Lessons Learned

Sorry for being MIA lately. We've been busy around "Brownville" getting things ready for harvest. We are thinking that later this week we should be going pretty heavy.
I also want to THANK everybody that made it out to my open house a couple weeks ago! I really enjoyed showing off all my hard work and seeing people's reactions. If you didn't make it out and want to see it, just give me a holler and I would love to show you.
One more thing that I did get accomplished since I last talked to you was getting my barstools made for my bar. They are pretty neat and go great with the house. I also had a couple short ones made to set on my porch.

So now I want to share a few lessons that I learned over the past 20 months while the planning and renovating was going on...
DON'T SET DEADLINES: When I first got possession of the house on Febuary 18, 2010, I thought it would be done in 9 months. Boy, was I wrong!! I had to remember that I was on the contractor's schedule, not mine. It may take longer than what you would like, but it will get done!
DON'T THINK TWICE: If anybody out there is thinking about remodeling or building a new house, don't think twice about doing it. If you think twice then you will most likely think three times and then you will talk yourself out of it. If you want to do it, DO IT. Yes, it would be easier to go buy a house but in my case, there is not another house in the world that has the same history as 1309 220th.
Select a contractor you feel comfortable talking to/has the same taste: This was a biggie for me. I had alot of different ideas on my house and it was nice to be able talk to Travis and Darryl about them and not have them give me weird looks. In fact, they also gave me a few ideas. A few of the things I did was their first time doing it. So it was a learning experience for both of us. Also, you have to make sure you like them because they are the ones you are paying and it's always better to pay somebody you get along with then somebody you don't.
Speak your mind and don't settle: If something isn't how you want it, then speak up!! It's alot easier to fix things in the process then when it's done. Probably cheaper too. Also, don't settle on ANYTHING. There are a couple of things in my house that I said would be "good enough". Well now I'm wishing that I would have done it better or chose soemthing else.
Ask questions: Don't be afraid to ask questions. No question is stupid. If you are paying for it, you might as well know where it goes and what it does.
Help out to save money and don't be afraid to get dirty: They say that half of the cost of building or remodeling is the labor...IT'S TRUE! So help out as much as you can to save some money! The money you save now could help buy a couch, table, bedroom set, kitchen accessories, etc. in the future. Also...GET DIRTY!! I knocked off all of the plaster by myself and pretty much got the house ready for drywall. It was nasty. Alot of people told me I couldn't do it by myself in a week but guess what...I got it done...by myself...in 6 days! I also sanded and refinished my wood floors with major help from Page, my neighbor. If I would have hired, it probably would have cost $4,000-$5,000 and that's money that I KNOW I can use elsewhere. Yes, I had never done it before but alittle bit of research online can go along ways. Plus, what's one more skill?? I now can proudly say that I know how to sand and re-finish wood floors.
Who cares if you look silly picking something out: I took an old barnboard in to match my paint and an old piece of tin in to match my floor. You don't think I looked goofy doing that??
Think outside the box:Canning jar lights, barn board headers, and a rusty tin kitchen ceiling...need I say more?? It's your's. Do what YOU want.
One more word of advice that a good friend shared with me, "You've got to work for something." :)

This "New" Old Open House

I'm starting to get all settled in and the house is pretty well finished. There are a few little projects I need to do but that can wait until winter. I just want to thank everybody that has followed this blog for the past few months and giving me the support you have. It's always so nice to hear somebody tell you how good your house looks. I just want to invite everybody to the Open House that I will be having. It will be on September 10th, starting at 2 pm. I plan on having snacks and beverages in the afternoon. If you want to wait around and come out later, that would be fine too. There will be grilling later in the evening, a small bonfire, and you are more than welcome to bring your own drinks. So I hope all of you can make it. If you can't and you would like to see the house, just get ahold of me and I would love to show you around. If you need directions, don't be afraid to holler. I will admit that I'm out in the middle of nowhere but I am centrally located and easy to get to. I hope to see everybody in a couple of weeks! Have a good week and enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

Moving time!!

