In June 2021, we moved into a rental just blocks away from our previous renovation project and home of ten and a half years to start a search for our next project. The bad news: we were moving away from our families on Osage; the good news: we discovered families we already loved on Larchwood and fell for everyone else on the block.

Our friends P. + C., for instance, introduced us to their neighbors, two sisters, whose  home we eventually purchased on November 12, 2021. It turned out the sisters’ dad had been our alley-neighbor on Larsage (Larchwood + Osage)! M., another friend who moved onto the block in late summer, shared the original 1905 advertisement for the twins on our block. Given the 20 x 110 square footage of the lots, it seems that not much has changed in 100+ years.

For those unfamiliar with Philadelphia house nomenclature, here’s the deal: Twins are side-by-side homes separated by a shared fire wall. Likewise, front coverd porches and back yards are side-by-side while the space between the twins is shared access to sunlight as well as the side and back yards. In scale, they range from tiny to massive. Our twins are on the smaller side, measuring 14 1/2 feet across.

It took us a good minute to absorb just how much work lay ahead:

Remodel main bath

Demo kitchen

Remove carpet, all four bedrooms

Remove carpet, majority of basement

Refinish first floor, stairway, and upstairs hallway oak floors; install / replace where needed

Paint or carpet over pine subfloor in upstairs bedrooms

Remove the invasive Mulberry Trees

Landscape front and back yard (overgrown)

Replace some windows

Replace all doors

Restore one sliding pocket door (off-track for upstairs master bedroom)

Add storage wherever possible

Upgrade electrical capacity

Replace knob and tube with standard electricity

Replace plumbing stack

Remove popcorn from living room ceiling and upstair hallway

Consider AC options (mini-splits?)

Install interior vestibule

Parge gaps in foundation (interior, minor)

Seal exterior masonry (exterior, minor)

The plan: to get the majority of the reno complete before on the new place before our lease expires in mid-June 2022!

It took awhile to get the website and blog up and running while we’ve been working on renovations, so the initial blog dates don’t correspond with the action. Hopefully, we’ll catch up soon!