“At that point in 2007, it wasn’t a good time,” she said. “But I said to Joe, ‘this might be where we might want to go.’ So then we started concentrating on just looking at houses around here basically. And this one wasn’t even on the tour; it wasn’t even occupied.”
Joe negotiated the sale price and then the fun of renovating the home began. But that’s where Joe’s real estate background came in handy.
“It took us 7 years,” Joe said. “We got it down to the studs. And basically everything inside, other than the staircase going upstairs, is new.”
The home features seven rooms with three rooms and a bath upstairs and four rooms downstairs. According to Joe, the home originally didn’t have a porch nor did it have any doors in the front. The door was on the side of the home, and the front was just six windows.
The home was originally built in the Greek Revival style, which was popular in America in the 1830s-1860s. This style emphasized small, boxy shapes with gabled or triangular roofs and flat, simple window frames.
It was built in 1853 by Conrad Eickman, a German immigrant who was a carpenter and gunsmith. A snippet from a Dayton newspaper in the 1850s advertised that Eickman was selling a gun barrel factory. Eickman married Caroline Dorothea Baesen and they had five children.
Eickman died in 1900 according to a death notice in the Dayton Daily News, and his funeral was held in the home. The home was passed down to his sons who then sold it to his daughters, Mary and Eleonora. When the sisters purchased the home, they had it changed into a duplex, so that one could live upstairs and the other downstairs.
Elenora died in 1932 leaving the home to her nieces and nephews as records suggest that her and Mary never married nor did they have any children. The home stayed in the Eickman family until 1945. So for almost 100 years, an Eickman lived in the home.
Seven years of renovations done by the Diekers included replacing the plumbing and wiring, adding insulation, replacing windows, moving the kitchen, adding a laundry room, building a downstairs bathroom, refinishing the floors, building a garage, adding new woodwork and crown molding, and adding upstairs closets. Joe did many of the renovations on his own.
“I tore out all the old plaster walls,” he said. “I must have filled 10 or 12 dumpsters. For most of my career, I did commercial investment work, but I also rehabbed probably 60 or 70 houses. So I knew who to call when I didn’t know how to do something.”
A few interesting original features include the pantry doors, which were salvaged from another building, but the original construction pegs are still visible. The staircase is original and is rounded with very narrow steps. The couple had the original front door to the home refurbished and is now located upstairs in the home.
The Diekers said they love the sitting room and kitchen, which is where they spend most of their time. They also commented on the neighborhood and how diverse it is. Barbara loves the social aspect of the community and even started a book club for all ages.
“When we moved in, there was only one family with elementary age kids, and now there’s probably five or six,” Joe said. “Some of the people that were here when we moved … have gotten old or died, so there’s a lot of younger people that have moved in and taken their place. It’s a pretty vibrant community.”
After all the demolition and renovation, the Diekers are happy in their home, and said that the only future projects include possibly building a downstairs bedroom as the narrow stairs can be challenging. Until then, the couple will definitely enjoy their 172-year-old home on La Belle Street.
HISTORICAL HOMES FEATURE
“Timeless Dayton” takes a look at historical homes in the region. The Dayton Daily News wants to share stories of historic homes and the journeys of restoration. Reach out to Reporter Jessica Graue at jessica.graue@coxinc.com.
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