Demo/Reno Is Moving Along Quickly!

The demolition/renovation is moving right along.  The sun room, laundry room, pantry, and new first-floor bathroom are all framed in and some of the walls are up.  The roof base is on.  The old first-floor bathroom and bedroom have been removed.  This has happened so quickly!  Next week we have a conference call with the architect to discuss fixtures, etc., for the new bathroom.  Wow!


Here are some of the best photos showing the recent progress.

 This view, looking south, shows the addition.  The recessed doorway will

hold a pair of French doors and will open out onto the porch from the sun
room.  The blank wall will have a window in it eventually.  Behind the wall
will be the laundry room and a hallway with a door that opens onto the wrap
around porch to the west.

 Here's another view of the addition, this time from the east.  The sun room

(on the left side) will have two more windows in it.  Notice the vaulted ceiling!

 The addition.  It's pretty close to that tree, but there's room to walk between them.

The sun room interior.  The opening to the left leads out to the wrap around 

porch and will have French doors.  

And that ceiling is going to be beautiful!!

 Framing of, on left, an entry hallway, a pantry, the laundry room
(in the rear), and the bathroom in the front.  

The old wall to the house is coming out.
The view is from the sun room, which will be open
to the dining area and the kitchen.

 This view in the living room shows the bedroom and bathroom
that were removed.  They had been added in the 1960s, a set of
stairs having been removed first.  The stairs will be

restored and that window will become the front
doorway.  They have also removed the

ancient carpet that was in the living room.
The wood floors here are in good shape (as far as

we know) and will be restored.
I plan on white washing the brick of the fireplace.

The contractor is already making plans to power wash the house.
They want to know if we want to keep the yew hedge (seen above).
If we want it removed they will do so for us.  The hedge has
been there as long as I can remember,
and therefore it is a fixture of the place.  

While not really an eyesore, it certainly isn't fashionable any longer.
I can't decide whether to retain it or have it destroyed.

Readers, what do you think?  Should the hedge stay, or should it go??  

Early December Update

Here's the latest photo update from this week.

During the past several weeks the crew has dug

and insulated a 30" crawl space and poured footings and foundation.  

They had to implode the old cistern first.  This photo shows the framing   

for the sun room going up, and subflooring for sun room, new bathroom, and   

the laundry room. The gravel covers what will become a wrap around porch!!

New photos from the week of Nov. 13-17.

There is no back porch anymore!  

This photo and the next show how badly 

the siding needs to be spray washed.

Original back door.  To left of door, original siding in beautiful

condition, having been sheltered by the porch for 70 years or more.

                                            Original window and siding that were covered.

                                            These materials will all be saved and reused.

                                                 .

First photos of the demolition.

Good news!  The renovation has begun!, and here are two photos of it.

This renovation is being done "with surgical precision" (architect's words) in order for
us to be able to reuse as much of the salvage as possible in making some
new outbuildings.

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These photos show how much deterioration had occurred on the back porch.  It was going to have to be completely renovated in any case, and was unusable as extended living space.

We Bought a Farm!!

   

The photo shows my mother and uncle and their prize oxen, circa 1924.  The photo was taken on the farm that we now own.  Note the heart-shaped blaze on the ox at the left.  So fitting for the name of our farm!

We bought a farm!!, a 105-year-old farm in southern Illinois, where my mother was born and raised.  Included on the 40-acre property are a house, barn, machine shed, granary, garage, pump house, and chicken house. The farm is still a working farm thanks to our two renters.  We have lots of plans for the place -- renovating the house, repairing the barn and outbuildings, re-establishing the vegetable garden and orchard, making a "she-shed" from the chicken house, and more.  First on the list, and supposed to begin TODAY, is removal of the back porch to make way for an expansion of the first floor that will include a sun room, laundry room, bathroom, pantry, and wraparound porch.  Check back again for updates; you'll get them as I get them. I live in Oregon, which means we are managing this renovation from halfway across the U.S.)  The reno team includes an architect, a contractor, and a 'window guy' (expert in restoring old-house windows), all of whom live in old homes.  If you're going to successfully undertake a renovation/restoration project from afar, these are the guys you want to have on your team. They 'get it'.  Meanwhile, here some 'before' photos of the house. 

First three from 2016

Front of house as it looks today

Goodbye, back porch!

Back of the house as it looked earlier this year. The back porch is coming off.

             Last three from 1995                                       

North side of house, showing back porch on left.  

North side of house 

Front of house, 1995