressing at the house.

      In November we had an open house tour given by the Historical Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. (HFFI).  About 100 people showed up and, I think, all were delighted with the tour and the state of the house.  My mother-in-law went on the tour hoping to go “incognito” which she was for all of two seconds and then she was accosted by my girls screaming “Grammy! Grammy!”  Regardless, she was absolutely thrilled with the tour given by HFFI which included historical aspects of the home and surrounding area, the families that have lived in it, and our plans for the future of the house.  I enjoyed meeting some of the folks at the end of the tour and even learned some new information about Sligo.  For instance, the property wasn’t on city water until the early 1980s.  I was surprised at that.  I also learned that General Thomas Posey and his second wife, Mary Alexander, likely might have lived at the property as when Mary Alexander’s first husband passed away he would have left his estates to the children.

      Over these last few months the progress on the top two floors of the house has progressed rapidly.  The bathrooms are all but complete and the bedrooms have been painted and light fixtures installed.  On the first floor the kitchen still has some work until completion but that is because one cabinet was damaged in transit and one cabinet not delivered at all.  We have made decisions on just about everything else such as light fixtures for the downstairs rooms and the appliances for the kitchen.

      In the basement the apartment is starting to take shape.  The walls for the bathroom are up and the  windows are being repaired.  The brick has been repointed and where there were dirt floors is now cement.  The HVAC system, which is the same mini split system as on the top two floors, has been installed and electrical wiring is run.  The addition of insulation in the ceiling has given the basement a more cozy feeling and while its still a little dark and scary it won’t be for long.

      The grounds are in desperate need of work but until the trucks are done driving in and out it seems rather pointless to try and do anything.  Also, its cold and currently its raining and I have a sleeping pooch next to me so the last thing that sounds like fun to me right now is yard work.  Also, did I mention how many times I got poison ivy this past summer just by looking at the yard?  No less than five times and all of varying degrees of intensity.

      We are hoping to move into the house by January which we are all ready for.  I never would have guessed we would still be living with my mom nearly 1.5 years later.  She probably didn’t expect that either.  Sorry, mom.

      Posted in Basement, Contractors, Grounds, Life, Main House | 1 Comment
    • Paint Choices

      Posted at 8:36 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on October 22, 2019

      This isn’t our first rodeo when it comes to renovating a home.  Since I’ve known Marcus he’s renovated about four homes, only one of which we lived in as a family.  Previously, we lived in Williamsburg and our house there was a foreclosure with water leaking through the ceiling, parts of the floor missing, and foundation issues out the wazoo.  Granted, it wasn’t a 130 year old Victorian but it hadn’t been maintained and it showed.  For three years we Marcus worked on renovating the house with the intention of either selling it or renting it, whichever made the most sense in the long-run.  So, while I wasn’t entirely thrilled about purchasing Sligo I wasn’t surprised that Marcus thought it would be a good idea; Marcus has the ability to see the potential in a home when others cannot…either that or he’s a masochist.

      This all to say that we have renovated homes before but always with the mindset that whatever upgrades and changes we made would be neutral allowing for the house to be easy to sell or rent when the time came.  Decisions were relatively easy to make.  What color should we paint the walls?  Neutral.  What type of flooring should we put in the bathroom?  Neutral vinyl.  What color carpet?  Neutral.  Are there two nice, neutral options?  Which one is cheaper?  You get the point.  I am also a fan of conformity so every room had the same light fixtures and everything matched and can I just tell you, a 130 year old home does not lend itself to an OCD conformist.

      Recently we’ve had to really up our game and start making decisions for down-the-line and it’s a lot of pressure.  Our very kind general contractor has gently been nudging us forward to choose kitchen cabinets, light fixtures, and…*gasp*…paint colors.  Paint color decisions?  Is hard.  I mean, we are the couple who can rarely decide where to eat out on the rare occasion we get a date night so can you imagine how overwhelming it is to walk into the local Benjamin Moore which boasts literally 3500+ colors?!  Also, and I may have mentioned this before, I hate painting so I really want the paint choices to last us for the rest of our lives.  Also, also, the walls are nearly 11 feet high and I will absolutely not be painting them unless I can go all Jackson Pollock.

