David Delind’s “Hamilton Project”

I bought my grandparents house after they passed away a few years ago. It is orange brick and was built in the 1860’s. My fiance and I have spent the past two and a half years working on repairing, restoring and renovating it.

After getting out of college I decided to purchase the house and property that my grandparents (on my father’s side) had owned. By doing so I blocked a developer from bulldozing the house and developing the land into “light density apartments”. I stared the project thinking that being trained as a civil engineer would prepare me for the challenges presented by the house and that the renovation wouldn’t take more than a year or so.

Two and a half years later, the house is nearly done on the interior and I can safely say I had no understanding of what I was getting into. Over the project we had to jack walls back into position, reframe everything, level sagging floors, install entirely new systems of HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and to boot become carpenters. It is something that I am very glad to have undertaken, as it challenged me to solve problems creatively and in ways that were not necessarily the “standard”.

My blog — The Hamilton Project –– is a story of the journey the house has undergone and tracks the victories and hardships that my current Fiance (then girlfriend) have had over the course of the project.

Above: jacking up the house and demolition.



Above, the great room — finished floors!



Father and Son at it again!

Casting the basement stairs.


hanging sheetrock