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A Farm of My Own:  farmhouse renovation/restoration-movin in pics  |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 14 2007 : 06:30:41 AM
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 This is what we started with....I told you it was even scarier than the back!
 This was from last summer - when I hired carpenters to put 'the Walton's front porch' on my house! LOL!(one of only two things we haven't done ourselves - the basement was the other).
 This was the side before the back rooms were torn off.
 Same side with new addition(don't know what the white stripe on the photo is....I'm not much at photography )
Another photo of the back showing how the old and new join.
Main stairway inside the front door - the inside still looks like this!!!
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner
UPDATE -------- 1/21/08--
YIPPEE!!!!! WE'RE GONNA HAVE HEAT!!!! AND AIR!!!!! We FINALLY found an HVAC contractor/designer who fills the bill! And speaking of bill......don't know how it's gonna get paid...I had NO IDEA how much HVAC could cost in a place that has no ductwork, no nothing. We're getting 2 gas furnaces(one up, one down) and 2 heat pumps. The ductwork on the first floor comes up from under the house, and the ductwork on the second floor is going down from above. We can put half the cost on a one year no interest/no payment plan. Then I guess we either get second jobs or just hope for the best! I'm just thrilled to be making progress in '08. We didn't do enough last year. And this will force us to keep moving forward(we HAVE to insulate next).
Update: 9/7/12 ---Finallly got drywall in the old part of our house. Next, I paint, then flooring, then by Dec., we'll be moving in!!!!!Finally and at last!!!! Whew! No pics of the drywall, b/c, well, it's all just white with screws here and there. Haven't been on MJF much this summer, what with cleaning out dad's house and painting it so we can sell it, and just watering my farm landscape in another season of hideous drought. See, Nancy Jo? We're almost done! I'll post pics as I paint, get flooring and move stuff in.
March 18, 2013 Update: Sorry, can't get any pis to load. Been trying for an hour. Giving up for now. Maybe later.
Well, five years later, we're moving in next weekend. Almost moved this past weekend, but I got sick(again). Posting a few room pics at the end of this thread(hope you see this, Nancy Jo)
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Edited by - Miss Bee Haven on Mar 18 2013 08:49:07 AM |
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Aunt George
True Blue Farmgirl
1476 Posts
Georgann
Midlothian
VA
1476 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2007 : 06:45:28 AM
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Amazing! Did you just cover the old clapboards with the new siding? That staircase is fabulous!! Are you living in the home right now?
I really am awestruck at what you are doing here. So many times things are just torn down and discarded. Again....amazing. And thank you so very much for sharing these photos. I really am totally interested in watching your renovations!!!
When looking at old houses like this, can't help but think of all of the joys and sorrows, births and deaths, love and anger, healing and laughter that has occurred within the walls of the home.
G
http://auntgeorgeshouse.blogspot.com/index.html
http://auntgeorge.etsy.com
"Made With Love" |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2007 : 07:00:59 AM
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I feel the same way about the history of the old house, Georgann. I met an old man who was born there in that house(he has since died). I would love to find old photos of the house. We looked at properties for nearly 2 years before buying this one. The first time I walked through the door - knee deep in junk - it just grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I knew that if we didn't save it, nobody else would(be that crazy). Our contractor friend assessed it and said it had 'good bones'. We had to take off what few clapboards were on the house(not many and they were all warped). I think that I originally found MJF just from typing in 'farm', 'farmhouse', and anything else to try and find someone, anyone else to ask questions/compare notes about this project. Unfortunatly, there was little or no help out there then. We just sort of keep moving one step at a time. We didn't have an architect-just kept the original 'footprint' of the back, and my friend Linda drew what we wanted on graph paper-LOL! We have wired and nearly finished plumbing the inside, but it still has a way to go. But we have an old 2 bedroom trailer on the property that we want to move into by this fall, so we can work on the house during the week. I know you're looking for a place now, and I'm sending good vibes your way. You'll find it(or it will find you! )
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
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shmeg
True Blue Farmgirl
222 Posts
Megan
Granville
Ohio
USA
222 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2007 : 07:05:48 AM
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| wow, that is impressive! Looks amazing. You must be so proud of yourselves! |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2007 : 07:12:39 AM
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I, too am totally impressed! And I love the gray, Janice!
I'm so glad you've been taking before and after photos. Make sure to put them in an album for your living room. The mansion I work in is from 1864, and was a slum when they purchased it for $10,000 is 1978. Now it's just incredible, and they documented the whole renovation and the book sits in the lobby--people always ask to see it and can't believe what it USED to look like!
