The Destruction Begins

So it wasn't but one day after we closed that we started to pick at and explore what we were going to change. We'd been talking about it for weeks and finally getting a key we set about putting some things into motion.

Here's a little detail that bugged us: The back half of the living room floor had a 3" step in it. Didn't know why and it really messed up the flow of the house so one of the first things we did was pull up the click-lock floor and see what was under there - hoping for some wood. Nope. Concrete. Well, it would probably be pretty easy to smash and lift off the actual floor below it. Nope. Turns out this was one of the modifications to the house that was done really, really well.

Mas of BDMack grinds out ladder wire from what turned out to be a very thick and solid pour of concrete. 

After three days with two guys on jackhammers.

What we discovered when the rubble was cleared was that the old floor had sunk inexplicably below the foundation. The actual foundation was also off but the house was basically square so it really didn't make sense. 

The thing to do now was to fix it with a new level pour and to get the floor all at one level so we called in Joe and his sons who filled up the floor and leveled it with the rest of the place. 

The laser line show how off the floor was. But the house is square...

Joe thinks he's leveling a floor but what he's really doing is completing the race track for Lucas and Nadia.

The "Before" Photos

Once we closed on the house I took one of my nicer cameras over and decided to do some nice "before" photos. I will continue to document the progress but often I'll only have my iPhone or my point and shoot with me so, like any good pro, I'll do the best with the tools I have at the time.

From the far end of the living room looking towards the kitchen (behind the big vertical wall)

Same side as above but from the other corner

From the entrance looking to the far side of the living room

This was, in the original plan, the utility room but now it's a tv room/den

This is all sorts of 80's awful

This shot sort of captures so much bad in one frame. What's worse? The chandelier, the banister, the painted ceiling or the front door? Or, all of the above? 

The bath needs help but there's potential

How much bedroom was lost to that big jacuzzi tub? Oh, and purple beams...

The garage is sort of neat but small

All manner of mixed up built in cabinets.

The Original Blueprints

So as I mentioned earlier one of my favorite finds was the original blueprints. Ben (Stem Architecture) scanned them for me and used them when we were planning what we wanted to do to the house. Perhaps the best compliment we can give Mr. Zaik is that we are pretty much reverting the house to the original layout.

 There's just a wealth of information and detail in the blueprints and it's fun to see the various built-ins that were included in the plan. Some of those I plan to eventually make like the rolling firewood box.

Sorry for the size of these images but otherwise you can't really see any detail. I think if you double click one of them you get a slide show fit to your screen. I hope.

Looking for a Mid-Century

We like Mid-Century design because it's smart, light, bright, open and spacious. After living in NYC for 15-20 years the last thing we wanted was small rooms, small windows and low ceilings. It didn't take long looking at a dozen or so houses a week to become a bit jaded and soon walking through a house took on the urgency of finishing a workout.

Being Portland we saw a lot of Rummers and they had some nice ideas but they were often on the smaller side and rarely had a the two car garage that I wanted. When we finally saw the Saul Zaik house we eventually bought it was easy to see why there were so many real estate agents cards on the counters and no offers. It resembled your grandfather in a Members Only jacket and checked Vans - or, as our architect Ben King would end up saying, "It's a great house once you scrape the 80's off it..."

Being a short sale we made a low offer and kept looking thinking that the house would be our backup plan. Our offer was accepted by the previous owners and then we waited. And waited, and waited. For almost 6 months before the bank accepted our offer and we finally closed in January.

So, this blog will be for friends and family and the wayward souls who might be looking for some insight into what may await them if they decide to take on restoring a mid-century home and specifically a Saul Zaik home.

What we know of the house is very little and yet maybe a bit more than most get. Saul Zaik designed the house for Mr. & Mrs. Stanley M. Arthur and the plans are dated 24 April 1956. When we first looked at the place we found the original blueprints in a closet and I hid them away for fear someone might steal them.

For my first post I think I'll start with some photos from the listing and maybe my first visit.

The back of the house has a very private yard.

The big free standing fireplace was a real draw to us.

The floor had a step in the middle which mystified us. 

The beautiful cedar ceiling was white washed and the beams painted white but that lighting...

The house was suffering a real identity crisis and the tub inspired the telling of an 80's yuppie joke: "How many yuppies does it take to screw in a light bulb? Yuppies don't screw in light bulbs - they screw in hot tubs!" Umm, there's another hot tub on the deck!