Snow Camp McVey: March 2011

More renovation shots

Bedroom floor after the 1st coat

Upstairs is starting to take shape

Back door - the tree stump to the right was a huge oak that had been cut down years ago. We dug the stump out - and got into a yellow jacket nest.

Looking down the stairs

Kitchen - check out the screen door - I MADE IT from scratch.

This is how the house looked when we began. The shingle siding so popular in the 1950's is nailed all over it

OK - Williams Home Place - we are ready to give you a facelift!

Back door area - overgrown with plum trees

Back door - we're starting to near the end here

How this for a coat of paint

Kitchen area is coming together

Back screen porch at the beginning

Staircase - still wet

This is the kitchen - one part of the floor has been partly scraped, the linoleum is gone off the closest part - but the ELBOW GREASE REMAINS.....boy this and the kitchen countertop were tough

We've removed the siding....

We're partially done (I have neuropathy and getting on a letter is out of the question for me. I tore off as far up as I could reach....then we had to call in the men to do the rest.

Tearing off the front - same story - no ladders for Sue

First coat - kitchen countertop

We must now begin on the outside screen porch

Part of the crew - I am so filthy I do not pose for pictures. Jim, Kay and my oldest daughter Wendy Scub buddies

Kitchen floor - see what I mean about work ahead....

Living room - partly finished

Back door - we have planted flowers around the door

Visualizing - siding off, pain on, stump gone.....yep home sweet home

These are not in the right order. I have saved pictures from my shoots, Kay's shoots and from Patrick's shoots. But you can get a good idea of what we had to do.

The House Renovation in Snow Camp

This section is snapshot of the Snow Camp house that Kay and my families worked on. This is the house that Kay and I lived in when we were young. It was the homeplace of my grandmother Asenath McVey's father (Williams).

We moved out of this house when I was in the 8th grade, the same weekend that President John Kennedy was buried. Kay has always said this place is home to her. She was in college when we moved. The house became a catch all for everyone's "I don't want it but it's too good to throw away" and "my kids want to keep this". It took days to sort through the stuff , piles of what to keep, what to trash, what to give away. We called a truck from the Rescue Mission - once the piles were sorted and they carried it out. Then, Kay and I began meeting there during the week on days I didn't work and then we got family involved and we tore off the siding on the house, stripped and refinished the hardwood flooring and Kay's son, Patrick, painted the exterior. We held two Christmas gatherings there. It is a wonderful old place that is "home".

Cleaning the shelves in the pantry

Cutting away ivey that has overtaken a tree

This gave us a fit - these bees were not happy that we were taking away their home. They were also inside the wall. Rough working. I sent this photo to an agriculture expert who told us what kind of bees they were - I've never seen anything like it.

Beginning to take some shape

Kitchen area

Back side of house

Siding is off - we are ready to scrap, paint and re-screen

Our dumpster - filled with building materials

Starting to take shape

Floor to the hallway - have been covered in linoleum for years

This was the toughest part - the kitchen floor. Our mom and dad had put down this black paper (with enough glue to never come up) and the linoleum. We spent DAYS and I mean DAYS on this.