Rescued kayaker shares the story of buying a “home with history”

Last March, we covered the rescue of a kayaker who got into trouble off southern West Seattle shores. A few weeks later, that kayaker – Dr. Scott Redfern – sent us his own account of what happened; we published it here. Now he’s sent another story, about his home-buying adventure in West Seattle this summer:

Story and photos by Dr. Scott Redfern

On April 10th, I posted the story of my kayak trip gone wrong and my rescue by the Vashon ferry.

On July 8th, I bought a home in West Seattle. The history of the home and the house next door deserve to be shared. The property came with two homes on one lot. What sets these homes apart from all others in the neighborhood is the fact that these two structures have been an enormous eyesore for decades.

The property is located at 4514 SW Willow St. (map) The stories of the house are numerous.

To start off, the owner decided to remodel the original home built in 1924. As all projects do, they started off with the best of intentions. The owner, however, was easily distracted and never finished anything he started. Today we recognize this as a form of ADD. In addition to that, he was obsessive when it came to adding more steel and wood to strengthen the structure.

The owner liked to work with steel and when it came to fortifying the structure he would stop at nothing. Steel beams traverse the house from North to South and from East to West. Neither Gale force winds nor earthquakes of unknown magnitude will bring it down.

The walls are reinforced with tripled up 2X4’s and 6’es for the structure. The decks are built out of steel and the deck floor sis made out of 4X4 posts.

As the owner aged, he became a collector of all things big and small. The house was chock full of everything imaginable, with a bent towards scrap metal, wood and anything needed to remodel a home in the ’50s. Sinks, plywood, drywall, plastic sheeting, pipe fittings; the list goes on and on. It took a week just to empty the 700-foot basement. The front yard had an overgrown shrub that hadn’t been trimmed in forty years.

Now for some history on the homes. The wall that wraps around the south end of the property is made out of sandstone. We’re not talking about little pieces, but giant blocks that were cut and put in place in the likes of a castle. In fact, rumor has it that he wanted to build a castle with a turret … in the front yard.

The stone came from The Society Candy Company building in downtown Seattle. My joke is that I bought a house that is a combination of the Flintstones, the Munsters and the Addams Family.

Fred Flintstone would feel right at home. Scattered along the west property line and all over the property are giant pieces of sandstone in all sizes and shapes. Stop by and see for yourself; it is truly a work of art. Fred would need a rack of Brontosaurus ribs after working in my yard.

The Addams Family structure is the on the south end of the property, where I am camped out on the second floor. Luckily, it has been a hot July and early August. There is no hot water, so my shower consists of dumping 2-5 gallon buckets of cold water over my head and body. I also bought a garden hose, which works well also. It was fun and funny to begin with, but as cooler weather adorns our inevitable upcoming fall, it has become less enjoyable.

The north end of the property has a cottage that was built in 1914 and looks like it. The roof is peeling off. The siding is as faded as can possibly be and the previous owner’s collection of junk adorns the interior, which is rotting and caving in on itself.

I took more than 50 gallons of hazardous waste in the form of paint, thinners, oil, and a plethora of unidentifiable cans from the past several decades to HAZMAT disposal by the dump. The personnel there were more than generous, but graciously informed me that I had to come back on several occasions as I had maxed out the daily allowance of materials. I went there 5 times. In addition I took 6 truckloads to the local metal recyclers, which luckily paid for days worth of day-laborer wages. I lost count of how many trips to the dump I diligently performed. All told, it took five weeks to empty the house of its varied treasures and haul it away.

The previous owner never completed the interior of the house. Only two walls and a partial ceiling were actually dry walled. Partial walls were framed in, some with plywood paneling and mold-ridden insulation behind them. Some walls and most of the ceilings were just exposed studs with old ceiling tiles placed in the gaps for insulation, I guess. The linoleum in the kitchen was so worn you could see the wood subfloor under the dirt.

I am being kind when I say it was a dirty, junk-packed, rat-infested hole.

The house was on the market for a year and a half. Today I can visualize potential homebuyers running to their cars and speeding off after looking inside.

I was the one brave and possibly foolish soul that saw the potential under and within the piecemealed design of the house.

