Hot Off the Press

Today's Item gives readers an up-close look at The Joseph Maynard Project in Ken Cleveland's "Historic house saved from developers, termites." Pick up a copy on newstands or click on the headline to read online.

Thanks

A big thanks to all who attended for making the New England Country Spring Open House and Ribbon Cutting a huge success -- especially our friends, family, the Wachusett Chamber of Commerce, The Virginia Thurston Healing Garden and State Representative Harold P. Naughton, Jr.

Click HERE to see photos of the event. You can also check out the Tuesday, May 20 edition of The Item to see more photos.

Our Joseph Maynard House realtor, Joanne Atkinson of Concept Homes, also stopped by the event to show her support and to present us with an amazing gift: an authentic Lancaster, MA historical plaque for our new home. Take a look:

In Bloom

Unruly and overgrown, much of the landscape at 100 South Meadow has been left untamed for several years. Even so, the spring weather has ushered in new life and some breathtaking blooms. Take a look:

New England Country Goes Pink

As mentioned a few weeks ago, New England Country will hold its Spring Open House and Ribbon Cutting this Saturday, May 17 at its Furntiure Showroom at 218 High Street, Clinton. Click here for details.

Also, wanted to quickly let you know about another initiative we are working on. In an effort to support the fight against breast cancer, New England Country will raffle off a "pink" cupboard - with antique door, finished in one of our newest spring colors: Mountain Laurel. (See right)

Tickets are $20 each, with ALL proceeds going to help in the fight against Breast Cancer ~ in memory of Patricia (Cadden) Blew.

Purchase your ticket on May 17 at our Spring Open House & Ribbon Cutting, or anytime by contacting newenglandcountry@hotmail.com or by stopping by our showroom any Saturday-Sunday 10-4. The winner will be annouced on Patricia's birthday, June 18.

An "Official" Visit

Last week, we had the pleasure of meeting Lancaster Fire Chief John Fleck and Building Commissioner Richard Pauley. They stopped by The Joseph Maynard Project to survey our progress thus far.

It was a great meeting and we all agreed there will be much collaboration along the way – which is much appreciated by us. In order make the property safe as our future home and up to standard for the Lancaster community, a working relationship with town officials is imperative … and one that we welcome.

No Autographs Please

The Joseph Maynard Project is really taking off and the buzz continues to build. Yesterday we sat down with Ken Cleavland, reporter for The Item, to regale him with tales from The Project and our inspiration for saving and building our life in this home. We'll be featured in an upcoming issue of the newspaper, so stay tuned - we'll post a link when published.

Also a huge thanks to Bob and Rebecca Blew for making the long trip from Basom, NY to Lancaster, MA this weekend to lend a helping hand. On this rainy day, work also continues on the sills.

All Jacked Up

Going into The Joseph Maynard Project, we were well aware that two original, circa 1775, sills at the front of the house needed to be replaced due to moisture and bug damage. After getting into the house and beginning work, we soon learned that sills in the rear and side of home needed to be rebuilt as well. In total, over 60 feet of sills needed to be removed and replaced.

We currently working on this task and have already completed the back of the house. We have now turned our attention to the more labor/expertise intensive side and front.

As you’ll see the photos below, the house has been raised and the work is in progress. We had to jack from the exterior the entire left side of the home. This is going to allow us to remove the rotted sills and replace with the new. Also, the foundation fieldstone will need to be replaced and leveled back to original height. Years of moisture, no gutters and asphalt that the previous owner laid around the border of the house – and we’ve since removed – have deteriorated the stone walls and pushed them into the crawl space below.

This situation is very common in moist climates like New England. In the case of dirt crawl space and no gutters, deteriorated sills were not surprising. Making matters worse, as mentioned above, the previous owners tried to remedy both problems by pouring black top around the house. They probably thought this would help secure the foundation and help water drain away while it fell from the roof. The asphalt though, in fact, did the exact opposite. It may have helped secure the foundation a little from the outside, but the water hitting it actually wicked down the crack between the black top and the sills. This then caused the foundations to slowly be pushed in as the house began to sag around the outside of the foundation. The sills did not stand a chance. These were ideal conditions for all types of wood boring insects to take over, in our case: termites!

What we’re doing now is replacing the sub-floor, sills and joists with pressure treated lumber and a very comprehensive in-ground termite treatment – both under and outside the house. We will also be installing corrugated pipe about 18”-24” deep and follow the perimeter of the foundation to help with water drainage do to the grade. This will give us peace of mind for now, but we’ll have to be vigilant against moisture and termites for the rest of our days at the house.

In addition to the sill work, the field stone foundation in the front/side left corner of the house needs to be built up. New England Country has carefully chosen field stone found on the property to improve the foundation.