blog post MARCH 2009
We bought and moved into the duplex at 527 South Braddock in 1995. We started looking for a "single family house" for our family in 2001 and struggled to find a house that seemed to be a good fit.
In 2008 it occured to us that the neighbor's house at 525 South Braddock might be a perfect fit (triple lot, plenty of space, room for a guest suite, room for a garage, Pgh school district, and very convenient). We made a few calls and after some negotiations the house was ours in November 2008.
Our plans are to convert the current 4-unit (which has 4 kitchens, 4 boilers, 4 gas lines, etc.) into a single family house with a guest suite. We would like to level the front yard, build a garage, and put a new facade on the house which will include a front patio. The inside of the house is still a mystery. We have spent hours trying to figure out which walls are original, which walls are structural, and where the footprint of the original farmhouse lies.
blog post JANUARY 2009
We moved in in December 2009 with holes in the floors and ceilings and no kitchen, 3 weeks before the 2008 Soup Party. That was a little crazy. Crazy on par with the last 10 months.
We started with the basement while the original 4 tenants were in the building. 100 gallons of dirt collected just by sweeping the floor, we were learning quickly how long it has been since anyone really cared about this place.
Basement cleaned & painted. 4 boilers removed and replaced by 1 super high efficiency boiler in 4 zones. 4 water heaters, 4 gas meters, 4 electric meters all reduced to 1 of each.
JUNE 2012
Three years have passed and
