Holy hiatus. It was around this time last year that I posted about how summer is the busiest time of year for both of us at work. Okay, yes it’s technically fall now but since it was 90 degrees here recently, let’s just pretend for a bit longer, shall we? Blogging aside, work at Woodside has been steadily progressing over the last few weeks. We … Continue reading Beams, Bricks & Paw Prints
In case you missed it, we recently hit our one-year anniversary of owning Woodside! How did we celebrate? More house projects, of course. We started by having our sewer and plumbing lines reconnected to the house. Then while I was away for a work project this past week, Brendon, his dad, uncle and a couple of brave friends tackled building the garage & kitchen during … Continue reading Construction: Garage & Kitchen
It’s been a year, both literally and figuratively. One year ago, we closed on Woodside. And oh, what a year it has been! We chopped down a suburban jungle & pulled off porches. We met some longtime inhabitants of Woodside (raccoons, a groundhog, about 30,000 bees and possibly some paranormal friends). We lifted the house in the air & watched woefully as it remained up … Continue reading Woodside: The First Year
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
