This is the “after” shot taken Nov. 20. For the “before,” look below.
Lots of progress has been made since I last checked in at 830 Fourth Ave. S.E. in Albany’s Central Neighborhood. Paul Dykast and his helpers have cleaned the place out, and they’ve begun working on fixing the old structure up.
I stopped by on Tuesday afternoon. The mountains of refuse were gone, inside and out. Dykast says they filled a Dumpster and so many trailers he lost count.
As reported here before, Dykast is a mid-valley farmer who buys dilapidated houses and brings them back to life as a way to keep busy during the winter when there’s less farm work to be done. When he’s finished one, it’s a brand new house with period elements retained, judging from the one I’ve seen at Geary and First Avenue, which he completed last year.
The inside of 830 Fourth S.E. is pretty much torn up now, with rafters and joists exposed. The aroma of decay and charred timbers is gone. The old wiring was being ripped out. Pieces of cardboard identify where new bathroom fixtures might go. The floor has been partly removed so a crawl space can be dug out.
When I remarked on what looked like a professional installation of new plumbing pipes coming down from upstairs in an exterior wall, Dykast said he’d just put that in.
Two weeks ago, rescuing this place looked like an impossible job. On Tuesday it looked not only possible but well on its way. (hh)
Before: This was taken on Nov. 6.
Inside on Tuesday, looking from the back toward the front of the house.
Keep the updates coming. What a great project and revitalization.
Perhaps OPB ought do a “Fixer-Upper” show featuring Hasso as a friendly, charismatic program host and this Dykast fellow as the program’s amiable carpenter, like Tommy Silva from the long-running and venerated WGBH production of This Old House. If Producers can limit their remodeling efforts to crumbling cubbyholes located within the CARA Penumbra, there may be some taxpayer-provided wealth redistribution in the form of cash subsidies…you know- to cover heavy production costs expected.
I hope this ‘farmer’ continues this work in Albany. I also hope it is very profitable for him and anyone else caring for our wonderful old homes. A house is not disposable and saving them may also save some of our green spaces around town.
it looks great, its so neat someone takes the time to fix these eyesores we have around the city, its like no one cared for so long. Kudos to him