I have been a renter all my adult life, and at 49 years of age I took on the project nobody wanted. After showing the house to my friends and to remodelers, almost everyone said, don’t do it. Even my friend Dan, who has bought and remodeled more than a half dozen homes, said it was too big a project for him.

I decided to let the opinions remain just that. In my heart, I knew this would be my home. I am now the local neighborhood hero. Dozens of neighborhood walkers have stopped by to see the goings-on. “Thank God some one is finally going to do something with this place” they’d say. The sidewalk, driveway and yard were lined and piled with junk, junk and more junk. Rumor has it that one of the neighbors actually paid someone to paint the house at one point because they couldn’t stand looking at it any more.

I have a history of taking on big projects in my life. I love to dig in and build sweat equity. My life history is lined with obstacles overcome by determination, tenacity and hard work. Seeing the potential in things and running hard at it is in the fabric of my being. I’ll share more in person if you like.

There is so much more to tell. Therefore I extend an invitation to drive or stop by and visit with me (preferably the latter). The door is usually open when I’m home or my Saab 9-5 is parked nearby. I’ll give you a tour and we can sit on the over-fortified deck and look out on the beautiful view of the mountains and the Sound. Without the view and a truckload of determination, this home would surely be doomed.

I hope you have enjoyed this short story. I soon hope to throw a “down to the studs” party. I will post the date and time on WSB. Sharing the dream makes it all the more believable.

The Seattle Fire Department has shown interest in using the north cottage as a training ground. They might even burn it down. Wouldn’t that be cool!

When I bought the house, my neighbors welcomed me with open arms. They donated their trucks for hauling and invited me to shower in a real bathroom. I took them up only twice. My favorite summer haunt is Colman Pool for lap swimming. All I can say is, a hot shower for me after a swim is divine.

I love living in and being a part of this community we call West Seattle.

I hope to meet those of you with interest.

Dr. Scott Redfern
Docredfern@gmail.com

28 Replies to "Rescued kayaker shares the story of buying a "home with history""

  • The Beav August 30, 2009 (2:18 am)

    Whoa wait a minute! DAY LABORERS? Do you mean illegals from Home Depot? Not so cool Doc.

  • miws August 30, 2009 (6:47 am)

    Great story, Dr. Redfern! Thanks for sharing.

    .

    This house is only a few blocks away from me. I’ll have to pass by there one of these days and check it out. I would have liked to seen it when it still had all the “junk” in it.

    .

    I understand the eyesore aspect, but things like that, and eccentric people such as the previous owner, fascinate me a bit. A good buddy of mine’s late father had similar tendencies. Unfinished projects, packrat tendencies. He, for years, had an old, partially disassembled, Indian motorcycle in his living room! Until you mentioned ADD, I never really thought of that regarding him, even though I think I may have mild to moderate ADD myself. But, I’ve only come to that revelation in the last few years or so, and my friends dad passed away in late 2000.

    .

    I’ll pass by that way soon, but please keep us posted on the project status. Especially if the SFD indeed uses the cottage as training!

    .

    Mike

  • farron August 30, 2009 (6:50 am)

    Are you kidding me?? If you’re lucky the fire department will burn both of them down. That house is like my mother in law…ugly.

  • K August 30, 2009 (7:10 am)

    this is a wonderful story. Congrats on undertaking such a huge project, it will be fun to watch as you make progress!

  • Kevin August 30, 2009 (7:10 am)

    Wow, what a cool story! Thank you Dr. Redfern, for sharing this with everyone. Please sign me up for a future tour.

  • Holden August 30, 2009 (7:23 am)

    Chillax Beav. Most of those guys aren’t illegal, just looking for work to feed their families. Take your beef someplace else and chew on it there.

    Good on ya for taking on such an awesome project! Please let us know if you’ll be posting progress regularly on a blog or website. I’d love to keep an eye on your efforts – what an incredible piece of property!

  • Patrick August 30, 2009 (8:03 am)

    Thanks for a great story! This is just the kind of human interest story I’d like to read more of in WSB. It helps show what a great community we live in. Even if negative nitpickers and whiners like Beav will always comment too, stay positive and keep up the good work!

