Chris and Michelle Krtanik
4835 Linden Road, East Bethany
Renovation
Article by Molly Grimes
Chris and Shelly Krtanik purchased their home in 1994. This federal style house was built in 1833 and used as a tavern for many years. Other uses included a stagecoach stop, a barber house and a boarding house for travelers. The parcel of land where the house stands was purchased from the Holland Land Company in 1811 and 1833. Mr. and Mrs. Faunce acquired the property and erected this house. This house is typical of the federal style. The Italianate features of the bay window and oversized scroll brackets are believed to have been added sometime in the 1870s or 1880s. Interestingly, the home was used by the New York State troopers as headquarters during the unsolved Linden murders in 1922 and 1924.
The house was in rough condition when Chris and Shelly bought it in 1994. They have spent countless hours stripping paint on both the inside and outside of the house. The entire outside of the house had the paint stripped down to the original wood on the clapboard and repainted the colors of Gingko Tree, peach and spice. This task was undertaken by not only Shelly and Chris but other family members using a heat gun and scrapers over countless hours. Chris was able to take sections of the original moldings and have reproductions made in places where sections were missing. The original windows and storms remain on the first floor of the house, while the second floor has replacement windows. There was an addition on the back of the house at one time; it has since been removed and replaced by a deck. The side porch also has a huge roof overhang that Chris is still working on restoring and putting the tongue and groove ceiling back in place. A hole has been cut in the porch floor to accommodate an existing shrub. The landscaping has been going on as projects have been completed, the garden beds have been beautifully defined with rock walls hand placed by Chris. Originally there was a barn when the Krtaniks purchased the home in 1994, but due to the dilapidated condition of the structure it has been taken down and removed.
Their work on their house is ongoing. Projects include working on the side porch as well as working on restoring the inside. The staircase has been stripped and sanded, along with the hard wood floors, trim and moldings inside the house. Stripping the molding in the living room took Shelly two summers to complete using tiny tools to get within the grooves. The house continues to be a labor of love.