So, the house didn't have any type of cellar, or crawlspace? The original owners certainly stepped it up a notch from the first structure they built, though, didn't they? The stair case is a nice arts and crafts style...quarter sawn oak? Looks like a spade in the newell post, but I really can't tell. It will be SO gorgeous when it's complete. What about other wordwork? Any mantles? Odd, but the only chimney I see is in the original L building. How was the larger section heated, or did the chimney disentegrate? You might want to go to the Irvington library, or if they have a little historical sociey, they may be able to help. Did the man's (who passed) family have any old things that may include photos?
Aunt George hit on something that I think about often when were driving around the country. Even as a little girl, I thought of all the births and deaths and love and pain inside those old walls. Especially in houses that noone "loves" any more. So glad to see this one has life again!
"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." Margaret Atwood
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junkjunkie
True Blue Farmgirl
1306 Posts
Judy
Lawrenceville
NJ
USA
1306 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2007 : 07:15:22 AM
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| I so glad to see that you took an old house and renovated it! Too many times, these homes are torn down. You're doing a very nice job and I love the porch! Very cool! |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2007 : 07:22:02 AM
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Jonni - no cellar, no crawlspace(under the back part - there is a deep crawlspace under the larger old house) no plumbing indoors-yikes!. It was wired, though! And yes, there were chimneys at both ends of the house - they went from above the roof to about 2 feet from the floor on the first floor - all those bricks were only supported by a few 2 by 4's on a sort of box shape and they had caused the floors to bow. We jacked them up a little, but they are still not level-not gonna be level-LOL. And no mantels - they just used wood stoves. Another friend said something about that that has become our mantra and slogan: "It doesn't have to BE level...just give the ILLUSION of level"! I laugh every time I say that! And it does look level from the outside.
And yes, Jonni, we saved all the woodwork and the cool transom windows. We pried it all off the walls and one of my jobs will be to strip/refinish it all!
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
Edited by - Miss Bee Haven on Jun 14 2007 09:56:48 AM |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2007 : 11:38:46 AM
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This is an example of the woodwork and a transom over the door. The white streaks are little 'presents' left by the barn swallows who used to nest in the house.
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9093 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9093 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2007 : 11:59:42 AM
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JANICE,
Thanks for all the pictures. Love seeing them. You must be a patient person to be able to do all this, I would just be a patient period!! Do you have a time at which you hope to have it done and move in? How far are you from this house now? It sure has come a long way. Wouldn't it be great if you could find out more about its early days and pictures. Have to ask around, you know bother any neighbors you can find, take them a pie, no pie bird, keep that for yourself.
NANCY JO
www.Nancy-Jo.blogspot.com |
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Maryjane Lee
True Blue Farmgirl
2195 Posts
Maryjane
CA
USA
2195 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2007 : 12:19:30 PM
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Janice, what a tasks you have taken on and you are saving a beautiful farm home & history! How exciting! Please continue to post more pictures. I am so impressed!
Hugs,
Maryjane Lee
"Cherish the memories and in our hearts they shall live forever! |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2007 : 12:26:31 PM
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Time? Yes, Nancy Jo! It was about three years ago! ROFLMAO! We are waaaayyy behind schedule and even farther over budget! Just like the movie "The Money Pit" or any random episode of "This Old House"! And I like the pie idea. I took a couple of chocolate pies to the man who owns the Land Company and that's how I got the names of his carpenters to build my front porch. :D
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
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Aunt George
True Blue Farmgirl
1476 Posts
Georgann
Midlothian
VA
1476 Posts |
Posted - Jun 14 2007 : 5:35:42 PM
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Janice, time to pull out the big guns: Chicken in Pastry and Pecan Pie with a pot of collards on the side...oh and don't forget the hot buttery corn bread and sweet tea to wash it all down with a icey glass of sweet tea! Food has a LOUD voice here in the south!!!
Get them fellers to come on out and get more work done for ya!
G
http://auntgeorgeshouse.blogspot.com/index.html
http://auntgeorge.etsy.com
"Made With Love" |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2007 : 07:40:44 AM
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Here are some photos of the actual building of the new addition. That's my son standing and his best friend Bobby sitting down. Looking back on it, I really don't understand how such a small and motley crew of people who are NOT carpenters, plumbers, particularly handy in any way could do this work. The credit all goes to our friend who CAN do ANYTHING - MIKE! We are only soldiers in Mike's army! ;)
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
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Sarah Blue
True Blue Farmgirl
172 Posts
Sierra Mountains
California
USA
172 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2007 : 08:43:20 AM
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There's a special place in heaven for people who save old buildings :) Thank you for setting an example and sharing your accomplishment.
