The Countdown

The future location of the Cheney Cottage, as seen from the Delaney House

One week from today, the second floor of the Cheney Cottage should be leaving Albany and moving to its new location on 62nd Street. By this time next Sunday, I fully expect to be sitting here, posting pictures of the house move - the fourth of five.

So today, Tom and I spent most of the day on 62nd Street. Hilary graded the lot with his bobcat, so the lot is level, with a gentle slope to bring the house in from the street. We repaired the chain link fences, cleaned up debris, and moved piles of wood into new piles. We also took down the section of fence that used to be at the back corner of the Delaney House.

The most important thing we did was sort through the pile of Cheney Cottage pieces. When we removed the eaves and the front porch of the Cheney Cottage, we saved all the pieces to be able to put them back. We labelled them, but at the time we had no idea it would take 10 months to get to work placing them back on the house. So we're not 100% sure what the labeling scheme we came up with means.

But we have lots of pictures, and as we look at the old eaves and porch, we're starting to figure it out.

On Sunday, after the Cheney Cottage arrives on 62nd Street, Eric and his crew will begin rebuilding the eaves. Once they are on, Tom and I will strip off all the old roofing, and the tack a tarp down over the house (we hope this is the last tarp, as we have gone through many tarps in the last 10 months!). Then the following weekend, the second floor will rise up into the air, and the first floor will arrive to slip below it.

The lot is ready. The house is ready. We are ready. The City permits are mostly ready. Phil Joy and his crew are ready. Eric Angress and his crew are ready. We're poised to get this project underway again. Keep your fingers crossed.