160-yr-old Antique Renovation on Chatham Rd, Harwich, MA
Over near Thompson’s Field (lucky for the dogs….) we’re working on an interior renovation inside a 150-year-old home that incorporates parts of the kitchen, living room, and particularly the new staircase we’re building to replace the old ship’s-ladder-style staircase that was here when this family purchased the property a few months ago. Honestly, we’ve worked on a lot of challenging homes and challenging situations, but this home…oh man. It took nearly a full month just to get the existing floor plans figured out on paper, but once we realized there were a few fake walls and roof-lines built into the home, we had it sorted. That is, until we began work and found nearly FIVE different roof lines - some structural, some just old remnants - all meeting right above the new stairway opening we planned to build. A lot of head-scratching here, but we’re past it now and cranking along.
Head-Scratcher is not a term to use lightly...
This 150-year-old home was purchased by Joe and Garrett a few months ago with the notion of undertaking a renovation of the interior stairway, first and foremost. The existing stair had tread widths of about 6” and a rise of about 10” - not exactly ideal, comfortable, or practical for normal people now. It took quite a while to get plans that we were even able to submit to the town due to the many, many additions and alterations that have taken place here over the century-and-a-half it’s been standing (most of them done by someone’s nephew or cousin or neighbor-with-a-hammer…so not exactly up to snuff). We’ve got it all figured out now though and are rocking away in this cozy little antique home in Harwich.
