New foundation, restorations for historical home in Brighton

BRIGHTON — Those passing through Brighton between June and July likely noticed an unusual sight at the corner of Highway 1 and Fountain Street: a big orange house propped up above the ground.

Most, however, didn’t know the history of the building constructed around 1882, which has since housed a handful of families, including that of John Wanerus, according to county documents and ancestry websites. After building the home, Wanerus went on to run a highly successful meat market in town and left his mark on the local history.

In 2021, the property was bought by wife and husband RaeLee and Dan Bird, who once lived in it as tenants, and are now working to restore it.

RaeLee said she had always wanted to live in an old house.

“The detail of the woodwork is something that you can’t necessarily buy in today’s society, so it’s something to restore and value,” she said. “It’s a gorgeous looking house and it kind of made me sad sitting there looking like it’s going to fall down … I just want to bring it back to its beauty, I think it’s something awesome.”

The family hopes to move in once renovations finish, but that could take some time: Dan Bird is fixing it up himself, spending a few hours on the project every day.

“I’ve been doing construction ever since I was in high school,” he said. “I’m lucky enough to have knowledge from the construction world to know there’s a way to fix it, and I know people … I can get more done in two or three hours than most can get done in two or six.”

Bird is unable to return to the workforce due to a range of health issues that make the work taxing. The house is a passion project for him.

"I love doing this kind of work, I always have, and I don’t have a clock to punch,“ he said. ”When I start hurting, I take a couple of days off … it is a labor of love.“

The greatest feat of engineering is nearly complete. The building had a cellar under the house, but at around six feet deep, it was hardly a basement, and had several pieces of the foundation lying on the ground.

Bird brought in contractors to help with that step. The process involved digging tunnels out from underneath the house, putting in 4x6’ cribs, and installing some support beams. With everything in place, crews pushed the rest of the dirt out of the way and poured concrete, leaving the house with a sturdy foundation and usable basement.

With that step out of the way, the new challenge is matching the aesthetic of the house overhead.

“It won’t exactly match upstairs, but you can find reclaimed material, and there’s a lot of remanufactured things,” Bird said. “You kind of use a level, but you don’t really, there’s nothing straight about this house … it’s two different things, doing new construction and doing remodels. It can mess with you.”

Meanwhile, Bird is tearing out many parts of the upstairs area in an effort to make it better resemble the original architecture. Many elements of the home are well-preserved: much of the trim, some interior doors, and a colorful glass window close to the entrance remain from the original construction.

While he’s trying to match the original building as best he can, Bird said the house would be entirely electric once finished, powered by solar panels.

“It’s a little bit of future, in with the old,” he said. “There’ll be central air, everything modern.”

The endeavor is no small investment, but it comes in much lower than market rates. Bird said he expected the final cost of the over-3,000 square foot project to come in around $185,000.

“I swore I’d never spend this much on a house because I know how to build,” he said. “I could’ve built a new house down on our other property for cheaper, way cheaper, but it’s history. People have got to save it. There’s old buildings and stuff all over town getting tore down … something like this, it’s just too cool.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com