Restoring house was labor of love for Uniontown woman
Ethel Frangipani of Uniontown needed something more in her life than just her job.
So she spent 12 years painstakingly restoring her home at 29 Charles Street.
鈥淚 wanted something to occupy my mind and something to do that was constructive,鈥� she said.
Frangipani spent 33 years at the former Rockwell International plant (now Sensus Technologies) on North Gallatin Avenue, Uniontown, where she serviced machines in the foundry.
Frangipani, whose nickname is 鈥淪is,鈥� moved into the three-story brick home on Charles Street in 1996. The home contains 10 rooms, five of which are bedrooms. A full-length porch graces the front of the house and Frangipani has a smaller screened-in deck at the rear.
鈥淚 liked the house. It was a project for me. I have lived alone for 30 years. I needed something to do. Just going to work wasn鈥檛 enough to occupy my time. I wanted to tackle it,鈥� she said.
She kept nearly everything original and furnished the home with pieces representing the period she believes the house was built, the 1920s. She bought chairs and sofas at estate sales and reupholstered them. Some furnishings are family pieces she hopes to pass on to her two sons and daughter.
Everything in this house has a story she said, showing a dining room table and chairs that she bought from the late Rick Davison, a local hair stylist. 鈥淗e said he would sell me the table and chairs if I took the house they were in,鈥� Frangipani said. It was a home on Bailey Avenue that she bought prior to her current home. 鈥淭hat (dining room) set is very special to me,鈥� because of her association with Davison.
Setting out to restore the home was a challenge.
The condition of the house when she moved in was anything but original. Every bit of woodwork in the house had been covered in paint, in some cases by multiple layers.
鈥淚 had never done any refinishing before in my life,鈥� she said, adding that she called a local company that did that type of work for an estimate. 鈥淲hat they wanted to charge me for one room 鈥� well, I only had one income and I decided to do it myself.鈥�
Her family thought she was crazy for tackling such a job. 鈥淭hey saw the amount of work I was walking into,鈥� she said.
The mother of three, Frangipani said friends would ask her what she was doing on the weekend. 鈥淚 told them I鈥檇 be stripping,鈥� she laughed, referring to the work restoring the home.
A friend helped with some of the more delicate refinishing, such as a pair of pocket doors inside that held glass panes. But she completed most of the work on her own.
鈥淓ven the ceramic tile over the fireplace had been painted,鈥� she said.
Using strippers, heat guns and sandpaper, Frangipani spent her free time bringing the woodwork and hardwood floors back to their original appearance, or as near as she could get it.
鈥淚 was too small to handle a floor sander so I did all the floors with a palm sander. I still have the calluses on my knees to show for it,鈥� she said.
Admitting she made some mistakes along the way, Frangipani is proud of the end result: golden oak hues, meticulous carving, shining floors.
Frangipani is selling her home. 鈥淚鈥檓 older now and I am beginning to have trouble keeping up with everything.
鈥淚 hate to leave it. It will be so hard. But I鈥檓 happy I did this.鈥� she added.
For more information about the home, call SWC Properties at 724-425-7300.
James Pletcher Jr. writes a weekly real-estate story for the 蘑菇视频 from a variety of angles. If you have an interesting story about buying or selling a home in Fayette County and would like a story written about it, please contact 蘑菇视频 Executive Editor Mark O鈥橩eefe at 724-439-7569.