“It was over on Sixth Street,” she said. “There’s a reason you don’t do that. We did it, and then I came a few months later … to get it cleaned up because we could tell it’s pretty dirty in the pictures. I walked into the house and did one circle turn, and I called Kyle [husband] and said, ‘We’re not going to be able to live in the house. We’re going to need a backup plan.’”
That plan turned into the purchase of additional properties in the area. They ended up renting from a friend while fixing up the Sixth Street home. They then purchased a triplex on Green Street in the Oregon District that they fixed up and rented out units. While Kyle, who is in the Air Force, was deployed, Jana purchased and renovated another home on Brown Street, all while the Sixth Street place was still being worked on.
They lived there for two years.
They eventually moved into the Sixth Street home after five years of renovations, but for only six months. They ended up selling all three properties because the family was making their military move to Alabama.
Before leaving, Jana left a note for her neighbor asking to keep her in mind if he ever thought about selling his home.
“I just felt so sad because we really loved the neighborhood,” she said. “After five years, everyone had been so kind during these renovations. Even though we don’t know when we’ll be back, I told Kyle, there’s one house in the neighborhood I like. It’s on a quieter street and she’s a brick that I think is so cute.”
The home that eventually became Jana and Kyle’s was owned by Carl Mandley, who Jana described as being one of the first renovators in the area. Eventually, Jana received a call from Mandley’s sister in 2018 saying that he was in hospice and would like to sell them the home.
They said “yes” to purchasing the home even though they had no idea when they’d be back in Dayton. That was in 2019, and in 2020, just when the pandemic blew up, the family began renovating from a distance in Maryland. Due to all the delays that were associated with the pandemic, the family didn’t move into the home until 2023.
“He [Carl] did a tremendous amount of work to save this house,” Jana said. “He had a big vision. He couldn’t finish it, but we were able to bring it home.”
While Mandley had owned the home since 1969, the home was in no way ready to live in. Jana and Kyle added a back addition, which Carl had started but didn’t finish. They installed central heating, moved the kitchen to a more historically accurate spot toward the back of the home and reconfigured multiple interior spaces.
The home was originally built around 1849 by Lewis B. Weikel. The home is a Gabled ell design, which means it has an L shape. It also had a two-story porch with neoclassical pillars and a coffered ceiling. The home stayed in the Weikel family for 51 years. Weikel was also a contractor.
When Jana and her family made the home safe enough to move into in 2023, the renovations continued. Jana said that this renovation was probably the most difficult because a lot of Mandley’s vision was unclear. There were doors and pieces of woodwork, but they were uncertain of where everything was supposed to go.
However, they eventually figured it out. Now the home has four bedrooms and three baths. There are also smaller rooms for the laundry and for the cats. And one of the best features of the home would be the four porches, two in the front and two in the back.
Jana said she loves her “napping porch” in the upstairs front and the upstairs porch in the back is a great place to enjoy a cup of coffee.
“I still stand by my love for our ‘napping porch’ upstairs, with its view of the street that looks very much the same as it would have looked back then, as well as the living room with all of the detailed woodwork,” Jana wrote in an email. “But I think what I love most about our home is the feeling we are part of something bigger. I feel honored to be part of this chapter for our house, with its long history, and I love that this chapter is one where it is loved, cared for, and fully lived in, with kids and pets and friends and family filling it.”
Jana said the next project will be to turn the basement into a gym, an art space and a place where the kids can play with toys and watch movies. She’s also contemplating what to do with the backyard.
But as with most old homes, there will be projects that pop up in the future. Jana said that she is still in touch with Mandley’s family, and they love that the house is full again.
“I love that we have kept our promise to Carl, to love his house as much as he did, because I know how much time and energy he poured into bringing this house back, uncovering the porches again, stripping the paint, stabilizing the structure, taking down the cinderblock addition,” Jana wrote in an email.
His vision for this home was so big at a time when most people didn’t think this neighborhood could be saved. And I feel especially good about keeping our promise because I know the grit it took to get there. So, I guess what I love most about our house, and other old homes we have lived in, is that you become part of their story and they become part of your story.”
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