Sticky post
How This Whole Thing Started
When people find out we bought a farmhouse that was built in 1848 and needs a complete renovation, they are mostly unsurprised. To grasp why, you must first get acquainted with the men of the Papineau family: Brendon, his dad, and his uncles, who I like to joke that if you put them in the middle of the field, they could build a house with their bare hands. … Continue reading How This Whole Thing Started
Farmhouse Finances
While house lifting pictures & tales of critters are probably the more exciting parts of our renovation, there’s also a lot that goes on behind the scenes to keep the wheels in motion. Budgets, bills & permits are necessary for most renovations, but there are also extra requirements when doing a project that qualifies for historic tax credits. The first step was to submit an extensive … Continue reading Farmhouse Finances
Renovation Plan: First Floor
Everyone doing okay after all that creepy basement talk in our last post? Don’t worry, this time we’re moving up to the first floor, which isn’t really too creepy but still has some challenges of its own (like the bees living between the first & second floors above the living room). Because we are receiving tax credits from the State of Missouri for our renovation, we … Continue reading Renovation Plan: First Floor
Renovation Plan: Basement
I am pretty sure I’m not alone when I say basements can be kinda creepy. Granted, I don’t have a lot of experience with them – I grew up in a house without a basement and our current house is a slab, but the apartment I lived in after college had a basement. The apartment was in a beautiful old brick building in south St. Louis … Continue reading Renovation Plan: Basement
Renovation Plan: Exterior
To date, most of our blog posts have been about getting our hands dirty, dodging the critters of Woodside & hanging out underneath the farmhouse. I thought we should shake things up a bit and give you all a preview of our renovation plans. I’ve mentioned before that we are working with an amazing architect, Jennifer Sims Taylor at Fendler & Associates. Having never worked … Continue reading Renovation Plan: Exterior
Supporting Historic Restoration & Renovation in Missouri
Please bear with us as we depart from our usual content and post about something happening in our community. As reported earlier this year, the Missouri Senate is currently reviewing Senate Bill 226, which could, among other things, negatively impact the Missouri Historic Tax Credit Program if passed. The current status of the bill can be viewed here. If you’ve been reading our blog since the … Continue reading Supporting Historic Restoration & Renovation in Missouri
House Lowering
Happy 2017! So many things happened in 2016. We bought a farmhouse, tore off the porches and kitchen, met some critters & lifted all 143 tons of the house into the air. As covered in past blog posts, we started the foundation work by lifting the house at the end of August. After the house was in the air, we had to pull out the … Continue reading House Lowering
Foundation – Part 2
Back when I was younger and a novice at home renovation (circa August 2016), I wrote that I expected our house to “be up in the air for about 4-6 weeks.” Then a couple of weeks ago I told people I anticipated it to be down by the end of 2016. Oh, we are so close! But, looks like it will be mid-January before the … Continue reading Foundation – Part 2
