The restoration of the F. Walter Cox "Big House" couldn't be where it is today without the talented workers (many of them fellow descendants) willing to give their blood, sweat and tears for the cause. We have been both impressed and touched by the level of skill and care despite the challenges attached to an old home. Over the past year, we've overheard a number of grumbles, groans, thuds, moans and occasional swears. :)
Jim & Teri Schiess have been instrumental in transforming the interior of this house. Masters of creative design and execution. We've encountered a number of challenges with this house, whether sagging floors, walled-in windows, funky bathroom layouts, and these two always had an intuitive solution that works. Our primary drywallers, painters, framers, deck builders, closet shelvers, and ski buddies.
Clint Cox, descendant through Emeline's second oldest son William Arthur Cox, and his crew (Robert and Andrew) reworked all the plumbing in this house. Always an optimist and willing to jump at the chance to help, we have relied heavily on A Service Pros for a number of hard-to-reach and difficult plumbing tasks.
Andy Cox (Clint's older brother) and his crew (Mike, Eric, Lloyd) have rewired this rat's nest of an electrical mess. Andy is a true problem solver and we hope we haven't aged him 10 years sorting out this house.
Ben and Orson Kimball, the legendary Kimball Brothers, are wizards of woodworking. These two talented craftsmen can build, rebuild and fix anything. Both guys are lovers of anything old and historic and it's been a real pleasure working on this project together. Ben was responsible for our new staircase, archway, fireplace mantle, re-created pioneer window/door trim, and west porch.
Lee Cox, uncle to Clint and Andy Cox, removed the front concrete porch, dug out water lines and cleaned out tons of plaster debris from our main level demo.
We've always been impressed by Manti's strong sense of community spirit. Lynn Bishop drove by and saw my dear sweet wife high up on a ladder painting trim. In a selfless act, he quickly fetched his cherry picker and tossed Rashel the keys. He made a difficult/dangerous job much safer and faster.
Robert doing what he loves, spending a day in our dark, damp basement.
Our countertop installers working in the new basement kitchen
Rodger Marshall sells antiques in town and has helped us score a number of unique treasures fitting to our house.
A typical day at the F. Walter Cox house... :)
A special shout-out goes to my dad who made countless trips down to Manti from Bountiful just to spend the entire weekend working on the walls. Here we are nearly finished with the north wall, the final wall of the F. Walter Cox house.
