Jarvis House Gets a New Survey 2016

 

 This is my surveyor, Paul Ruzenski.  He possesses the paper surveys of my house going back a  hundred years, plus.  The original map of the Jarvis House property, which I got in 1975, was drafted by  Edward Pizanelli.  When you go to the Town's hall of records, the town clerk, they give you a list of surveyors that came before and later having to do with your property.  Amazing!

 I have always protected a locust post the is on the north west corner of my property.  When workers digging up the side walk for new gas lines or water lines or telephone lines are about I try to steer then around the locust post.  There was a county sign placed near by as pictured above, but the locust post remains.

 

 I thought that he could start there, and after digging a bit down into the soil, sure enough there was a cement monument (marker)  with a flash of orange paint.  He thought that that one was created when the flag lot next to my house was being created for a new house.  All along that side of the property were other cement markers, underground, which Paul found that corresponded to that construction.  The Jarvis property goes back a bit farther than the flag lot, so Paul used the 1975 map and measurements to complete that side and mark the north east corner of my lot. 

 There were so many high tech instruments that Paul brought to the job.

He found other cement markers along the north lot line.

 Although this marker was on the other side of the flag lot driveway, I took a photo of it because the marker was a sort of nail.

 Cement markers

A pipe which corresponded to the original map.

Paul made marks or reference for his calculations in the street and around the neighborhood.  He obtained property maps from adjoining properties to check for accuracy.

 This was a reflective device.

 After he found the monuments he hammered in a piece of lathe with an orange plastic ribbon.

 On the extreme north east corner I had put a metal pipe for a wire fence, but I was a bit shy of the actual corner.

 There is an extremely huge tree on the south east corner of the lot.

Paul hammered in markers on either side of the tree.  Old trees a common exactly on the lot lines.

 While I was waiting for my new property map, showing all of the essential buildings and features, I went to the big Orange Home store for some paint and PVC pipes.

I found a spray paint that would adhere to the plastic pipes and be visible for the markers.  I spread a piece of plastic to protect my bricks.

 But how to dry the pipes?  I stuck them in between the slats on my antique Salterini bench!

 They needed to dry at least one hour.

This is the mark out paint.

Now I have to use my rubber hammer to drive them in near the lathe markers.  Whew!

Sagamore Hill Long Island Home of Theodore Roosevelt Christmas with the Roosevelts 2015

Sagamore Hill, the  newly restored Oyster Bay, Long Island home of the twenty-sixth president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, was the site of a special event, "Christmas with the Roosevelts."

 The National Parks Service spent three years carefully repairing and restoring the structure, the  interior, and the artifacts of this treasure on the North Shore of Long Island.

 They provided new pathways around the Roosevelt's family home for the public to enjoy the natural beauty of the property.

 A very impressive wooden windmill.  In the day, Sagamore Hill was a working farm.

 One can just imagine the president roaming across the family fields and playing with his children, pointing out the different plants and animals.  He was a very involved father and encouraged physical activities out doors.

 The beauty of the weathered split rail fencing and the mature plantings and trees give the visitors to this National Park a true view of what Long Island looked like during the days of the "Summer White House. "   President Roosevelt lived at Sagamore Hill from 1885 until his death in 1919.

Sagamore Hill is named for the Algonquin word "Sagamore" which means chieftain or head of the tribe.

 This is an enormous Copper Beech tree that stands proudly just outside the front entrance to Roosevelt's home. 

Sagamore Hill was truly a family residence for the Roosevelts and their six children. Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, Theodor's second wife, died there in 1948. Her working desk is prominently shown by the guides because she was in charge of the daily comings and goings and the finances at Sagamore Hill. Although Teddy Roosevelt was a prolific writer and author, naturalist, soldier, explorer and statesman, he left the handling of money to Edith. Good thing too, because he couldn't account for the spending money she would give him each day, according to the guides.

 Front door

 A historian giving a few anecdotes about the family.

 I noticed a mill stone near the curb.

 After the tour  of the interior first floor of Sagamore Hill, we were making our way to the parking field, and spotted James Foote, the twenty-sixth president re-enactor.

He as telling stories about the president, and was very

 gracious, so how could we leave without a photo with Teddy Roosevelt!

 Just before we got into our car, we noticed these beautiful cherry-like  fruit on a tree in the parking lot.

These are the leaves from that tree.  If anyone knows what type of tree this is please let me know.  Any plants that fruit or bloom this late in the season are interesting to me because I am sure that the fruit would be consumed by winter birds.  Natural berries or fruiting trees are essential to help encourage winter birds.

James Foote as the president.

Repairing the Yankee Gutter On the Jarvis House

 An architectural feature of the Jarvis House is its Yankee Gutters.

Why did the gutter on the rear of the house need repair?  Simple.   It was draining the water from the large roof on the wrong side of the  house.  Last winter with the extreme cold and ice, the water ran down the inside walls of the small extension room.  Probably, originally there was a cistern located at the bottom of the drain pipe.  But when they added on this small room, they forgot to change the gutter.  

 The gutter's structure had to be reversed, so that the drain pipe would empty out on the north side of the house, as does the front Yankee Gutter.

 Unfortunately, the old sheets of copper had to be removed.  They could not be reused.

Next the original wooden Masonite structure was exposed.

 That had to go so that the two by fours could be removed and reversed, and the trough pitched in the opposite direction.

 Finally the Luan plywood, which was flexible,was placed in the trough. This provided the copper finisher the proper form for the next part of the job.

 Safety first,  so he brought ladders and a scaffold.

 This is Brian Cheshire of Northport , New York.

 

 He is a Leonardo of copper finishing, and the only craftsman I would ever recommend for a job like this.

 The new sheets of copper came delivered between sheets of plywood, which he propped up on saw horses.

 Brian is a true professional and came with his own custom fabrication machinery and tools.

 Of course things do not always go as planned, so I had to call in an exterminator to spray an infestation of Yellow Jackets that had started to build a nest behind shingles right where Brian had to work.

Got them.

 A hole was cut in the north end of the new gutter to  receive the down spout.

 The sheets of copper gleamed in the sun light.

 Brian working on the gutter after the under laymen was in place and the ice guard too.

 

 A custom job was done for the copper down spout.

 

 

 

 These photos show what a true craftsman at work.

 

 He attached it to the copper gutter.

 

 A view through the pipe.

 

 The copper piece poking through the wooden structure.

 

This photo shows the trough shape of the gutter.

 The side of the roof was about thrity-two feet long, so the sheets of copper had to be joined by Brian.  He added end pieces to the trough.

 A very artful job.

 The copper gets tucked under the shingles.

 In order to do a great job, you have to have the proper tools, and Brian had them.

 Machines which can create a perfect crimp or bend.

 The new down spout on the north side.

 Brian moved his scaffold over to complete the left end of the gutter.

 A real master craftsman. Thanks Brian.  Will you do the other side next year?