If the walls of Bob and Sharon Bobel’s two-story brick house at East College Avenue and Summit Street could talk, they could give a doozy of a history lesson.
The Bobels did a modernized yet accurate restoration of the 145-year-old house, which they describe as “basically a Victorian farmhouse” on what was once part of then-Otterbein College’s expansive farmlands.
The abstract of the property is not specific, but indicates a man named Johnson was an early owner. He or his family owned Cellar Lumber Co. across the street.
The Bobels wanted an old home and knowingly bought into an extensive renovation upon their 2006 return to the U.S. after six and a half years in England, where they lived near the home of their son, Robert III, and his wife and two daughters.
The Westerville home was affectionately known as “the old house with the crack in the wall,” an obvious sign of sagging walls that left an opening so large “you could see outside,” says Bob.
Bob describes a veritable habitat for wildlife that included a huge starling nest and a bat nest in the attic, and skunk and chipmunk labyrinths in the ground beneath the three porches.
For Sharon, the challenge was furnishings and finishings, and as a professional interior designer, she relished decorating the house to reflect its history.
“Everything in the house is new, but we tried to keep it like it’s not brand new,” she says.
Their restoration effort was a labor of love, with each room and each aspect of it the basis for a story, either about the home’s structural features or what they did to restore its heritage. Bob is a retired electrical engineer whose builder father taught him to work in the trades, so his skills were helpful.
Woodwork is original, save for some modified crown moldings and replacement brackets on porch poles Bob made, and is all painted white. Remaining in doorway trim, Bob notes, are notches showing that doors had been hung on both sides. All of the original windows remain.
All walls are brick and in one that’s exposed, Bob points to a slight color difference that indicates a doorway had been bricked in. Other doorways had been moved elsewhere.
The Bobels removed multiple layers of wallpaper. In one room, they found an unusual mural – “like a Williamsburg scene,” Sharon says. On another, there was a drawing that detailed how crown moldings were to be done, Bob says.
He tells of the original fieldstone foundation, topped by three rows of bricks to support beams topped by two rows of bricks that were upper-level walls and eroded lime-based mortar in joints that had become access for termites.
A sagging beam beneath the second floor was resting on only a piece of a brick. The floor of the bedroom above still sags, but was judged to be safe.
For restoration guidance, the Bobels turned to one of the “Building Doctors” at the Ohio History Connection. The Bobels disdain modern building standards: “They want to use new technologies, glue everything with epoxy,” Bob says.
All the plaster walls remain, albeit repaired or replaced. They found a master plasterer who provided guidance, did some work and taught Bob the two-step plastering process. Some of the water-damaged first-floor ceilings were replaced with drywall.
Professional tradesmen, such as an electrician, did work that had to pass inspection. Bob helped when he could. They had just moved in when multiple gas leaks were found and all lines had to be replaced.
Sharon notes that some original Buckeye wood floors could be restored, and that oak planks replaced those beyond saving, generally in main living areas. Walls are painted with period colors, or close to them. Throughout, Sharon has selected colors and furnishings that reflect the home’s original era.
What was once a family parlor is off the front porch, which is as wide as the house. That parlor now is the living room, complete with a marble-faced fireplace.
Off it is what would have been the main parlor, also with a fireplace, this one wood-faced. Here, the Bobels installed a small brick floor-level hearth to replace the fireproofing that had been there: a thick layer of dirt under linoleum, Sharon explains. It’s now their TV room.
Near both is a half bathroom that has a pedestal sink, an obvious focal point. And Sharon used a niche in a voided wall section for a small cabinet with a wood door that reflects the 19th Century.
The dining room in the middle of the house features a wall of cabinets, some with glass fronts. Sharon stacked kitchen cabinets she found at a Bargain City outlet. To the rear is the kitchen, small by today’s standards but more than adequate. Sharon added maple cabinets with plain fronts and modern appliances.
On the second floor, the master bedroom with a four-poster bed is near the top of the amply wide stairs. In a full bathroom off the hall, they installed a heated tile floor and white subway tile backsplash, plus a modern-style, glass-walled shower.
The original middle bedroom, which used to serve as a passageway to another bedroom at the rear of the house has been split in two. One side is now the master bath, with an antique tub and a clear plastic ceiling-mounted shower curtain surrounding it. Past the tub, twin sink bowls rest atop a dark marble top. Tile floors are heated, Sharon notes, shuddering slightly at the thought of cold tile.
The other half, a closet-size area, holds a stacked washer and dryer, which Sharon praises as a wise installation that eliminates the need to trek down steep, narrow basement steps to the former laundry area. She placed a small, antique bookcase nearby to store cleaning items.
Past the laundry and a good-sized closet – one of two they built – is a former bedroom that’s now Bob’s office.
Now that it’s virtually restored, “I want this house to last another 100 years,” Sharon says.
Duane St. Clair is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
Tour, Take Two
The Bobel house is one of two private residences – and 12 Westerville sites total – on the second Tapestry of a Town historic tour.
The tour, organized by and benefiting the Westerville Habitat Partnership, takes place
July 27 from 1-5 p.m.
The other residence, located on West Plum Street, is owned by Dee Justice and has also been extensively restored. There were no residences on last year’s tour; they were added this year because there are so many in the community that draw residents’ interest, says Kay Hedges, tour co-coordinator.
Other stops are the Anti-Saloon League Museum, council chambers at Westerville City Hall, Clippinger Hall at Otterbein University, the Hanby House, Hanby Magnet School, Blendon Masonic Lodge #339, Morgan’s Treasure, the post office on West State Street, the Olde Methodist Cemetery and Outside Envy. Each site hosts docents or owners to give historic background information.
Tour tickets are $10 each at the Westerville Visitors and Convention Bureau or at any stop on tour day. Last year’s tour raised almost $4,000 for the partnership.
The other private residence on this year’s tour, on West Plum Street, showed its remodeled kitchen and pantry on the 2012 Home Improvement Showcase, organized by the central Ohio chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.
