Truth be told, we spend a lot of time at Woodside just kinda winging it. Remove a two-story porch? Never done it, but let’s hook this tool up to a tree and start pulling. Install sill plates around the new foundation? Seems easy enough. Take down four-story chimneys that are infested with brown recluse spiders? Sign us up! As I do with most things, I asked … Continue reading Chimneys
We are no stranger to critters at Woodside. Raccoons, squirrels, birds & a groundhog have all lived here at one point or another (and those are just the animals we’ve seen – surely there are more hanging around). And then there are the bees. We didn’t really notice them much when we bought the property because everything was so overgrown. Once we cut down the … Continue reading Bees
Old houses have a way of surprising you, sometimes in good ways (“Original wooden floors that are likely in decent shape? Jackpot!”) and other times in not so good ways (“Both of your four-story chimneys completely failed during the house lowering – Congratulations!”). While I’m not officially keeping track, if I had to guess, I think it’s probably around 37 – Woodside vs 1 – Us. Along … Continue reading Demo: Second & Third Floors
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
Phew. It’s taken me a while to get around to writing this post. Kind of like it took the ladies of the Victorian era a while to move between the second & third floors of Woodside, which is why they needed that giant landing (hopefully you read the last blog post to get that “joke”). Truth be told, it’s been a little busy around our … Continue reading Renovation Plan: Third Floor
I should’ve known when I proclaimed my excitement for not having to scrape snow off my car in winter once we have a garage that it would snow that weekend … in March. Weird, right? Although I am pretty sure it has less to do with what I write on this blog & more to do with Missouri having some crazy weather. In addition to the garage, I’m also … Continue reading Renovation Plan: Second 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
