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Progress Report #1

1/22/2019

70 Comments

 
​We’ve had our property in Dunoon for a few months now, and I’m sure some of you are wondering what we’ve actually been doing. We’ve decided to start writing intermittent progress reports to update everyone on our developments. 


Progress Report #1: Nov-Dec 2018
 

When Cal first visited Jameswood with our good friends Barry and Dexter, they had a difficult time reaching the front door of the building. The grounds were overgrown with a wide variety of bushes, trees and weeds and some ferns had even managed to take root inside the building. Nature had truly taken over.  

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Our first order of business was clearing the land, so that we could access the property with ease, and so that, later on down the line, we can safely install scaffolding, and bring machinery and vehicles onto the property.

On dry days… or days when it wasn’t completely bucketing down, we’ve spent most of our time attempting to clear the land.

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We were especially lucky to have an extra helping paw on site, with Dexter clearing the property, stick by stick. Our wood burner, which warms our site office, has had a constant fuel source from all the bushes we’ve fought back over the weeks, and we did not struggle to find firewood for Bonfire Night this year. 
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Dexter struggling with the difference between clearing the garden and playing fetch.
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Remember remember!
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Before
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After
We can now walk around the house!




At some point in time, the drainage system on our property has failed, and our land has become completely water logged. Once we had cleared the property sufficiently, addressing the drainage issues became a priority during better-weather days.

​We’ll write a separate blog post that discusses our water management issues and plans in detail, but for this report, let’s just say there was A LOT of digging involved in the last few weeks of the Dunoon project. 
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Happy to be done after two days of digging a trench.
​On days where it was bucketing down, we had plenty to do inside the house – where our holey roof provided us with a little protection from the rain.
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The apartments had been left fully furnished… with soggy, mouldy couches and mattresses, broken furniture and decades-old appliances. After more than five runs to the dump, with our Ford Transit filled to the brim, we are getting to know the friendly staff at Dunoon’s local tip and gradually clearing the trash that has been left on the property. 
Click photos to view full size.
Before we can start fixing the house, we also have to clear out the crumbling wet plaster that lines Jameswood’s walls. Property development tv shows make this job look easy. Their montages of knocking down walls with sledge hammers and bringing a house back to its bones look fun and exciting!

I’ve now found out that plaster is dustier and heavier than I could ever have imagined! And getting rid of the mouldy, wet insulation sitting behind the walls and ceilings can be a very itchy endeavour!
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Bucket by bucket, and with plenty of help from our friends, we’ve managed to bring our apartments back to the studs, and in the process, we’ve also collected a lifetime supply of kindling produced by the lath!  
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Barry and Ryan helping out with clearing the upstairs.

​Clearing the land and the house has been A LOT of hard work, but we’ve managed to have a lot of fun in the process. Cal and I are really enjoying having nature right here on our doorstep, and have managed to take a few days off to explore and hike in the area. 

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We’ve loved having friends up to blow off some steam with, and they’ve been such an immense help on the project so far.

We’re overwhelmed by the moral support we’ve received both in the local community, and from our friends all over the world.
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Little by little, the property is starting to look less like a haunted house in a spooky, overgrown forest, and more like a proper building site. Now that we’ve prepped Jameswood Villa, we’re excited to start actual restoration work in the coming weeks! 

​Thank you for joining us, as we take on Jameswood Villa!
Creative Commons License
What Have We Dunoon Blog by Claire Segeren is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at whathavewedunoon.weebly.com.
70 Comments
Carroll
2/5/2019 03:06:23 am

Well done we live about a mile from you and have seen your amazing progress

Reply
Claire
2/6/2019 06:49:21 am

Thank you Carroll!

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Paul Ashton
2/5/2019 04:19:03 am

Great to see your blog. You must be very brave or barmy, or maybe a bit of both 😄
Hope you like the area (where did you move from?)
We moved here from North Yorkshire, seven years ago, and despite the weather and because of the weather (and friendly locals) we love it.
All the best with your venture.

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Claire
2/6/2019 06:51:32 am

We're definitely a bit of both Paul! But we LOVE the area. I'm from Toronto, Canada, and Cal grew up in Hull and Bristol. We are so glad we moved to such a friendly and beautiful community!

Thanks for the support!

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Margaret Smith
2/5/2019 05:55:56 am

What an undertaking!!! I admire your determination and look forward to seeing how the work progresses. I've seen this house lying for so long. Best wishes for the next stage of your venture.

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Claire
2/6/2019 06:53:13 am

Thank you Margaret! It really means a lot to us to have so much support from the Dunoon community.

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Sophie Houston
2/5/2019 06:03:06 am

Wow! Wish we had a tenth of your energy - we've been renovating our Dunoon flat for 13 years and still haven't finished! I moved here from Manchester and it was the best decision I ever made. Lots of luck, and let's hope for a good spring and summer so you can work in nicer conditions!

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Claire
2/6/2019 06:56:13 am

Thank you for the support Sophie!
We feel so lucky to have moved to such a beautiful, friendly area, but yes, fingers crossed for good weather to come - we're really hoping for an early spring!

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Margaret Smith
2/5/2019 06:06:11 am

What an undertaking!! I admire your determination. Good luck with the venture - I look forward to seeing your progress.

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Renata
2/5/2019 09:06:23 am

From Dallas Texas, I will be watching your progress as your home comes back to life. Thank you for posting as I love the dunoon area. I wish they would post castle toward progress also. Renata

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Claire
2/6/2019 07:00:21 am

Thank you for your support Renata!

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Joanne Helme
2/5/2019 05:14:54 pm

I see you are not wearing masks for this work. please reconsider for the sake of your health. you have a lot of dusty work to do yet!

