Part 2 The Deconstruction of the Farmhouse

So here is our list of requirements for our farmhouse renovation:

Keep the character of the original 1830s house

Reuse as much of the original wood as possible

Install central heat and air

Install modern windows

Insulate the walls, crawlspace and attic

Lengthen the ridge to enlarge the second floor footprint

This added an extra bedroom and bathroom

Reduce the steepness of the stairway

Add an upper deck at the back of the house

What we envisioned was an old farmhouse with many of the energy saving features and conveniences of a 21^st century house.

This seemed straightforward enough, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the house would need to be deconstructed in order to accomplish our goals.  As time went by, it became somewhat alarming-

First, the siding came off…

Revealing some problems that had been hidden for quite some time…

Then one particularly poorly constructed addition came off; this had been the master bedroom and shed storage area above.

I think this was the low point for me-  the house looked so dejected and sad.  I honestly wondered how it could ever be made habitable again!  I cringed every time I took a good look at it! Of course, all this time, Chris and the crew were carefully salvaging almost all of the wood from the old construction and beginning to plane it down in preparation for re-using it.

Then the reconstruction finally got underway and things started looking more hopeful again. The crew dug under the crawlspace of the house, and laboriously removed large amounts of dirt, enlarging it allow a person to actually get under the house if necessary.  The old, shaky foundation was replaced with a proper new one and additional supports for the first floor were added. 

To be continued...

Our Farmhouse Renovation- Part 1

An Opportunity and a Project

We bought a six acre property, two miles from our home farm in 2009 and started growing vegetables there in 2010. The land slopes gently to the southeast and the soil is good for vegetable growing. There was also an old house on the property that  had some charming features, and also some that needed repair or updating.  

We cleaned it up and painted after buying the property, but decided not to do any renovation work. 

 

Our friends, Keriann and Jeroen rented the house for 5 years and made it into a cozy home.  

Then in 2015 when Keriann and Jeroen moved their Ecotulips business to Rhode Island, we decided the time had come for a ‘minor’ renovation.   We interviewed several contractors and hired Chris Gilley of Castlewood Construction to be our general contractor.  

Our initial program was pretty simple:

1. Raise the ceiling of the master bedroom downstairs; it was sagging and anyone over 6 feet would have to stoop to walk in the middle of the room 

2. Do some minor renovations in the kitchen.  

Once Chris began investigating, he quickly found out why the ceiling was sagging-  there was very little holding it up!  The joists holding up the floor in the storage area above were just propped on the ends of the siding boards; no beams for support! 

  

Our minor renovation project soon became a major one.  We decided to see obstacles as opportunities and developed our requirements for the project:

Keep the character of the original 1830s house

Reuse as much of the original wood as possible

Install central heat and air

Install modern windows

Insulate the walls, crawlspace and attic

Lengthen the ridge to enlarge the second floor footprint

This added an extra Rec room and bathroom

Reduce the steepness of the stairway

Add an upper deck at the back of the house

What we envisioned was an old farmhouse with many of the energy saving features and conveniences of a 21^st century house.  These posts will trace the progress of our renovation; stay tuned for Part 2!