I have to do this room by room and cheap. So I have to generate money by selling off stuff. I have to leaern hoe to sell these things. 9 months ago

I’ve been wondering lately if it’s even worth renovating the house. I’ve had two basement companies come out and say while they can make the basement dry, it would cost over $10,000 and they can’t fix the actual foundation. I was told to find an architectural/structural engineer to evaluate the foundation. Joy. I have started poking at walls and taking down some plaster, though. I figure if the basement is salvageable, I’ll be replacing the walls. If it’s not, I’ll have to tear the place down anyway, so might as well get a head start :) 11 months ago

The barn is done, and the new windows and siding are on the house. Now all I need to do is create a game plan and start gutting the house. I want to take it down to the studs so I can replace all the insulation (if there is any) and wiring. I’ve contacted the children of the previous owner so I can get some pics of how the house used to look. It’s an American/Prairie 4 square. The floor plan is essentially four rooms upstairs and four rooms downstairs. I’d like to have more of an open concept for the main floor, move the bathroom and the kitchen around, maybe put in some built-ins in the living room. I’d like to put a half bath upstairs, but I’m trying to figure out where to put it and not lose too much space. Currently you could call this a 5 bedroom, but I’d be happy to make it a 3 bedroom. I just wish it had more south facing rooms and windows. 16 months ago

The house reno has been on the back burner in the push to get the barn built. The windows are ready to put in, and some demo has been done inside. Not much, but some. I may have to wait until spring before I can do much more. 17 months ago

1. Make sense of garden by hacking down 4ft high weeds!
2. Have got 7 walls to strip the paper off
3. Get new composter having already filled the first one!
4. Pull down plasterboard for insulation; livingroom, bathroom, wee bedroom, wee liingroom, kitchen, bedroom
5. External walls need insulation (landlord doing this)
6. All windows need replaced (landlord doing this)
7. Demolish garage (landlord doing this – though I really want to!!)
8. New carpets/laminate flooring
9. Take tiles of bathroom wall
10. Remove storage heaters
11. Genarally make sense of the garden
12. Strip wallpaper off internal walls
13. Remove big stones from driveway
14. Knock down walls in the bothy
15. Take down the ceiling in the bothy
16. Knock down the front wall and coal bunker
17. Knock down the wall at the kitchen door
18. Remove the fence that divides the back and front garden
19. Paint 2 walls in the wee bedroom
20. Remove kitchen linoleum

... think that’ll do for now 2 years ago

1. floorboards replaced
2. bathroom suite replaced
3. kitchen replaced
4. fireplace built
5. wood-burning stove fitted
6. guttering replaced
7. front and back garden drainage
8. new heating system installed
9. air vents drilled through stone
10. wall put up in room with no window
11. wet wall put up in bathroom
12. new shower fitted
13. new shower screen fitted
14. carpets and vinyl laid
15. all new plastered walls painted 2 coats
16. hole in living room ceiling fixed
17. new couch ordered
18. new skirting boards fitted
19. varnish skirting boards
20. strip paint of white skirting boards
21. buy new wardrobe
22. get desk from J & D’s garage
23. put up fence in garden
24. set up dog kennel
25. get black out blinds for living room
26. put up shelves
27. bathroom painted
28. lights replaced21 months ago

Oh dear. I have taken my eye off this ball for the last 4 years – too busy with career. Since I finished I’ve been noticing what has decayed, and how much we haven’t done. Falling ceiling. Hovel shed on the back of the house. Garden rambling. Elder daughter’s room a hovel. All this an we’re strapped for cash – of course – not enough money to pay for workers, or materials. Not enough time to do it myself.
I think I need to take time to make some small, achievable goals, that I can save up for, and do.
An inventory of existing materials, paints, filler, that could be used.
Research on how to renovate the old, flaking stone back of the house: how to brush down the flaking paint then recover in fresh, new paint.
Research on best ways to increase insulation, to reduce energy use, to minimise bills.
Schedule: what’s most important?
Schedule: put time aside to do some of these jobs.
How are we going to store husbs tools when knocking down and rebuilding the hovel shed?
How are we going to rebuild the hovel shed?
Are we going to replace the single glazing?
Repointing the porch.
Do we replace the range with an efficient boiler and ordinary cooker? How much will that cost?
Where can I get the glass from to repair the stove in the front parlor?
Where can I get cheap firewood for the winter?
What kind of mortar do I need to stick the chipped part back on the stone fireplace?
Where is the ladder for putting the stairs curtain back in place?
Where can I find a lace curtain to fit the 3m window over the stairs?
How much will it cost to resand the kitchen/hall boards? Can we sand the dogroom boards at the same time? How long will it take? Where will we live in the meantime?
What can we do about the dogroom – it’s a dumping ground. Do we need different storage? A reshuffle?
How can we mend the grandfather cloth?
Where can I find a bed for elder daughter’s room?
Where can I find a replacement mattress for our bedroom?
Who is going to repaint the front of house woodwork? How long will it take?
What state are the gutters in?
When do we prune front garden?
How can we extend growing space in garden for more crops next year?
Even if I know I can’t do some of these, putting them in a list will take them off my mind.
I’m going to organise this list and prioritise, get researching and costing things up. First off – things that need to be done for winter. 21 months ago