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Claire
2/6/2019 06:59:20 am

We have a bucket-load of masks, and Cal and I always wear them while doing dusty tasks inside the house - but I see now that our friends who came to help us didn't keep theirs on!
I'll be more careful to have everyone stay safe and healthy on site!
Thank you for the concern!

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Harry Dalton
2/14/2019 12:10:41 pm

My wife rented an upper flat in Jameswood about 30 years ago and the floors were like a roller-coaster then.My kids,unbeknown to me at the time,played in the derelict building about 15 years ago.Good to see it being renovated, Good -luck with your project!

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Claire
2/19/2019 02:26:56 am

I think all the neighbours houses have had the same problem with the floors at some point in time! It's because the sleeper walls were built onto the top soil, instead of being placed on sturdier ground below.

You can see people tried to remedy this by placing extra layers of timber across the joists in the past, so it must have been a problem well before the house was abandoned! The only real solution is rebuilding the sleeper walls at a greater depth - so that's our plan!

We've heard a lot of stories about kids from the neighbourhood exploring and hanging out in Jameswood, it wasn't only your kids!

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Lisa Rose-Hawkins
3/18/2019 05:57:10 pm

Congratulations and prayers for a safe and successful restoration from Abilene, Texas! What a wonderful gift to you both and wow...such an adventure. I can’t wait to see and hear more about this awesome house and it being brought back to life!

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Claire
3/19/2019 05:13:24 am

Thank you so much for your kind, positive support! We really appreciate it!

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Andrew
3/18/2019 10:27:33 pm

Is the itchy insulation glass wool or asbestos?

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Claire
3/19/2019 05:12:17 am

The itchy nature of the insulation actually helps confirm that it's fibreglass!

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Andy Hirt link
4/22/2019 04:17:19 pm

Hmm. Being from Toronto, you should know how dangerous asbestos is. But it's only dangerous if exposed to the air. It's often in linoleum floors and insulation around pipes.

Here's the thing in the USA: if a homeowner finds it, the homeowner can remove it (carefully with masks). If a contractor finds it, you're stuffed. A cease order is made by the local judge and a CONTRACTOR then has to remove the asbestos. So you go from scraping linoleum tiles (with some asbestos in them) up from the floor for free to spending $30,000 for a contractor to do the same work. And you can't do it yourself once it's reported.

The solution is to remove all insulation from piping and flooring yourself without telling anyone...still, you have to be careful and have masks on and seal the insulation in plastic bags. Asbestos rips your lungs apart, so you have to be very careful. But if you recognize the danger and are prepared, you're all set. Then, you don't need to spend $50,000 for work you could do for $100. You just need to be careful and follow the rules (which are posted online).

Emma
3/22/2019 04:44:36 pm

Wow, just came across the article about you and your ‘mishap’ purchase. Well done you guys for knuckling down with the renovations. I wish you all the best.

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Sheila Paxson
5/31/2019 06:18:29 am

Oh how proud and concerned this Mama Bear is Althea way from Indiana (just south of Lake Michigan) I only wish I were there to help! Even though I’m up there in years and have too many health issues, talk of French drains, scaffolding, and caravanning all bring longing. So keep us updated, be careful, rest, and enjoy your adventure!!!

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Sarai Johnson
6/23/2019 11:48:22 am

Thank you for restoring this place. What is the history of the site? When was it first built?

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Michele Alessandrini
6/24/2019 10:00:08 am

Life throws us curve balls all the time. You two won the curve ball lottery. I love how you have embraced your new found destiny. Thank you for documenting all your achievements along the way to home. Being a DIY person myself I can really appreciate all of your hard work and taking on tasks that you have never done before. Consider me one of your cheerleaders. I will be checking in on your progress. I wish you much success and sunshine from Canton, Ohio USA.

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Andy
6/25/2019 04:36:22 am

Crikey, you should have put it straight back up for auction when you saw it and taken whatever loss you had to and learned the lesson. Hope it all works out for you though, I can't even imagine taking that on.

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Sharon Pearson
6/26/2019 12:56:57 am

Wow, what a mammoth taste you have taken on. Here in Australia we complain about the heat and clay soil, The cold, rain, mud and living in a caravan is just so amazing. The end will be worth it, and you will be so proud of the work done. I wish you well in bringing her back to her glory days.

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ronda ellman link
6/26/2019 12:42:31 pm

I can not imagine how you two had the energy and the desire for such a task. You two are amazing young people . I would love to see it when you are completely done. What a accomplishment it will be to have it completed. .Since you two have gone through this you can handle anything together. I am totally amazed !!!

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Lisa Richards
7/25/2019 08:22:27 am

Good luck from northern Minnesota! :)
I'm a little confused, though. You keep saying "the house", but it looks like there are two buildings? I can see two in one of the pics. Just wondering if one isn't considered a house? LOL
You folks are doing a great job!

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William Shaw
11/1/2020 03:04:43 pm

Please show more pictures. I cannot get enough pictures of your progress. You are doing such a great job and I love how you are dealing with the authorities (building warrent guys). Good job!!

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Mike Harrison link
4/1/2021 05:43:19 am

Awesome work. I have bought and renovated two derelict houses one of which the woman had several dogs that never went outside so all toilet functions were performed inside ! We had to remove all the joists and floorboards as a start, the other one had been empty for years and all the local cats made it their meeting place and pigeons had taken over the top floor and roof space. Really enjoying your blog and cant wait for the next update and to see the finished product.

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Hel Cruse
6/7/2021 05:32:12 am

Just found you via BBC - Did you have to make a purchase for the other TWO parts of Jameswood house? What would you have done if someone else had purchased a part of it?

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