The first photo shows the new roofing shingles on the south side the Mansion Boys installed.  We typically would never put shingles on a mansion in November, however this year by some miracle and good luck, the weather was fabulous.  Almost like it was meant to be. 

The second photo shows the gorgeous stone fence and wrought iron gate and the south side of the mansion.  Note the extremely poor condition of the old roof shingles.  It was sort of an emergency measure to tear the old shingles off and replace them.  I had to get the water leaks stopped, so the interior can be restored.  Lots of work.  The next photos give a bit of a glimpse of the interior damage from the roof leaking.

I also have almost finished restoring the founder's house the Paris Gibson Mansion.  www.parisgibson.com  It is an amazing Victorian build in 1890, It was covered with about 2 inches of stucco, which we removed.  I have not put the tower back on the house yet, because I have to get a variance from the city for height and it is going to cost a small fortune.   The original wood siding was intact and once the stucco came off we found the beautiful details on the gable ends. I need to put turned pillars on the front porch and curve the porch roof, so it is as close to original as possible.

The weather for the most part here in Central Montana has been pretty nice and cooperative.  We are still on the roof.  The 4 layers of old worn out shingles on the south side are a bear to get off.  My crew is really quite excellent and today I nicknamed them "The Mansion Boys".  lol  I'm not sure how they feel about that, but they are pretty easy  going, and got a good laugh.  So far I think there are 2 ghosts in the house and I think The Mansion Boys would agree.  Some weird things happen around here daily.  lol





































We have pretty much cleared out the debris and junk from the first floor.  We can only do that when the weather is too cold or wet to go on the roof.  I think the next floor to clean up is the basement.  From what I can tell, there are a couple of broken old stained glass windows down there among the debris, that might actually belong to this house.  At this point, I have no clue where they would have originally been.  I can't find any original photos of the house from 1908, so if anyone might have a photo please come see me at the house or call me.  This is starting to feel like a game of Clue. 

I have enlisted the help of Michael Winters Sr. (former Mayor of Great Falls) to help with the reconstruction of the leaded glass windows on the house.  When I figure out if and where the stained glass windows in the basement go, they will need to be reconstructed too.  Thank you Mr. former Mayor.  I appreciate all your help and enthusiasm.

Well, its been a little over a week since I purchased this grand old Lady.  We started on the roof because it is in bad shape and I need to stop it from causing any more water damage to the interior. 

There are 4 layers of roofing shingles to remove.  The good news is that the condition of the old wood boards under the roof is excellent and thus we do not have to re-sheet the entire roof.  The bad news is that the old shingles are very labor intensive to remove, so that has eaten up the roof budget and the allowance for new sheeting.  The joys of historic renovation!!!!

I am also having the exterior fascia crown molding reproduced, so we had to temporarily install some boards to keep the new roof shingles in place until the crown is ready to install.
































Below is an interesting article I found today about the Davies - 2nd owners of the house.  Just after they got married in January 1919 and purchased the house.  Mr. Davies apparently died from food poisoning eating Chop Suey in Honolulu.   Mrs. Davies lived in the house for another 10 years and then sold it in 1929 to Dr. Offerman a local Chiropractor.

Day 1.  November 11, 2016.
After 20 years of trying to buy the Jenks Mansion, along with hundreds of other people, I finally got it done.  This is nothing short of a miracle.  The house has been vacant but all the utilities on for the last 34 years.  It has been in the Nichols Family since 1942, or 72 years.  I find that I am both elated and frightened.  Fabulous property, tremendous amount of work.