      In a rare show of decisiveness, Marcus and I recently went over to Sligo armed with Benjamin Moore brochures and “Old House Journal” magazines for inspiration.  We went room to room on the second floor, narrowing down the field of 3500+ colors to three per room.  From there, we engaged our gaggle of friends at the local brewery who helped us narrow down our choices to one per room and voilà!  That is how we chose the second floor room colors.

      But wait!  It couldn’t be that easy.  It turns out children have opinions.  Who knew?  Innocently, I told our girls that we had chosen a shade of pink and a shade of blue for each of their bedrooms.  I say “innocently” because one of our girls is a pink kind of girl and our other girl is a blue kind of girl and how could we possibly get it wrong?  (That’s a redundant question.)  After revealing the paint choice information both girls told me they wanted a blue room.  Ookkkaaayyy…

      So, I innocently (again) involved them in the decision making by offering them the three choices of blue we had originally picked.  Our pink kind of girl mulled over the blue choices but ultimately she stuck with pink, choosing a slightly lighter shade but one that both Marcus and I were happy with.  However, in doing so, she gave the illusion of having chosen her room color and things quickly turned ugly.  Our blue kind of girl had also been perusing the paint color choices and set her sights on a Tiffany Blue deviating drastically from Marcus’s and my plan for the bedrooms to be quiet, peaceful spaces.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Tiffany Blue specifically on little boxes, but an entire room of Tiffany Blue seems like a bit much.  When our blue kind of girl realized she wasn’t going to get the color of her choice she more or less lost her shit (sorry, not sorry, there’s really no other way to put that) and we told her to sleep on it and we would talk about it in the morning.

      Needless to say, this morning I was able to talk our blue kind of girl off of her Tiffany Blue ledge and nudge her into a more subtle, yet still quite blue, shade of blue.  She’s happy and feels as if she made a decision regarding her bedroom ,the youngest is happy (which is rare) and Marcus and I feel like we moved-up a parenting level though still have far to go.

      Posted in Contractors, Life, Main House | 0 Comments
    • The Fence

      Posted at 7:12 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on May 22, 2019

      There have been a few things going on behind-the-scenes (if you will) that I haven’t talked about for fear I would jeopardize their outcome.  One of those was a request to erect a six foot tall fence around the property.  We had to gain special permission from the Zoning Board in order to have such a tall fence at the front of the property.

      A few months ago (that’s how long this process has taken), we were all ready to give the go-ahead to the fence contractor when Marcus decided to peruse the city’s requirements.  Thank goodness he did because we would have been in for a rude awakening when it turns out the maximum height for a fence at the front of a property is four feet.  We immediately put a hold on scheduling for the fence and went to work gathering the requirements for the Zoning Board (one of those things was a survey of the property which I had suggested we get months ago but never did…its uncanny how right I am all of the time).

      I was really worried about putting such a short fence on the property for one big reason and he has four legs and his name sounds a lot like “Asshole.”  I love my furry guy but he’s a doofus and all I could think about was him chasing a bird shadow out into the four lanes of Dixon Road.  Of course protecting my children is high priority as well but they’re less likely to chase birds or shadows out into traffic.

      We also felt a tall fence was necessary to protect the property from any future vandalism.  Before, when the house was already in rough shape, it was hurtful when another window was broken or a fire extinguisher sprayed throughout the house (that happened) but if it were to happen now things could get ugly.  Luckily, we haven’t had any problems since work began but it would still be nice to have the added security of a  fence.

      Anyway, this is all to say that this past Monday we sat in front of the Zoning Board Commission and were unanimously approved for our six foot tall fence.  It was clear to everyone that our situation is unique within the city as we sit on nearly 1.5 acres of land and are surrounded by the park and a four lane road.  I appreciate the work that the Zoning Department did for us presenting our case to the Commission.  Plus, we were able to take both of the children and they got a tiny little lesson in how the government works so, parenting win for us!  The girls would probably argue that it was not a win but they’re young and immature and have no right to an opinion (because that’s how my government works in this house).