"i believe in god, only i spell it nature." - frank lloyd wright
http://www.myspace.com/svgrrrl |
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mikesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3659 Posts
Sherri
Elma
WA
USA
3659 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2007 : 08:54:59 AM
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| That's totally amazing. |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2007 : 10:56:58 AM
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Janice-
You are doing an amazing job! Your house looks like it is coming along so nicely! I especially love the front porch! And I think the white stripe might be a few strands of your hair! :) If this is all your friend Mike's doing- then Go Mike and his army! Wow!
Alee
The amazing one handed typist! One hand for tying, one hand to hold Nora! |
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Patsy
True Blue Farmgirl
592 Posts
Illinois
USA
592 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2007 : 1:11:32 PM
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Janice,
I want a Walton's front porch!
May God bless those who love the soil,
Patsy
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Carol Sue
True Blue Farmgirl
4033 Posts
Carol Sue
Washingtonian
USA
4033 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2007 : 1:24:29 PM
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Janice,
From where you started to where you are now. Amazing. I love when old buildings get new life instead of torn down. Good for you. Kudos.
Carol Sue
Life is short, enjoy every moment. |
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Harmony
Farmgirl in Training
25 Posts
USA
25 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2007 : 9:03:23 PM
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What a great old farmhouse! Just beautiful!
"Have a belief in yourself bigger than anyone's disbelief." -- August Wilson |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2007 : 11:23:21 AM
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The first photo is inside the 'old house' - we left the lathwork on the walls after we chipped/scraped/pried all the old,cracked plaster off the walls. The french doors on the floor were rescued from a curbside junk pickup in Louisville. They're going between the dining room and the kitchen. The small corner sink is going in a powder room to be tucked under the stairway. The second pic shows my bathtub(that bulky thing is the motor on the back-it looks good from the front-lol-it's a whirlpool tub made to look like an old claw foot tub.) sitting in the master bath on the second floor of the 'new house'. We lifted the tub up to the second floor and shoved it in through a large window opening before the windows were installed-that was scary! :(
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
Edited by - Miss Bee Haven on Jun 27 2007 11:24:30 AM |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9093 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9093 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2007 : 11:44:21 AM
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Love seeing the pictures Janice, yea, that tub thing could be scary, glad it made it up. You see so many nasty incidents with pianos. Is this a current picture?
NANCY JO
www.Nancy-Jo.blogspot.com |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2007 : 11:52:20 AM
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Those french doors are incredible! Don't people throw out amazing things? Silly people--but, so glad you were able to salvage them.
I like the idea of a corner sink, too. It makes sense in smaller spaces, but hopefully, you'll have the bathroom of your dreams in this house!
J
"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." Margaret Atwood
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2007 : 11:56:23 AM
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Wow! it looks like things are moving along pretty quickly! I love your tub! I can only dream of a claw footed tub with whirpool jets! :p~
Alee
The amazing one handed typist! One hand for tying, one hand to hold Nora! |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2007 : 11:59:06 AM
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Well, Nancy Jo, both the old and new parts of the house still only have stud walls. But the bathtub has progressed to the point of: 1. Being turned around to the front and 2. Being set up on a wooden platform(this was Mike's idea - he thinks that since it's such a 'major player' in the bathroom, that it needs it's own stage-LOL!) My house has no design - only a bunch of people who kick in their two cents worth! And why not - they've all put in more than two cents worth of time and labor!
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2007 : 04:58:47 AM
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The first photo just shows a 'cherry picker'. I LOVE using a lift! If I had tons of money, I would buy one for myself. Then I would take a picnic lunch, and maybe see if Nancy Jo would let me borrow Jack and Dave for the day, and put us all in the lift bucket(with some music-there's an electrical outlet in there, too) and drive us out to the back pasture and lift us up in the air real high so we could see for miles around! It's very fun! :D The second pic is just the old house before siding and after window installation(when we bought the place, there were just openings - no glass/window frames. When I told people my house had no windows, they thought I had bought a fortress or a prison-LOL. The third pic is just a view from the kitchen down the hall(the only hall in the new addition-I don't like hallways) to the back of the house.
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9093 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9093 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2007 : 05:31:04 AM
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Janice, Jack and Dave are packing there bag, they share one, and are waiting for your call, they would love to go up in the lift. They can't play as much in trees as they used to so they are all excited.
I bet you can't wait for the house to be done, I'AM GETTING ANXIOUS FOR IT TO BE DONE FOR YOU SO WE CAN DECORATE IT. That is a lot of windows you put in!! Sure would like to know more about the history of the house. When was it first built? You may have said before and I forgot. I do that alot.
NANCY JO
www.Nancy-Jo.blogspot.com |
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A Farm of My Own: farmhouse renovation/restoration-movin in pics |
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farmhouse renovation/restoration-movin in pics