  • Christopher Boffoli August 30, 2009 (8:38 am)

    I suppose the house fortifications survived the Nisqually earthquake and have already been tested. But one would think that over-building for strength would be the wrong thing you would want to have in an earthquake where the key is allowing the structure to flex and move. Fasten things together too tightly and it seems you’re likely to get stress fractures that lead to material failures.

  • TenTruckie August 30, 2009 (9:17 am)

    Awesome work Doc. We need more people like you in this neighborhood. I love the feeling of a job well done having completed my own extensive remodel. So hang in there and don’t be discouraged when the going gets tough and the weather gets real real cold. I’ll stop by and get the tour and see what I can do to get you in a livable condition before winter sets in.

  • Joan August 30, 2009 (9:47 am)

    Whoa COOL! WTG Scott! \o/ \o/ \o/ <—applause
    .
    Seems to me the committing to, moving in and emptying of the place might have been the hardest part. I mean WOW!
    .
    My hat is off to you and look forward to stopping in with a six pack soon. :D

  • Stephen August 30, 2009 (10:01 am)

    Casa Latina is a great place to hire immigrant labor. They work hard and cost $12-15 per hour depending on what they will be doing.

    I congratulate the good doctor for his efforts to beautify the site.

  • d August 30, 2009 (10:21 am)

    Doc Redfern – what an adventure you’ve embarked upon! I know there are many like myself in WS for whom your vision for your diamond in the rough will resonate.

    If you haven’t read it already, there is a wonderful 1988 novel by Tracy Kidder, “House”, you might really enjoy. Though you may have to read it by candlelight periodically, eh?

  • Quaked Nulu August 30, 2009 (11:55 am)

    “Fasten things together too tightly and it seems you’re likely to get stress fractures that lead to material failures.”!!!
    I had no idea that Christopher was a structural engineer.
    People who state that their old house has survived decades of earthquakes and also citing the Nisqually Quake as “proof” of their home’s being earthquake safe are truly ignorant.
    “Stress factors that lead to material failures” are rare in our house structures.
    Houses hardly ever collapse.
    The earth quaking just makes them hop off of their foundations when they are not bolted down.
    Such houses appear intact but are virtually destroyed.
    Having experienced as a homeowner and covered as a newsphotojournalist all of the recent major California seismic events- Northridge, Oakland and Whittier where the aftershocks were bigger than Nisqually’s main shake, I never saw the fabled collapse house.

  • LS August 30, 2009 (1:06 pm)

    What an awesome story! Thanks for sharing it and look forward to hearing more. It’s a true testament to what one person can accomplish with a solid focus on a goal and unbridled enthusiasm and persistence.

  • lg August 30, 2009 (1:59 pm)

    Please share more stories about your adventure with the house. You are a great writer, and I enjoyed reading your tale of the house. Welcome to the neighborhood (if you hadn’t lived here before).

    Thanks to WSB for posting it for us to read as well.

  • AP August 30, 2009 (8:13 pm)

    Thoroughly enjoyed reading your account of the ongoing challenges of this house, a nearby neighbor of ours. We happened to stop by today, and saw such progress on the cleaning up of the exterior that we were awestruck. It’s worth the effort – but it will certainly be more enjoyable to you once that hot water is running.

  • K August 30, 2009 (10:04 pm)

    We live just around the corner and walk by this house at least every week. It has been fun to see all of that junk come out of the house…my 4 year old liked seeing the old sink, work tables, etc. Thank you for sharing your story because we’ve been wondering how things were going for you. Welcome to the neighborhood & we’ll try to stop by on our next walk if you’re there!

  • christopherboffoli August 30, 2009 (10:35 pm)

    Multi-personality Nulu: It is not an unreasonable statement that over-built structures can have the opposite effect of what the over-builder intended. And failures are completely plausible if you have materials that need to move for whatever reason and they can’t because of the way they’re built. Though the fact that a house has survived an earthquake is not a promise that it will survive another, the fact that it survived one certainly says something about the integrity of its design thus far.
    .
    Houses hardly ever collapse? With all due respect to your extensive experience as a distinguished structural engineer and “newsphotojournalist” you should Google “Kobe earthquake” sometime. Buildings collapse in severe earthquakes all the time. And structures are routinely built with the ability to flex and move to prevent catastrophic failures. Flexibility is one of the most important traits of earthquake-safe buildings. A rigid structure will collapse in the type of movement from a typical earthquake. Rather than fastening things together more tightly, seismic retrofits often add visco-dampeners to absorb seismic energy and to provide elastic qualities so structures can move. And no amount of fastening your house to its foundation is going to help you in certain circumstances, such as liquefaction of the ground on which it is built.

