With any home, especially an older home, there are things you want to change or repair right away (“needs”), and things you have in the back of your mind for later (“wants”). With a home that’s over 236 years old, there may be things that need to be done before you can even think of doing anything else, because the level of the floors (or lack thereof) will prevent you from proceeding with your initial plan, or you have to move a wall or remove old wiring, plumbing, etc. There are also very limited resources when looking for inspiration with a home this old… there are no magazines, websites, or other places you’d normally go for ideas, (which is part of the reason we decided to start this blog). You really have to listen to the house, to look at how it was used and lived in, and by whom, then ask yourself how you want to live in it, and use all that to come up with something that will work, given the limitations of the age of the home, and then be prepared for all your plans to fall apart anyway 🙂
Our projects actually began before closing, as it was found that the septic system had failed and a new one was needed. We wanted to upgrade to a larger system than the one that was going to be replaced by the seller. This way we’d have capacity to add a guest bathroom or a powder room in the ell, along with a gardening bench with sink, etc. We also wanted to have the septic contractor correct some grading issues in front while they installed the new tank, so we had to have the very old, very large apple tree out front taken down. We took care of the septic upgrade, as well as the grading, and we were able to close (mostly) on time at the end of October.
During the septic installation, we were able to see why New Hampshire is called the Granite State. Huge boulders.
With a functioning septic system now in place, we turned our focus to the barn foundation, which was heaving quite badly. We had it jacked up, and had eleven new footings dug and installed under the barn, along with perimeter drain tile to run any water that gets in down the hill behind the barn. We still need to do some re-grading, drain tile, and soil work under the shed addition before we can replace those footings. Saving the barn will be the biggest and most urgent part of this restoration, as water seepage has been an ongoing issue for decades. When the ell was added, it was placed directly in the path of where all snow melt and rainwater naturally wanted to flow. Many boulders in the barn’s foundation have heaved and literally rolled out of place, onto the wet, dirt floor.
We still have some work to do on the stone perimeter foundation, then we can frame and install a garage door for access, and to keep the critters out. I guess porcupines like to nibble the plastic handles of your mowers, bikes, or anything else they can get their teeth into.
Having found a local (recommended and trusted) arborist to take down the apple tree out front for the septic work, we had him and his team take down some trees that were 1) too close to the house, 2) growing into or near the power lines, 3) sick and diseased, or 4) shading our garden area. There were also some that were just going to be problematic in a few short years, like the small stand of hemlock in the driveway circle. They also trimmed up and removed some overgrown shrubs and bushes. Wow, it really opened up the house! We’ll be adding some landscaping back this summer, so it won’t look this bare for long. Not sure what Daniel and Abigail would have had for landscaping, but we like old-fashioned roses, ranunculus, lilies, crabapple, almond, and honeysuckle. I really want to build an arbor over the walkway to the ell door with old roses climbing over it, and have Jenny build a sapling-arch fence along the driveway.
Understanding water is the absolute enemy, we had gutters installed on the house, ell, and barn, to try to get as much water away from the foundation as possible. By the way, an “ell” is the building that connects the house to the barn, typically at a right angle. It’s a New England thing. If you want the history or more information behind this, check out Thomas Hubka’s book “Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn”.
While putting up the gutters, it was noted that the metal roof on the north side of the barn was very corroded and thin, and would likely start leaking very soon, so since it was a quiet time of year for the roofers, we got a deal. We had them leave us the old metal from the roof, because it had a lot of patina, and we have some ideas to utilize it. Yankee ingenuity and all…. nothing is thrown away.
We also wanted to have the cooking hearth fully checked out, as we really wanted to use it- who wouldn’t want a firepit in their living room?!?!? We knew the bricks weren’t in great shape, but when the mason took the first brick out of the hearth, the rest fully collapsed! Most of the bricks were not re-usable for the hearth sadly (but we’ll use what we can to patch the front walk- remember, nothing wasted!) Fortunately, there is a company in Maine that still makes brick by hand as they would have 200+ years ago. We also had a chimney cap made and installed.
We spent time this spring unpacking, painting, installing a cell phone booster, DSL (I told you, we’re rural!), and security system. We also ran over to Manchester for the New Hampshire Preservation Society’s “Old House and Barn Expo”, where we were recognized as the new owners of the Moses Eaton Jr. House, which we’re finding is a humble responsibility. We explored our property and the nearby area, including the old road along the Nubanusit River, which is just south of our property. We also painted and prepared the laundry closet for the new washer/dryer we ordered after so carefully measuring the space, only to find out that the vent outlet for the dryer was in the wrong place, so they were not going to fit. We’ll just move the vent pipe in the floor and move on (what’s another hole?). One good thing about a post and beam home is that there are no load-bearing walls, and everything is pretty accessible.
And that pretty well catches us up to where we are today. Things are about to get really exciting! Buckle up!
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