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I thought some here would find this interesting.

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The original bad bob:
For the last few months I have been working off and on in Tombstone AZ on an adobe structure that was built in 1880 that was once the office and residence of a judge named Grey who lived there during the Earp/Cow boy era.

The owners of the residence want to preserve its historic look and restore what little is left that can be positively identified as original to the structure... I have a little knowledge about Victorian era construction methods and materials and as best as I can determine the front interior of the residence was remodeled sometime in the 1940’s to early 1950’s and was used for some type of retail shop or professional office space... I can tell this because the ceiling and interior walls have drywall/ Sheetrock on them, the interior wood doors in this part of the house are of a more modern machine production type with brass plated box store door knobs... The back of the residence however is original 1880’s ... there is a tall lath and plaster ceiling with cornice moulding, interior adobe walls have original lime plaster on them with 3/16” thick coats of old paint on them and the interior doors have transom windows above them and are of the old style 4 panel hand made with surface mount rim lock door hardware with Bennington brown marble swirl door knobs.. The owner wants to restore the front of the residence to match the back while including modern kitchen appliances and bathroom amenities... I’m hoping during the demo of the front of the house I can find some clue or artifacts that might be of interest to fellow old west enthusiasts.

The neatest part about working there is I can hear the reenactment gun fights going on at the OK corral at least 3x per day.. I will update this thread with additional photos as the project progresses.

Professor Marvel:
My Good Bad Bob

that ought to prove to be a challenging but rewarding endevour!

you wrote
The back of the residence however is original 1880’s ... there is a tall lath and plaster ceiling with cornice moulding, interior adobe walls have original lime plaster on them with 3/16” thick coats of old paint on them and the interior doors have transom windows above them and are of the old style 4 panel hand made with surface mount rim lock door hardware with Bennington brown marble swirl door knobs..

That will help set the style!

I would think that stripping the paint off the doors and hardware would help establish the original look (but might leave some gaps).

If you haven't done it, lathe and plaster can be a learning experience but once you have the hang of it it is really rewarding. One can accomplish great decorative things "pulling" the plaster with a template!

thanks for the photos, looking forward to more!

yhs
prof marvel

The original bad bob:
The work I have started there to date is having a dumpster delivered, and working on the old sash windows that are also original to the house... The old sash windows are unusual in that they were built and installed without window weights... I have heard about these but up until now never worked on them.

The owners want me to save and restore these old windows and I have begun the process of taking them apart, repairing rotted wood and retro fitting the window openings with metal sash tension springs so windows can be opened and closed safely

It occurred to me on the drive out there what a remote frontier town Tombstone was in the 1880’s and the challenge it must have been to get basic building materials to that frontier community because even now there isn’t a hardware store in the entire town LOL

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Silver Creek Slim:
My house, which was built in the 1920's, did not have window weights, also.

Slim

The original bad bob:

--- Quote from: Silver Creek Slim on August 05, 2021, 11:12:19 AM ---My house, which was built in the 1920's, did not have window weights, also.

Slim

--- End quote ---

Slim, I believe the windows in this tombstone home were fabricated on site by carpenters with hand tools... The problem with these windows not have window weights that I am encountering is that over the years people living there put screws , nails, tension clips and other modifications in the window frames to jimmy rig a way to keep them up for ventilation... currently the place only has gas heat.. no air conditioner

The windows are repairable.. just tedious to have to wood epoxy all the structural issues in them .. re glazing is also “fun” :D

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