Slowly but surely I am getting moved in. It seems like I'm making 10 trips to Mom and Dad's and back each day. It's been fun though. I'm sure my parents love it because I'm uncluttering their basement. It's almost like I'm moving away to school again.

I also decided to paint my porch railing and floor last week. My railing was looking alittle rough so this coat of paint will help preserve it. I think it turned out very nice.

I also got a couple of my most prized possesions moved to the porch as well. My parents got me some windchimes for my birthday last year. They are the most beautiful sounding things ever!! I also have the glider that my Great Grandpa Sullivan made. This glider means alot to my family because we all have memories of sitting on it with Grandpa on his porch and watching trains go by. I bought it at his estate auction and there isn't any price I wouldn't pay for it. I have a feeling this thing will get plenty more sittings from now on.

And one last thing...I stained my inside railing. Check 'er out...

Until next time...

DONE!!!

Get ready for the best news you guys have read during this "little" old house project...major work is done!! Travis and his crew finished up work on Thursday evening. The only things that are left are just small things that I...with some much appreciated help...can get done. I have got to finish putting on quarter round, finishing stripping the paint from doorways and a room and hallway upstairs, and get that same room and hallway sanded and finished.
One of the last things that Travis did was to install a sliding door in my bathroom. Since there wasn't any room left in the bathroom with a swinging door, I had them put a track up. I think it looks good and it saves alot of space.

He also got my kitchen sink and bathroom sink installed and all the plumbing that goes along with that.

All in all everything looks great and I am very happy with how EVERYTHING turned out! Thanks again for being there throughout this process! It feels so good to have all the support that you all have given me! Thanks again! Enjoy!!
One more thing...if any of you are in southern Iowa this upcoming week, be sure to swing through Corydon and visit the Wayne County Fair. The Fair starts on Wednesday with the Queen contest and continues through Monday evening with the kids auctioning off their livestock. If you do happen to stop by, come and say hi to me in the campgrounds!

Carpet and Countertops

Both have been installed!! Josh from Horton Floor Covering came this week and finished up my carpet in the master bedroom. It looks and feels like I'm walking on a million dollars :).

Lockridge also got my countertops delivered and Travis got them installed. They aren't concrete like I wanted but I think they look pretty nice.

Major moving in will begin after my sinks are installed and that should be Monday or Tuesday. I did get my couch, stove, and fridge moved in over the weekend so those are 3 big things that are good to have got moved. I don't know about you but I think this calls for a party :)

Finishing touches

Gutters are installed!! So I guess that means no more skinny dipping in my basement from now on after it rains.

I also got my first piece of furniture in place. Remember that church pew I bought?? Well it now has a resting spot in This "New" Old House. I may move it later but I think it looks perfect for right now.

Plan of attack this week?? Carpet for the master bedroom on Tuesday afternoon and hopefully my countertops get installed this week as well. The countdown is on...

These Old Floors

Well Page and I finally got the dining room and living room floors finished. We spent all afternoon on Saturday putting on 2 coats of Varathane High Traffic Floor finish and then we spent a couple hours on Sunday morning putting on a 3rd coat. We decided to do 3 coats downstairs because this is where I will have the most foot traffic. But I will say that these 100 year old floors did clean up very nicely. Look and see for yourself...

Indoor swimming pool

Yes, that's right, I had an indoor swimming pool last week and the beginning of this week! After getting 5 inches of rain within 5 days or so, my poor old basement foundation couldn't handle all of the water and started leaking. I knew this would happen eventually since I don't have gutters on yet. But Dad and I did get the water pumped out and the basement cleaned. Larry Hayden, who owns Reliable Gutters, came out tonight and told me that he could get to me next week sometime. So that's a HUGE relief! I've talked to a few people who have had leaky basements and they said that once they got eaves put it, it made a million times difference. I also plan on doing some dirtwork around the foundation as soon as it gets dry enough. A little work will make a huge difference!!
Some exciting news...Page and I did manage to get one floor finished and it looks fantastic!! The best way to describe it is that it made the darks darker and the lights lighter. I'm really pleased with the outcome and I just hope that the rest of my rooms turn out this way. I'm praying that we can get to the downstairs this weekend so Andy can come back and get my carpet installed.