      Now we just need to file for the permit and work can begin so we can start to really enjoy our little bit of land.  I know ol’ Asshole is going to love it.

      Posted in Contractors, Grounds, Life | 0 Comments
    • The French Doors are Nevermore

      Posted at 9:48 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on February 5, 2019

      I know, I know.  You all (y’all where I’m from but I’ll try and make my English teachers proud) have been waiting with baited breath to hear about the architectural change we have been planning.  I would like for you to keep your expectations low, something I have come to master over my adult life, and know that I’m making a big deal out of nothing.

      There are a pair of French doors off the back parlor room of the house.  They’re narrow and have a door jamb in between each door making them awkward and pointless.  Not to mention they aren’t original to the house as indicated by the framing uncovered when Habalis removed the siding.

      So, we have decided to take the French doors out and replace them with what would have been there originally, floor to almost ceiling windows that match the windows in the front parlor.  We had to make sure that we were correct in assuming there were windows before there were French doors in order to keep the Department of Historic Resources happy and that’s OK.  In the end it will look so much nicer and more authentic.

      Dixon Street Framing 1

      The French doors at the back of the house.  They are obviously not original as the framing above them indicates where windows once were. (Picture credit to Habalis)

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      The French doors will be removed and returned to their original state which will mirror the two large windows to the left of the front door. (Picture retrieved from MLS listing 2 August 2018)

       

      Posted in Contractors, Main House | 0 Comments
    • The Contractors

      Posted at 8:58 am by Lauren Tepaske, on July 31, 2018

      Marcus and I recently re-watched the 1986 Tom Hank’s classic, The Money Pit for what I deemed to be “research purposes.”  Granted, I’m not divorced from a millionaire conductor and Marcus isn’t the lovable Tom Hanks (though sometimes he does find himself in unusual predicaments) but perhaps the trial and tribulations the movie characters face while renovating their home may mirror our own in the future.

      the-money-pit

      Is this our future?  Hauling hot water up a ladder to the second floor?

      Throughout the movie, the characters are told it will take “two weeks” for the job to be complete.  Currently, we are being told work could be completed by Christmas.  Based on my extensive knowledge of home renovations (I have none) and what the movie has taught me (because movies are truth), I’m guessing work will be complete by Easter.  This isn’t to discount the work of the contractor, this is because the house is big and who knows what might happen as work gets underway.  Speaking of the contractor, Rappahannock Restorations will be the primary contractor for the main house.  If you have a chance, click on their name to be routed to their website where you can see pictures of some of their previous work.  Marcus was particularly excited to discover they had worked on the Pump House in Fredericksburg.

      For the cottage and barn, Elemental Energy Solutions (EES) will be performing the work and have already begun on the cottage.  After a harrowing encounter with a groundhog (or shall we call them “attic-hogs” in this case) the team has torn down the back-side of the cottage, which was completely damaged by the hole in the roof, and started to rough out the new wall and that portion of the roof.

      201807-back of cottage

      Photo credit, Adam Greico of EES.

      So far, with the exception of that aforementioned attic-hog incident (a groundhog, startled that humans were actually in his space, ran up the arm of an unsuspecting EES employee) , work has started and is progressing without a hitch.  If we’re lucky, truth will not be stranger than fiction and all will continue to proceed smoothly.

       

      Posted in Barn, Contractors, Cottage, Main House | 2 Comments
    • Recent Posts

      • Preoccupied December 20, 2021
      • The “Haunting” of Sligo August 4, 2021
      • Rehabilitation Tax Credits April 27, 2021
      • Put Me in Blogger Jail April 6, 2021
      • Virginia Historic Registry and the National Landmark Registry August 6, 2020
      • My Good Boy, Axel July 14, 2020
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    Lauren Tepaske
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