RANDALL HOUSE REPORTS

Randall House Museum, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada
http://wolfvillehs.ednet.ns.ca/

Historic Randall House

RANDALL HOUSE

UPGRADE AND REPAIR SOURCES

By Eric Krause

Krause House Info-Research Solutions

November 14, 2008

Floor Plans (Source)

Basement		First Floor		Second Floor		Attic Floor

1927 - 1970

• According to the writings of Graham Patriquin:

"Until 1927, the property was a totally unkempt, half-mysterious tanglewood of neglected fruit and ornamental trees, with shoulder-high grasses and thistles making it even more ill-defined by midsummer. The house, equally neglected, displayed virtually no sign of habitation save occasional smoke from the chimney (eastern only) and a rare appearence [sic] of Eardley Randall at the door, answering a neighbour's knock for admission....

" My parents had hoped for years that they would be able to buy the property when the Randalls had finished with it. They did so in 1927. I helped with the final stages of clearing out the house to make it fit for human habitation, but I had been out of the province when Dad first attacked the debris and accumulated dirt of several decades. For example, he wheeled out eleven barrow loads of ashes from the kitchen floor.

"With very little money, but more energy and devotion than most people of their age possess, Dad and Mother .made the property an attractive, hospitable residence. It became a veritable clearing house for people-particularly young ones-with needs, with interests, with enthusiasms that required sympathetic listening and discussion. Dad had the house wired. Its friendly illumination was almost startling to Wolfvillians who had walked past its spectral darkness for years and years ..

" Mother's joy was in the attic. There she stored boxes, coathangers and trunks of costumes- dresses, shoes, hats, gloves, shawls, inexpensive jewelery [sic] for the use of youngsters at Hallowe'en [sic] and every occasion when dress up was de rigeur ...

1996

• Randall House, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Conservation Report For the Wolfville Historical Society, By H. Jost (Jost Architects Ltd.), March 1996 - HTML
   

2008

• Records of the Wolfville Historical Society, Archived at Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia (Researched by Derek Watts for Upgrades and Repairs, 1993-2008)

• ROOF: Asphalt shingles applied in 1994.  A winter windstorm caused damage to the south side and these were replaced in May 2006
   

• HOUSE PAINTING:

  • White  -  1997

  • Yellow ochre  -  2005
     

• DEWOLFE PARLOUR (first floor, front, west) [Room 109]

  • The fireplace hearth collapsed in Sept. 1993 and was reconstructed.
     

• FRONT PORCH: [North Entrance Portico]

  • Deck and steps replaced 1993
     

• WINDOW:

  • South side over kitchen. 1994.  Head replaced plus some shingles affected by the work. [Room 203]
     

• CELLAR:

  • 1999  Joists supporting kitchen floor strengthened and posts and concrete post bases added. [S.E. and elsewhere]
     

• WEST CHIMNEY

  • 1996  6"dia. SS chimney liner placed.  There may also have been some brick replacement at the same time - the records are not clear. The chimney top
    was arranged with a cap and wire mesh to prevent entry of pigeons and small mammals.

  • 2002  Both chimneys above the roof line re pargetted.

  • 2006 caulking applied to the lead chimney flashing (some leakage had been seen in the attic)  Property chairman was assured that the flashing did not
    need to be replaced.
     

• ATTIC:

  • 2004.  Fan installed.  1705 cfm (Based on 6ach for attic and second floor). It has thermostat (ON/OFF) control and a manual speed downturn rheostat.
     

• CELLAR:

  • 2008. Humidex Ventilation  installed.