Travis came back last week and finished the trim around the doors in the kitchen. He also got the tin on the bar and then the tin on around the mudroom. I think I'll have the cutest mudroom around!! I'm extremely happy with how it turned out. I just wanted a way that I could easily clean the mud off the walls but if it's going to be cute too then that's an extra bonus!

So I just have a few more little things to do and then I will be ready to move in. My countertops will be here in 2 weeks so that's the next exciting thing I'm waiting for. And I promise I will get my rear in gear and get my floors done!!

June 9, 2011

This Old House is looking fabulous!!! Andy, from Horton Floor Covering, has been down at the house working the past 2 days getting my tile installed in the mudroom, kitchen, and bathroom. I went into the store wanting to find a floor that would match my tin and I the perfect match! It looks fantastic!!

This past weekend I got my wood floors sanded with the help of my neighbor, Page Mitteness. She is a wiz at all this woodwork stuff and I couldn't have done it without her. I will warn you though, sanding wood floors is alot of work!! So think twice...or three times before doing it yourself. I made a Lowe's run on Saturday and got my Floor Finish but I just haven't put it on yet. Hopefully this weekend. I still have some touch ups and a small amount of sanding left. Even though it was a pain in the butt and dirty, I think the floors look good for being 100 years old.

I also got my lights ordered for above my kitchen sink. I ordered them from the same gal that made my porch lights. Her company website is www.thelampgoods.com. Check it out if you are looking for new light fixtures. The lights look outstanding. I wanted unique and I got unique!

Travis will be back tomorrow putting on the baseboard in the kitchen and bathroom. He will also be putting tin on my island and in my mudroom, installing my toilet and dishwasher, plus a few other things that you will have to wait and see.
Thanks for reading and have a great rest of the week!!

Oh la la...

Words can't describe these....enjoy

You have permission to stare...

I am finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! Travis came and got my shutters put on today along with my new screen doors I had gotten earlier. I can't believe how good it looks. The shutters really pull the house together. It doesn't look so big and white anymore. It just looks like a cute little house. My screen doors also look super good! I had thought about getting wooden screen doors but after I did some research I found out that they tend to sag within a couple months, so I think these storm doors will do just fine. It really looks good. These pictures don't even come close to doing it justice. If any of you are ever out and about, drive east of Millerton and come see me! I think I drove by 6 times tonight just looking at it!

I also picked out my kitchen tile and carpet for the master bedroom this weekend. I think it has been the toughest decision I have had to make so far in this "little" project of mine. I wanted my kitchen tile to match the tin ceiling so I took a small piece of tin to Horton Floor Covering and Marjorie laid out several options and I took a couple home and looked at them in different light, different angles, and different placements in the kitchen/mudroom/bathroom and after 48 straight hours of flooring on my mind, I finally came to a decision. The tile and carpet will be laid the end of this month of the beginning of June.
I also heard from my cabinet maker. He told me that he could have them done by Saturday if I needed them. Heck, I've waited this long so I just told him to do a good job and I can wait until next week. So maybe this time next week I'll be posting pictures of my new kitchen! *Fingers crossed*
So this week I am going to start cleaning my baseboard and my trim around my doors and windows. I also need to start thinking about re-finishing my wood floor. I think I'm just intimidated because it's going to be a big job and quite a bit of work. But hey...has that stopped me yet????

Dude, where's my cabinets???

