Restoration of my 1926 Home

And you thought your house doesn’t have gas

7/10/2025

When I bought my bungalow, the seller informed me that it once had had gas, but was disconnected years prior. Never gave it another thought.

Mowing my (overgrown) back lawn one afternoon, I took on the high weeds just along the back of the house. Didn’t notice the galvanized pipe sticking a couple of inches above ground. My mower hit it with a whack!! Then came a whoosh!! of gas.

The fire department arrived promptly – 4 trucks and a supervisor. And hazmat. Then SW Gas. Capped it off, temporarily. Neighbors gathered; social event of the season.

Seems that when the gas company ends service, they don’t cap the gas off in the alley, but only at the end of the pipe where the meter used to be. Since I asked, they did do a permanent cap in the alley, beyond my back fence. No charge. But their alley crew was booked about six months out. I did my best to avoid the pipe by the house in the interim.

Any extra pipes in your backyard?

Transforming the L L Steward House into my home

After close to two years marketing my former office, the L L Steward House, as either ready-to-move-in furnished office space or as a needed renovation home, I gave up. In May 2025, I began finding homes for my desks and credenzas (acquired in 1988 from Valley National Bank – very nice pieces, solid and HEAVY), keeping the barrister bookcases and courthouse chairs. In June, I began refinishing wood floors, painting, and moving 25 years of accumulation from 718 W. Roosevelt into 522 (books and bookcases first!)

My sales listing (second agent to try) expired in June; I’d already secured quotes for most of the residential conversion. Major work began: Major backyard tree and cats-claw removal, in preparation to demolition (by Chickasaw Demo, on 7/13) of the concrete parking lot occupying most of the backyard. Confirmed topsoil addition, irrigation system, paver borders, drip system and sod to begin week of 7/28.

1929 Mother-in-law special, bathroom

The back bath was added in 1929, to the original 1926, 2 bedroom/1 bath bungalow, as part of a “mother-in-law special”. An effort seems to have been made to match tile and color strip to the original, and it is rather close. The period pedestal sink and toilet I rescued from demolitions; faucets and shower head are modern reproductions. Most of the rest of the room is original.