FireHouse 51

[4t64rd]

So f'n cool!

 

[Jure]

sicccccck!

 

[cjcrazy8]

Amazing work!

I would be afraid to do such a project for these reasons
1) if its affordable, chances are its because its a bad neighborhood
2) with today's building codes, and lawyers, there is a good chance that there is some professional costs involved to remove harmful old hazardous materials. Some costs can be high pending on state/province you live in. Sad but true. There is a few amazing old buildings for sale because the owners cannot afford to fix them.

example of old buildings, and some amazing photographers
http://www.opacity.us/

1) I got a screamin deal, but I think that is because the city was tired of me harassing them. They also were only paying for utilities and routine maintenance (after owning it for a while now, there was not maintenance peformed). The neighborhood is not too bad, but it is like every other one in cincinnati, if you are not in a crappy area, you are surrounded by crappy areas.
2) I would say this is the case for most. I am in an industry where I deal with this kind of stuff on a daily basis. Meeting building codes has not been too difficult, although the permit process and plan approval was a bit of a pita. Mainly disputing what should be "grandfathered" in and how the facility was used prior to my ownership. Even though men lived here and the building was zoned SF6 (single family residential), I still had to do a "change of use." I think it was just a way for the city to get more money out of me.

As far as hazardous materials goes, most people fear because they dont know what they are dealing with. Lots of old materials have asbestos in it, some of which must be dealt with with grate care and personal protection. Other materials are harmless unless you put them in a blender, and if broken or cut would put out an acceptable or non hazardous amount
(tiny ppm) of particles into the air. Either way, if dealing with something that may or may not contain asbestos, I recommend wearing a mask, and not the paper ones. You can also get test kits from HD. Most people believe that all asbestos has to be removed, which it doesnt. Abatement does not necessarily mean removal, most asbestos items can be concealed.
I have some asbestos insulation (canvas jacket over what I call rabbit fur) on the radiant heat piping in the basement which I will leave to the professionals to abate next spring. This is expensive for most. Some of us have connections.

 

[cjcrazy8]

One more thing to add.
For those of you interested in buying an old building and converting it for some other use, be sure to check into IECC (Internation Energy Conservation Code) requirements. This is can also be a pita (thanks all you dirty hippy tree huggers )

 

[WhiteTrash]

I am still in love with this building. I would love to find something similar near me. I look forward to seeing your progress.

 

[4BT]

great build! subscribed for updates

 

[cjcrazy8]

No photoworthy progress. Been doing a lot of old wiring trouble shooting that ended with new wiring and completely removing the old panel, so I guess that is a milestone. I have a big suprise coming up here in the next few weeks but I will make you all suffer until it happens. For those of you that do know or can figure it out, mum is the word (ie. shut it!). Had to do some ceiling demo in the basement to access old wiring and find out where gas lines were running up walls and under the floor as well. What a nasty job! Found a heavily termite damaged joist at the front of the building. Should be an easy replace and currently shares a minimal load. It is the joist closest to the foundation wall (paralell). Hopefully ordering HVAC equipment and ductwork this week. Need to have that installed prior to the cold season as I have disconnected the boiler from power. Upstairs bath demo begins here in a couple of weeks. I also have been addressing the wall along the stairs in the front room. I am going to box out "windows" in that wall to expose the stairs. Over the years the stairs have twisted so I am in the process of straightening them. Thats all for now.

 

[cjcrazy8]

Funny. Years ago I would have been running around screaming like my hair was on fire if I found termite damage. Now it is just par for the course. It wasn't even discouraging, it is what it is. Heck, my wife didnt even raise a brow.

I came home last night from work and the house smelled a little funky. I figured the dogs had gas, but after a while it was still there. And it was starting to have that sweet smell of death. I figured I scared something to death while demoing the ceiling in the basement so I started searching, nothing down there. Started working my way through the house. Maybe a squirrel or bird died in a soffit (another issue waiting to be addressed). No luck. After about an hour of searching my wife came downstairs holding my "bail out bag" at arms length with her nose turned up. Upon closer inspection (gag), I quickly took it outside to discover that I had not payed close attention to the expiration date on my personal defense bat....... you know, a defense bat, kind of like BatMan minus the "man". I didnt believe my wife months ago when she said she could hear the sqeaking of bats upstairs.

 

[HoosierB]

Awesome thread with great pic's! Love that old firehouse! Keep up th good work and keep the pictures coming

I am smack dab in the middle of a renovation/remodel/restoration on a 1901 American Foursquare house in Indiana and have had some of the same issues you have namely Asbestos, jacked-up wiring and bats. I was in the basement yesterday afternoon and had to "relocate" a winged-one, I don't like being squeaked at or hissed at.......

 

[smacdiesel]

This a very exciting project to watch! You truly are living a charmed life!

 

[softailgarage]

dude....your livin my dream. i hope your gonna try to leave most of it as original as possible for historical reasons (except the garage part of course), it would be cool if you set up a couple of webcams so we could watch the "work in progress".

 

[cjcrazy8]

OK. Well, the long awaited suprise is finally here. Drum roll.......... Yard work! huh? Landscapes........ Trees, bushes, flowers, pavers, a new garage door. A desperately needed facelift. Although none of this was near the top of the priority list, my awesome wife made quick and easy contact with a few connected individuals and well, those of you with cable can see the labourous details on the DIY network in the spring. Desperate Landscapes!

 

[W_A_Watson_II]

WOW! Very Nice Work! Keep us posted on to the air date.

 

[ct71rr]

Very nice!!!! Did you get on Desperate Landscapes?? Awesome!

