They don’t make homes like they used to anymore. That’s why Craig Asher snapped photos and measured railings, roof shingles and other details on Victorian homes in Northport Village, even when some of the homeowners weren’t looking.
It’s been a labor -- not always of love -- as Asher tries almost single handedly to remake his cinderblock home into a turn-of-the-19th-century "Folk Victorian." Giving the three-bedroom house a new, old-time face and a modern inside has taken about a decade -- and counting -- of carpentry and other work. He’s been working on the house bit by bit, buying materials when he had the money, putting a bit of the house up and then waiting for months sometimes until he saved enough for the next stage.
“I’m kind of building it like a poor person, which is what I am pretty much,” he said. “I’ve put everything into this house that I’ve ever made.”
But the Victorian architecture says something about handiwork for Asher, 41, whose business, Rock Solid Restoration, restores concrete and steel structures, such as parking garages.
“It’s what I think of when I think of Northport,” he said. “It just sort shows there was a period of time when there were a lot of crafts people available and there were a lot of people who seemed to take a lot of pride in their work. If you drive around the village of Northport, you could see there’s almost no two houses that are the same. Each carpenter would have his own design, and I’m told that you can actually tell who did the building by certain designs in the house and certain features.”
He likes Folk Victorian because it’s simpler than the ornate, gingerbread-style Victorian. Around the turn of the century, working-class families would get mass-produced wood features and add their own details, such as trim and spindlework.
Whenever Asher saw a Victorian house he liked in the village, he’d knock on the door and flattered homeowners would tell all.
That’s how he got a paint color, Juniper green, and the manufacturer’s name.
In fact, it was excruciating picking out four colors: a light green, dark green, gold and burgundy.
“To pick four that go together, it’s not four times as hard,” Asher said. “It’s like four times four. I have probably 40 little cans of paint that I bought.”
Asher’s not sure how much money he spent before getting home equity lines of credit totaling about $170,000 about a year ago. He bought the house in 1999 for $200,000.
For most of the renovations, he’s been living inside his gutted house. Recently, he made his home next door, where his girlfriend lives.
He’s practically quit his regular line of work to finish the house, partly because it’s taking so much time and money. A contractor friend has agreed to help.
The house, which will practically be rebuilt inside out, is expected to be energy efficient, including with radiant heat in the floors and a high-efficiency boiler, Asher said.
When it’s done, the house will be put on the market with his real estate agent parents, Sue and Brian Asher, who work for Coldwell Banker in Huntington. His parents think he can get $799,99 for it, Asher said.
Selling wasn’t his original intention.
“I never intended to spend this much money, never intended to go into this much debt on this house,” he said. “It’s been really tough, physically, emotionally, financially. I made it hard on myself too. To do all this detail work just takes so much longer.
“The only thing that will be left of the original is the foundation. Everything will be new, but it’ll look old.”