...Your guess is as good as mine. Knowing my luck, there is still an ash tree standing in the forest and that tree is suppose to be my cabinets! I called my Amish cabinet maker the last Wednesday of April just wondering how the building was going and what day he thought he would install them...since he told me 4 times that they would be installed in the FIRST WEEK OF MAY. He returned my call later that day and told me that he was in Minnesota. Upset?? Of course!! Especially when I gave him 40% down already since that's his policy. Whatever, I guess. He did call me this Saturday and tell me he was back in Iowa (good to know) and that he was going to start on my set this week and it would be 2 weeks.
I do have a shimmer of good news though. Jon from CornerHart was at the house a couple days last week hooking up lights and getting my ceiling fan hung in the kitchen. He also got my outside porch lights on. I know quite a few of you wanted to see how they looked hung up. I think they look pretty good. I also got some shutters ordered and they should be in by now. The next step is getting Travis back over here to get them on for me. Thanks so much for keeping up with my project and I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Hopefully you shared it with Mom!

1st Week of May...

Well GREAT news...Levi Yoder, my Amish cabinet maker, came up and measured my kitchen and bathroom on Thursday for my cabinets. After measuring and sort of laying things out, I assure you that it's going to be one of the most beautiful kitchens you all will ever see. Yeah...I'm alittle bit biased but I want my kitchen to kind of be the highlight of the house. We got to talking about the schedule that Levi has planned for the building process and he told me that they would start building the middle of this week and that they would be installed during the 1st week of May. HOLY COW!!!! That's not this week BUT NEXT!!! How exciting!! So that's all that I'll be thinking about between now and when they are actually hanging on my walls!
Another awesome thing is that Bob, one of Travis's workers, got my railing done. It look FANTASTIC!! I absolutely adore people with these kinds of woodworking skills. It takes a crazy amount of talent and patience to do this! So enjoy the pictures and it won't stay this color, I'm going to stain it to match the other woodwork in the house.

And until next time, I'll be painting, scrubbing and cleaning like a mad woman!!

Going way back....

I got a couple pretty cool pictures handed to me this morning. My Great Aunt is here visiting from California and she gave me a couple pictures she had of my house. They were taken in 1942 or 1943. These are probably the coolest pictures I've ever seen of my old house!

My Great Aunt Patty is the little girl in this picture. She was 9 or 10 when this was taken. The man in the hat in the right side of the photo is my Great Great Grandpa Brown. Burt was his name. The man standing back by the water pump was my Great Great Uncle Lafayette. As you can see, the house hasn't changed much.

Pictured here are Maud Brown, my Great Great Grandma. We aren't sure who the lady in the middle is and the girl on the right is my Great Great Aunt Mae. Aunt Mae owned the farm before Craig and Shirley. But I just HAD to share these. I think old pictures like this are so awesome!
A couple other things that went on at the house this week was that my ceiling fans and light fixtures were installed. They aren't anything fancy but they go great with my dark wood work.

The other thing that has been going on is the installation of my new railing downstairs. Bob, who works for Travis, is building it from scratch. So far I'm very impressed with his work.

Plans this week...hopefully, hopefully, HOPEFULLY finishing up electrical work and getting started on cleaning woodwork. I just haven't got my accomplished since the weather has been nice. We have been getting things ready to go to the field and the cows are still calving. Those 2 things have taken up alot of my time. I hope everybody enjoyed the nice weekend weather and have a super week!!

Movin' Along...

Not alot went on this week with the house. Travis and his guys came back and got my doors installed. They also got barn boards put on the header between my living room and dining room. Also, another cool thing they did was trim the top of the kitchen with pieces of barn board left over. I'll post a picture. It looks pretty cool. I'm short about 10 feet so I'm on the lookout for more barn board.
Jon is finishing up my electrical work. He's been getting all the switches and receptacles installed. I also went ceiling fan/light fixture shopping with a couple of good friends this week and we got alot accomplished. I ended up getting 6 ceiling fans and a chandelier for my dining room. Since I'm not going to have central air, I need all the help with moving air as I can. I look at it this way...if the house has gone without air for the past 100 years, why wouldn't it be fine without it for the next 100??
I still haven't started on my woodwork. The weather has been too nice and we need to be getting stuff done outside. Maybe during a rainy day this week I can get started on it.
Thanks so much for reading and everybody have a fantastic week!

