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
Plumbing
Happy New Year! Yes, I am aware it’s almost February, but a lot has been going on. With the usual winter weather here in St. Louis, we haven’t been able to do much exterior work at Woodside, but we’ve kept mighty busy the last couple of months with interior projects. Our plumbers finished all of their work in the basement and first floor, which means … Continue reading Plumbing
Exterior Work
Thanksgiving: Eat a ton of food, take a nap and then get up early to shop climb onto scaffolding 30-feet in the air. At least that’s how the Papineaus do it. Last year our Thanksgiving weekend project was building the porches; this year, we tackled exterior work on the opposite end of the house. We started by setting up scaffolding to pull down the rest of … Continue reading Exterior Work
HVAC
Greetings from beautiful San José del Cabo, Mexico! We are spending a few days down here to write blogs instead of hanging out on the beach recuperate from our busy summer work schedules. Yes, we still own the farmhouse and we’re still working on it, although I don’t think people believe that to be true unless I am blogging about it … kind of like … Continue reading HVAC
Framing – First Floor
I’m self-admittedly not a very visual person. I’m bad at hanging things on walls, I can’t tell if something is 30 feet vs 300 feet away from me and somehow I mess up drawing straight lines even with the aid of a ruler. So even though we have blueprints, it’s still been difficult for me to envision how everything is really going to look. Now that … Continue reading Framing – First Floor
Woodside: The Second Year
We recently celebrated our second anniversary of owning Woodside. Compared to the first year, it’s had fewer surprises … which is good, because I am not sure I could handle discovering another 30,000 bees living between floors. On the other hand, after two years, I feel prepared for just about anything Woodside throws our way (as long as it doesn’t involve a solo trip to … Continue reading Woodside: The Second Year
Basement Framing
Who remembers how creepy the Woodside basement used to be? A failing foundation, giant old boiler, and territorial groundhog were just a few of the gifts bestowed upon us when we bought the house. Full confession – I wouldn’t go into the basement alone for the first few months because I was terrified the groundhog was going trap me in a corner (and then what, … Continue reading Basement Framing
Concrete – Part 2
Out of all the work we’ve done so far at Woodside, the concrete projects seem to be the most challenging. First, the weather has to be dry and above freezing if you’re pouring outside (which is why we had to wait until spring for this work after finishing the first part last fall). Second, since concrete is pretty permanent, you have to plan out things like drainage … Continue reading Concrete – Part 2