  • Quaked Nulu August 31, 2009 (12:17 am)

    Chistopher somehow jumped overseas and to buildings that are not single family residences in his description of building collapses in severe earthquakes.
    Scary, but not true here.
    Our Nisqually was in no way a severe quake.
    I claimed no experience as a structural engineer, just wide spread coverage of California seismic activities as a card carrying “Newsphotojournalist.”
    Yes, there is formal IATSE Camera Union classification as Newsphotojournalist that one must have to shoot for ABC News, PBS, NOVA, McNeil Leher Reports as I have.
    As for structural concerns, the many pieces with Pasadena’s Caltech/USGS seismologists and engineers informed me.
    My comments are specific to “our house structures”, not those of third world countries, those that have not traditionally used wood framing as we do or those without building codes.
    I would certainly entertain Christopher’s plausibility with one example of a single family residence.
    The intention of my post was to encourage bolting down the house to the foundation and dispel false assurances such as “the fact that it survived one certainly says something about the integrity of its design thus far.”
    I am not aware of common “seismic retrofits (that)often add visco-dampeners” in single family residences. The cost is prohibitive.
    I am aware of two schools of thought regarding this, coupling as required by our building codes. And decoupling, as Christopher refers to, primarily in commercial structures. I believe most of our large buildings are coupled.
    In liquefaction areas such as Alki, Harbor Island and the Marina district of San Francisco the codes still require coupling or bolting down of houses, not decoupling.

  • Christopher Boffoli August 31, 2009 (1:26 am)

    Having actually traveled to Kobe, Japan I can attest that it is actually a very technologically advanced place and is not in fact part of the “third world” or as I prefer to say “the developing world.”
    .
    And having been a newsphotojournalist on the scene of Dr. Redfern’s dramatic overturned kayak rescue last spring, I’d also like to say that I hope an earthquake never challenges the structural integrity of his interesting house.

  • Meghan August 31, 2009 (7:06 am)

    Don’t worry, boys, you’re both smart and handsome.

  • d August 31, 2009 (7:55 am)

    Meghan!

    Lol! Took the words right from me ;)

  • pampire August 31, 2009 (8:42 am)

    I feel a little less overwhelmed about my fixer upper now! Best of luck!

  • fluorescent carl August 31, 2009 (2:35 pm)

    Nulu and Christopher you prove that self described bad asses are usually IDIOTS! Good luck DOC!

  • AJP August 31, 2009 (2:46 pm)

    You should watch “The Money Pit”. Also–day laborers are available at many temp agencies etc, and can be perfectly legal in this country.

  • JoB September 1, 2009 (4:29 pm)

    hang in thee doc..

    and accept the occasional hot meal and hot shower from your neighbors.

    everyone likes to feel they can contribute to a clean up of that scale.

  • Bryan Redfern September 3, 2009 (6:24 pm)

    From my recent visit to West Seattle from L.A. and being the younger Brother of Dr. Scott, we par-took in a few festivities at the local watering hole. When we arrived back at the house at 1:30am….. I blurted out Fight Club! That’s it!!

    To sum it up, the house in raw form inside is the Addams Family combined with the Flintsones….but the most haunting familiar likeness remided me of the movie “Fight Club”

    The first rule of Fight Club…. is we don’t talk about fight club ;) My name is Tyler Durden.

  • MsWest Seattle September 6, 2009 (1:07 pm)

    I remember the above mentioned home from when I was a kid in the 1960’s. My grandparents had the home about 4 homes north and across the street from said house. A nice family with a bunch of kids lived there forever and I believe the grandmother lived in the “cottage” next door for a spell. The remodel started in or around the mid 1960’s or so and just never got finished. After a while when you have a huge project like that, people sometimes just get overwhelmed by the “hugeness” of it all and never complete it. And than POOOF your too elderly/uninterested or broke to complete.

Sorry, comment time is over.