Doors...Paint...Cabinets...Oh my!!

I have 3 big things to get to tonight, but no pictures. Sorry!!
1.) Velvet and I finished painting this week! That was a good job done! I will still have a few touch ups to do as I find them but the major painting is done. My closets still need painted but I can do them at a later time. I'm just relieved to get it done! It looks fantastic!
2.) This week I went on an adventure to get a couple new doors for my kitchen and my mudroom. I had heard about a discount place in Centerville and I decided to check it out...twice. The first time I went down there they didn't have what I needed and informed me that on the next truckload there would be something that I liked. So I went down there again this week...still nothing. So I ditched that place. I also heard about Allen's Outlet in Ottumwa. They are also a discount door, window, trim place. So I headed down to Ottumwa with high hopes. As I pull up to the front door of this HUGE warehouse I figured they have to have something that I like. I walk in, find help, go to the door section, and come up empty...again. So after 2 of my ideas being shot down, I just decided I would go to Menards and get my doors. Luckily, Menards has the doors I wanted but they are on a shelf 10 feet high. So my next mission was trying to find help. I bet I waited 45 mintues to get decent help. I would have to track down employees and when I got somebody's attention, they would pass me onto the next person. I bet I got passed on 3 times! I finally got the help and got checked out. It was quite the experience. After leaving, I now know why I decided to shop local for the HUGE majority of the things I need for my house. Yes, you may have to pay alittle bit more but when you buy local you are supporting your community and the people that helped you actually know you and seem to care more. When you meet these people on the steets; see them at ballgames; meetings; and other community activites, 99% of the time they will ask how your project turned out. I don't know about you, but that means alot to me! Especially when you are pouring so much heart and time into a project like I am. So there...that's my lecture for the day.
3.) I met with my new Amish cabinet maker yesterday. The one I had lined up turned out to be alittle bit of a weasel and passed my name on to Levi Yoder of Countryside Cabinets. I was kind of hesitant at first but after meeting and talking to Levi and looking at his samples, I'm glad I have a new builder. His work is absolutely amazing. The only bad things is that I won't be able to get Hickory cabinets so I am going with Ash. He had a sample Ash door that had it's natural finish and it looked gorgeous! So I think I will be super happy with it! Also, he told me that he could have them installed during the first week of May!! Exciting, huh??!!
Sorry about the book but there was just alot of things that went on this week! I also want to say thanks again to Velvet for the amazing paint help and to everybody that made the time to come and see the progress I have made. It means the world to me! Thanks again! You all have a great week and BEHAVE!!

Paint Paint Paint Paint Paint

Sooo....good news...Velvet and I almost have the upstairs painted. The only thing left to do is touch ups and some trim work. It looks better than I imagined! I couldn't have done it without her. She is awesome at trimming! I know I don't have the patience to do it. Thanks so much Velvet!!! I am very pleased with the paint selection I choose. My red is perfect and my tan goes great with the red and also my dark trim. If I was going to change something, I would have gone one shade darker on my tan. But I'm not complaining, it looks great!
So what's next you ask?? Well I'm going to start re-finishing all my wood trim that is around the doors and windows and also my baseboard. This is going to be a very slow process. After my woodwork, I will start on my wood floors. Again, another very slow process. But I know for a FACT that both are going to be worth the wait and the work when it's all done!
The pictures tonight aren't very eventful. I just want to show you the upstairs and I also decided to paint a couple walls in my upstairs bedrooms red just to kind of liven it up alittle bit.
I hope you all had a great week and remember...keep the shiney side up!