The Devil Queen

How my wife and I sold our souls to the Queen Anne Victorian we tried to save.

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Location: Crow Mountain, Arkansas, United States

Synopsis: This is a cautionary tale. A seriously disturbed couple find the charming, old ruin of a Queen Anne Victorian in Russellville, Arkansas, and buy it for $1.00. They tore the roof off, cut it in half, and had it moved to some land they owned sixteen miles away because they didn't know any better. Since then, they have hired and fired contractors, had all of their tools stolen, re-wired, re-plumbed, insulated, and essentially rebuilt the entire house. Their only problem is that after four years it still isn't finished. Now they are tired, broke, and wonder what in the hell it is they've done to themselves. And, it's haunted.
(Last updated on April 3, 2008)

Press: Russellville Courier Article - December 2003, HGTV website article, AP story - October 2006, and Victorian Homes Magazine - February 2008 (link coming soon).
Art: From time to time, I receive requests for my art. If you would like to look at more of my art, go to The Failed Artist. If you would like to buy my art, email me. I am more than happy to answer any questions you might have. Thanks!

Friday, March 10, 2006

Pre-Robbery Kitchen Photos

Here are a few photos we took a couple days before we were robbed.

First, here are some of the custom cabinets, the counter top decking, and our window with all its trim.

Here is the other corner.


The window.
And, here is a close-up of the bull's-eye corner trim I repaired. I wish I'd taken a before picture so you could appreciate my mastery of wood-putty. The top 1 inch or so was broken off when we removed the trim a couple years ago. No matter how careful you are, getting trim off in one piece is hard to do. This piece of trim is about 6" square, but they used 6 freaking enormous nails to set it. Overkill?
I scavenged up a piece of old wood and cut it down to size with the table saw. Once I was satisfied with the fit, I drilled out some starter holes for the nails. I nailed them together with some tiny framing nails, and filled the crack with wood putty. I gave it a good sanding, but didn't get around to a second coat (note the visible crack on the left side of the patch) before Kenny put it up. No harm done, I can finish it as it is. Then, caulk and paint.


And, a nice, tight joint.

I was up at the Queen last night to check on things. The kitchen is moving along at a good pace. Kenny has cut out the hole for the kitchen sink, laid the concrete backer board for the tile, and built-in a few more cabinets. More photos in a few days.

2 Comments:

Blogger K said...

It's looking great, and I'm glad progress is continuing in spite of the setback.

9:17 AM  
Blogger John said...

Thanks.

The robbery has had the unintended effect of actually accelerating the pace of work on the Queen. Our goal is to move in asap so we can lay awake at night with high-power firearms and dare them to break in.

"You feeling lucky punk?"

10:12 AM  

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