Look, Ma, It's a Floor!

Last night was the first major thunderstorm we have had in the last three months.  Weird.  As a Wisconsin person, I am used to blizzards this time of year, but certainly not a good, old-fashioned, mid-August- thunder- and- lightening gully-washer. We had two major downpours, and everyone in the city was rejoicing because we need the water to fill refill the area's water table. Dunedin relies on a well, so if the rain does not come down, the water bills go up!

Well, maybe not EVERYONE was happy about the rain because today was the Dunedin Tour of Historical Homes.  The Historical Society sponsored nine "vintage homes" that people who had purchased tickets could tour.  That was our treat today after laying down the perimeter tile this morning.

The day started early with us mixing up the first batch of thin-set for the tiles.  We did not mix enough, but we did get the wall next to the kitchen completed.  The second batch of thin-set took Rick down the south wall, where the washer and dryer will rest, and onto the back wall.  Then darn!  We ran out of thin-set AGAIN with just one and a half-tile to go.  A third batch of thin-set completed the room; now it just rests and sets until mid-morning tomorrow when we can grout the whole room.

The second batch of thin-set goes onto the floor as Rick lays
down the previously cut tile.

The tour of historic homes was interesting, upsetting, an frustrating.  The interesting part came in when the first home we tried to see on Victoria Drive posted a sign that said it had been removed from the tour.  Darn!  These are the 1900 - 1930 mansions that millionaires from the North came down to the coastline to build as vacation homes.  However, the sign informed us that two other properties on Victoria Drive would be open for a tour.  The next house was the upsetting house. This is a huge, worn-out, three-story mansion built in 1898.  As we entered, the sight of massive ceilings, wide, dark woodwork, intricate wood panels and wainscoting, and a unique triple fireplace (one central chimney with a fireplace that opens into three different rooms) greeted us.  The floors were all wood, and with a good sanding and staining, they would have been beautiful.  Sadly, we were informed that the new owners of the house decided to tear it down.  All of the electricity is in conduits on the visible inside walls in the house.  When the new owners conferred with an architect, they learned that enclosing the electrical wiring within the wall was impossible.

They elected to do a "gentle tear-down" whereby the woodwork, corbels, doors, windows, fireplace mantels, floors, and a million other details of a fine, old mansion will be gently removed and sold to the highest bidder.  The proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Historical Society. This is sad because this house had seven bedrooms on the second floor and three bedrooms on the third floor.  I am sure, at the time, that the third-story bedrooms (accessible by the "back staircase" from the kitchen) was for the servants.  The tear-down of this house is heart-breaking because the house itself, while worn, has so much masterful craftsmanship going for it.  The woman who told us about the impending destruction, though, said that the new owners plan to build a house that will "be appropriate for the neighborhood."

While a couple of the houses worked hard to retain the period features, the frustrating part of the tour came from the two or three houses on the tour that retained their traditional, period-appropriate exteriors (think large porches, floor to ceiling windows, and wooden shutters), but the interiors were either a mish-mash of period and new decor, or the interiors were thoroughly modernized.  One house in particular, that was build in 1913, retained almost nothing of the original interior.  We see the house often from Weaver Park, so that one was a true disappointment, especially since it is now owned by the city and taken care of by the Historical Society!

The completed tile rests until tomorrow when
we will grout the whole room.  We'll use
bullnose tile instead of baseboard in this room
to keep it waterproof.

Molding around the door helps the room have
a finished look. (A fresh coat of paint on the
door will soon make it look even better!)

After the tour, we came back to Gladys for a late lunch, and then Rick cut and put up the molding around the doors while I took out the spacers and washed down the new tile floor.  Tomorrow, after church, we will grout the room and let that dry in preparation for the bullnose tile on Monday.  Hopefully, by Tuesday of next week, we'll actually be able to get the washer and dryer back into the room, thus restoring it to its true purpose.