Finally rebuilding at termite central: 2100 E Broad

Excellent masonry work by Gustavo, a mason with Virginia Masonry Restoration. We've even got bonafied foundation bolts in there. New salt treated mudsill, new foundation, and this bug-riddled house is going to be good as new soon.

Termite repairs at 2100 E Broad St- the accidental renovation

What once was a siding job has now turned into major structural repairs.

The studs are 'floating'- supported by the jacking beam bolted to them.

We had to remove a hall wall, the front door, and all the flooring on the first floor.

Hickman's Termite and Pest Control treated the building twice yesterday (we kept  finding more active bugs) .

The bug man estimates they've been chewing on this building for approximately 5 years.

This is called backwards building; suspending a building in air and building from top down, not bottom up.

We bolted 2x4s between the front wall and the floor so the wall didn't  swing out into the street when we lifted it.

Termite damage at 2100 E Broad St

That weird brown discoloration is termite excrement. They've been eating this poor house alive!

 Lots of new salt treated studs and blocking. We'll use these to lift and replace the cottage cheese mudsill underneath.

405 N 23rd St whole house restoration and renovation

RBVa recently completed a whole house restoration on 23rd St in Church Hill. Many thanks to all the hard work of our crew and subcontractors! Here's a little story of the process of bringing a condemned house back to life.

The view from the front door into the front entry hall, before and after. The fixture was salvaged from another project and rebuild by Williams Electric.

Things didn't get much better as you went up the stairs. The roof had been leaking for years, and caused a lot of rot.

The second floor landing and bathroom were incredibly rotten. Under many piles of fallen plaster, we found there wasn't much wood left.

Saving the tub from this room was the hardest part. But we did it- the original claw foot (behind the door) is still there!

 The windows were restored, insulation added wherever possible, and the kitchen was moved from the rear of the house to the second parlor, a much more conducive location to modern living.

A mantel in the upstairs bedroom was moved downstairs to make space for closets. The mantle downstairs had been long ago lost.

Squatters had burned holes in the floor during its years of inoccupancy. We left some of the burn marks in the floor as part of the story of the house.

The trim was carefully removed at the beginning of the project, and stored. The carpenters then re-used as much original trim as possible.

The windows were fully restored.

In addition to the yard, the house has 2 off-street parking spaces and ample lighting for security. A storm door was added to the back door to help with the drafty original door which we re-used. This building is now happily rented and the tenants move in today!

405 n 23 st

Still discovering rot at the house, but we know how to handle that.