Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Sayonara 1868 House, Hello More Barn Material



 The decomposition of the 1868 house on our property has begun. Our son Jason and Keith commenced with the ripping apart of one porch and one upstairs room so far. Our goal is to recycle all that we can, and use the material to make the lofts and walls in our new (recycled) barn. Already with just the tearing apart of a couple rooms, we are discovering amazing 12 by 1 pieces of lumber in excellent condition.



Keith also discovered the original tiny doorway into the attic. It was constructed well, with square nails and nicely crafted support pieces. I'll keep it and recycle it into a scarf hanger I believe. A piece of our farm's  history that deserves to live on.





The original brick chimney is a mess but after I've been around for 150 years like it has, I expect I'll have large crumbly areas myself. Still, I love looking at those joints, thinking about whose hands took such care to secure each brick in order to provide a warm home for a family.


Of course large amounts of badly installed drywall, crumbling insulation, 1960's paneling, popcorn ceilings etc...had to be removed to find the real bones of this building.  It is on one hand sad to take it down but with luck we'll salvage 50% of it and use it elsewhere.  We'd like to have the house down by the end of summer, or maybe late fall, or at least before we die.

Once the 1856 house is no more, the area between our Looney Bin home and the new barn will be a wonderfully shaded, park like spot for more flower gardens, sitting areas, and a family recreation zone: badminton nets, Koi ponds, miniature golf maybe.

Koi ponds?!?! We'll be lucky to keep the weeds in that area at knee level or less. Better a wild animal preserve I think.

Anyway we're excited to be at this start point. Well, another start point. We're always starting something. I've rented a large thirty yard dumpster (22 ft long by 6 ft high by 4 ft wide) for a month and it will be delivered on Monday. We considered other options like digging a big hole and burying the debris from the house that we cannot recycle, but the idea of putting more garbage into the earth around us when we are still digging up and disposing of all the garbage left by other owners over the years-felt disingenuous. So we're coughing up the $565 for the dumpster.

Let me tell you. I plan to fill that sucker up to its brim! Poor Farm Cleanup Time!

Funny though. The county does not allow the digging of a small 4 foot deep hole to go under ones' outhouse but it's ok with them to dig a HUGE hole and bury old house tonnage. Logic and government. A true oxymoron.

12 comments:

  1. It's good to read that you will be able to recycle parts of the old farmhouse. And keeping some parts like that small attic doorway will keep it in your memory when you see your scarves displayed, Donna. hen we emptied my late mother';s home we also made sure to fill the dumpster as much as possible!

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    1. I love to recycle and reuse but other times I like to clear up and clean up.

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  2. When we emptied the house when my mother moved to a senior's apartment, nothing had been emptied from when my father died a few years prior to that. A few things went to auction, a few more went with mom to her apartment, a very few more were dispersed between us four siblings. A large dumpster was rented and the contents of basement, years of keeping things just in case, stuff from the garage, even bricks my father had stored in the basement went into the dumpster. My brother borrowed a front end loader tractor from a neighbour to tamp down the contents so we could fit even more into the dumpster. You may want to consider that tactic. -Jenn

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    1. We will be using our tractor to move items from the house to the dumpster which will be about 40 feet away from the house, but I never thought of using it to tamp down the inventory. Great idea!

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  3. That little door is really beautiful; people took such pride over small things. Have you found any treasures yet?

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    1. Well, there's that little door, but no gold, silver or proof that Lincoln ever stayed there. But we have lots more to rip into!

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  4. How about 3 1/2 feet? jk.
    Here we face similar bs - such as not being allowed to trench more than 6' deep on our own property to direct run off and ensure the productivity of our hayfields, but we could build a 'road', complete with 3' deep ditches on either side, from one end to the other. phhht.

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    1. For years we've dealt with government rules and regs as part of our farming practice and one thing that remains consistent; there is no logic in government. None. Nada.

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  5. I hate waste too, when you can repurpose it. Lots of hard work involved, too. But saves trips into town, for supplies at the local hardware depot. It's right on your doorstep. The older materials should match your recycled barn too.

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    1. I said, "too", too much! ;)

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    2. Now, I'm wanting one of those large shipping containers too, so I can park on the property where we will keep all our building inventory until needed. Weird too how the smaller we want to be, the bigger our storage needs appear to be. (Using "to be" just as bad as using "too" too much. Shall we return to school again?)

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  6. Looks like a win-win every which-away. Except maybe for having to rent the dumpster, but considering the alternatives I agree that's your best option.

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