Yorkville Mansion

Yorkville Mansion This page is dedicated to the restoration of the 1883 "Yorkville Mansion" built by JF Moyle. Title found under plaster and lath during restoration.

While much work has been done on the interior of the house as well as needed mechanical upgrades, the house needs a facelift from the road as well as a well-deserved foundation / structural upgrade. This FB page is dedicated to documenting the process for us personally, as well as for those who may have an interest in the renovation (specifically our neighbors!). History buffs may also like the in

formation provided. The concept is to keep as much of the exterior facade which lured us into buying this money pit. That and location, which is hard to beat (at least in our opinion). We're doing the same in the interior wherever it makes sense, though we have replaced walls with drywall (shame!). Original woodwork is all kept, though stripped and re-stained. The house now has heat and air conditioning in both floors ( heat was a first floor only convenience when we bought it and air conditioning didn't exist). A wholly new high efficiency furnace and water heater add comfort and a pressure tank 1/5th the size of the original keeps water running thought the house. Filtered water, Wi-Fi, and two gorgeously remodeled full baths come close to finishing the interior, though a new kitchen for the cook is in order (me). Have fun watching as we try to return the house to a former glory - or at least one we can be proud to call our own as we pull into the driveway (which is new, too).

Two new works of art for our 2nd floor gallery. These have been waiting many years to be framed and hung on finished wal...
10/11/2020

Two new works of art for our 2nd floor gallery. These have been waiting many years to be framed and hung on finished walls.

These are Leah Finch originals and are beach scenes from Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge in RI. Tragically cousin Leah was lost to us a few years ago and I am honored to have a couple of her early works in our collection.

The first few art pieces are up in the second floor ‘gallery’. Been waiting years to do this. There is a lot of wall sp...
08/30/2020

The first few art pieces are up in the second floor ‘gallery’. Been waiting years to do this. There is a lot of wall space up here and we look forward to many years of searching for great works to add to the collection.

Spoiler: Carpenter Bob is scheduled to be back on site in the next couple of weeks. Very excited.

The echo chamber known as the upstairs hallway has been quieted. We had runners installed in the hallway today. Due to t...
08/05/2020

The echo chamber known as the upstairs hallway has been quieted. We had runners installed in the hallway today. Due to the unique dimensions it was cut and serged on site. Quite interesting to see done. Very happy with the look and even happier for the peace and quiet. Next we finally get to hang some paintings and liven it up a bit. This will be fun.

And here is the finished railing re-installed two years after being removed. The photos do not do justice the the deep b...
06/28/2020

And here is the finished railing re-installed two years after being removed. The photos do not do justice the the deep brown, red, and gold tones that move with the light. Not what we had planned but we just can’t complain about the results. Actually that’s a pretty good explanation of restoring an old place like this —- You won’t get what you want, but you’ll love what you get.

Been working on finishing the second floor stair railing the past few weeks. This wood like the rest of the hallway was ...
06/21/2020

Been working on finishing the second floor stair railing the past few weeks. This wood like the rest of the hallway was covered in this very potent burgundy stain. You can see its potency in the picture of when the spindles were stripped some time ago. Take note of the picture with all the pieces laid out, stripped, and sanded ... notice anything? There are three different types of wood making up this railing. Some light and the larger pieces very red. Now we know why they used such a heavy paint-like stain — to cover up this very fact. So we had to consult the family wood expert aka my dad who has refinished many, many things over the years. If we simply stained the wood provincial like we’ve done everything else in the hallway the pieces of wood in the railing would look like a bunch of random pieces put together. After lots of consideration we opted to blend some colors to help the pieces look more like a cohesive whole knowing it would make the railing a stand alone. In the end we used a 1:1 mix of dark walnut and red mahogany. As this is being typed the last coat of tung oil is drying on these and we intend to re-install in the next few days. Fingers crossed this all goes back together the way it’s supposed to.

This is the second floor tower space. Repurposed maple floor installed and finished with simple trim. Be sure to check o...
06/06/2020

This is the second floor tower space. Repurposed maple floor installed and finished with simple trim. Be sure to check out the ‘before’ photos to get a real appreciation of the change that has occurred here. Those that have been with us for a while might remember vast amounts of water damage in this space and the vast amounts of black walnuts that dropped on our heads when we demolished this area. Good times. This space has seen a dramatic transformation and we are super happy with the results thus far.

Not to mention it is stunning in the evenings. When the moon is full and bright it throws long shadows of the gothic windows against the wall/floor. Just awesome.

For certain family members... doesn’t look so haunted now does it!

Top level of the tower. Old coating. Sanded. Primed. Simple trim. Small space big improvement.
06/05/2020

Top level of the tower. Old coating. Sanded. Primed. Simple trim. Small space big improvement.

The little shelves tucked away in the back stair hall are new again. They were is less than great shape and were heavily...
05/12/2020

The little shelves tucked away in the back stair hall are new again. They were is less than great shape and were heavily stained from unknown substances. They are still tucked away in an odd location but now with new skin and new paint they are at least usable again.

Contrary to the radio silence over the past 6 months we are still here. 2019 was busy so we took a break, made it throug...
04/26/2020

Contrary to the radio silence over the past 6 months we are still here. 2019 was busy so we took a break, made it through the holidays, took a four day vacation, moved one son back home, and have learned how to do our jobs from home - an interesting transition. But a few things have been happening in 2020. With the big, flashy projects done for the most part what remains are many, many detail projects. Trim and touch-up and other finishing types of things. Things that you could easily ignore or ‘get too some day’. But the elegance (or is it the devil) is in the details and we didn’t come this far to skip the little things. Earlier this year we put lock sets into the last two interior doors that were still missing their hardware - both doors face into the living room. So here is a retrospective of door hardware that has been completed. These are a mix of original and pieced together sets. We consider this hodgepodge a bit of artistic whimsy. In these close ups you’ll see that some sets look almost new and others look very distressed. I can assure you that all look better than what we started with. If you want a house where all hardware matches and finishes are perfect then you should not buy an old house.

Here are the stats on the interior door hardware:
15 doors with refurbished lock sets (14 door fully stripped and refinished)
Lock sets contain about 8 pieces each not including screws = 120 pieces.
30 pairs of hinges refurbished = 90 pieces.
One set of pocket door hinges = 6 pieces

Still some trim and touch up needed (usual disclaimer) but here is the back hall with the black stairs and the finished ...
10/06/2019

Still some trim and touch up needed (usual disclaimer) but here is the back hall with the black stairs and the finished door. Remember, this was the dark, dirty, scary back hall when we started so we are pretty happy with the new look.

We had a special guest today - Deborah Harvey (née Scheilzeth) - who grew up in the house across street from us. This hi...
10/05/2019

We had a special guest today - Deborah Harvey (née Scheilzeth) - who grew up in the house across street from us. This historic structure is known to many as the parsonage for the Methodist church (that originally was right next door in the cemetery). With her she brought many stories and a large scrapbook. I grabbed these three images because some of our followers will certainly enjoy the names. There is even a Moyle descendant in there. How many people do you know? Maybe you can share a story of your own?

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Yorkville, WI

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+12629093090

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