 

[Nighttrain]

Very cool but the crew left your fire hydrant running.

 

[4StarCstms]

You've done a great job ... so when's the Open house for all of us of GJ that drool over what you've done?? I'll bring the BBQ trailer ..

 

[flybefree]

I'll bring some Skyliners....

 

[Ripped]

The landscaping, looks terrific! Love the hydrant-fountain. Nice touch!

 

[Doxhog]

I've got the fire truck for the open house

 

[JC23]

I wanna paint there!

 

[ADaughen]

Congrats on getting the front yard done!

The only thing I might have done different was put a more "firehouse themed" garage door on.

Still looks great. Any updates on the inside?

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Oh-Oh, you've done too good of a job; now you've got your 15 minutes of fame. I think this appearance on 'Desperate Landscapes' qualifies you to be reverently spoken of in the same breath as we intone the phrase 'Jack Olsen's Garage'.
Kudos to your savvy wife, she's just saved you a ton of money and many backaches.

I love the hydrant fountain; very nice touch. I would probably go crazy with that theme, such as:
- a lovely 'fire hose fence' tastefully draped in front of the flowerbeds.
- inverted fireman's helmets as flower planters suspended from the entry porch supports. These would be filled with tea roses named 'Firefighter'.
- a genuine firetruck siren and lights wired to the doorbell.
- a second story balcony/trellis along the face of the window sills made entirely of fireman's ladders.
- a statue for the front porch; a dalmatian dog, of course.
- And... The piece de resistance, a 1950's era FIRE ENGINE RED Willys 4X4 truck rigged for fighting brush fires parked prominently in the driveway!

 

[GrandmaSideways]

WOW!

The fire hydrant water feature is fantastic. Totally puts that place over the top! Talk about curb appeal!

 

[lonestarky]

Thats really a great project! What do you do that you have this much time to work on the firehouse?

I'm in central KY about 60mi south, if you're ever in need, send me a PM.

 

[cjcrazy8]

Thanks for all of the comments! In no way does this joint compare to Mr Olsen's garage. As far as time goes, I still work a ~10hr/day job. I sacrifice my sleep and sanity! No really, I just tackle a project at a time. No kids to take care of and my wife is a huge help with the routine tasks. I am a professional weekend warrior.

 

[PeteMoore]

moar moar moar

Im trying to find an old building here in Ireland to do in a similar fashion.

How did you do the chequered floor? Is it a dark stain, then coat everything with a light stain?

 

[rockchucker]

Very, very, very, very cool. All of it. Good show. Thanks for restoring a piece of History.

 

[Bookworm]

Just found this thread. I grew up maybe 1 mile from your firehouse. Used to walk to McEvoy Park with my siblings, when we were still in elementary school, to climb trees and play. Last time I was back in that area, the park was no place I would take my kids, and I was glad for the Model 65 in my pocket. Looks like the area is coming back.
Went to first grade at Pleasant Hill Elementary, the year it opened. In Junior High, the bus would drop me at Hamilton & North Bend rds, and I would walk home from there. Been a long time since I was back there.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks for all of the comments! In no way does this joint compare to Mr Olsen's garage.

Ha! You're correct, except that when I say that I mean I'd trade what you've got there for my little garage in a heartbeat. Firehouse 51 is incredible!

 

[jktruck150]

The place looks great! man that is amazing!

 

[Grizz1963]

Great progress there.

Looks lovely on every level.

My wife just read the thread and agrees.

 

[HOTFR8]

Did I miss something ?

Well I like the way the Fire Hydarnt is a water feature in the front of the building. Well done.

 

[onething]

I wonder if the city would let me turn the fire hydrant in my front yard into a water feature? The rest of my yard would look much better with all that water

What a great deal!

 

[cjcrazy8]

Sorry for the infrequent updates. Been working hard on HVAC. Should have some pics to post in the next few days. I also have the guest bedroom 1 framed, boarded, mudded, and primed. Elec is roughed in and temp'ed. Downstairs the ductwork is in place and the mains are roughed in enough upstairs to turn on the unit tonight. I gutted the upstairs bathroom so I could turn it in to a mech closet and guest bath. The mech closet is in and the bath is on the back burner until the heat is in. It took for ever to demo the old bath. I tore up the floor which consisted of 1.5" of a plaster/concrete mix on metal lath that was nailed every 4 inches. I also took down all of the plaster on the walls. The toilet stall which was made of big marble slabs did not come out in one piece

The dark parts of the floor were stained and the lighter checkers were left natural. It was then coated with several coats of poly which gave the natural areas a warmer tint.


The city got several phone calls from concerned citizens who thought I was wasting tax dollars by cracking open the hydrant!

 

[tinbender 66]

It's good to see this one back up front. Everything you've done is just fantastic.

Looking forward to the next updates!!!

 

[B-RAD77]

Words escape me. That place is outstanding. I have always dug fire trucks and fire houses. so much that all of my vehicles are red including wifes Jeep. You need to (after this project of coarse) paint that Scrambler red.

 

[NJHandyGuy]

infuckingcredible i really really like what you've done

 

[peelman]

Agreed. Hope you keep on posting updates!

 

[morfmedia]

Great work, everything is really taking shape. Shame we won't get the TV show over in the UK

 

[machine_punk]

Absolutely amazing...it has been my dream, since being a teenager, to have an old firehouse to remodel and live in. I applaud you for living the dream! Looking forward to more pictures. Brings a smile to my face, every time I think of someone actually turning a firehouse into a place to live.