Fall 2024: I Bought an Abandoned House—Here’s What Happened Next

When we first acquired this house in August of 2024, it had been left unattended for over 15 years. It was completely full with books, clothes, trash, and many little critters. I had a plan to completely flip the home and get it ready to rent by August of the next year. I knew it would take a lot of hard work, I had a vision and I knew the place had some amazing potential! Our first step was to dig through and save any furniture we thought we could restore. Then our team headed in to clean out everything that remained. We filled three entire garbage trucks and it took a week just to empty the house. At this point I was very nervous, and the task ahead seemed daunting. Would we really be able to finish all of this in just one year? 

Above you can see images of the state of the home when I first purchased it. The amount of stuff filling the space was indescribable. It was truly an intense task just to haul all of this out! Below there are some before and after pictures to help you visualize the cleaning process. It was great to see the space cleared out so I could start making decisions about the layout and designs.

Kitchen before and after clean out

office

living room

primary bedroom

The next stage of our renovation was demolition, where we tore up carpeting, crumbling plaster, and all the old bathrooms. We also had to remove the knob and tube and all of the old radiators. Everything in the house was stripped down to the studs so that I could plan the new layout of the home. Now that the house was clean of any moldy carpeting or old chemicals, my dog Izzy loved to join me in my walkthroughs. She loved to sniff around and explore, and didn’t at all mind the noises of our busy team (see if you can spot her in some of my photos! ). We exposed four windows that had been boarded up by the previous owners, we opened up the attic space to be large enough to fit a bedroom and a full bathroom, and we even expanded the basement to make room for future renovations. I also decided to redo the layout of the first floor, aiming to create a more open floor plan. My new design allowed for a mudroom, closet storage, and powder room to greet you from the backyard entrance, while a wide open living area, large kitchen window, and beautiful fireplace would become focal points from the front door. Below I’ve added some pictures of what the house looked like with nearly everything stripped out! Next steps, start building back up!

Winter 2024: What Could Go Wrong?

As can be expected with an old house such as this one, we started to run into some problems as the fall came to an end. First, the roof needed patching and replacing. We discovered a family of raccoons that had been using a hole in the attic as their own personal entrance. We needed to evict them and quickly seal the hole so that the home could be rain proof; completely dry for the winter season. 

For the next step, the foundation needed to be re-set before we started building our new porch. This caused us a lot of problems, as the new foundation sunk after the first try and needed to be re-poured. After the second attempt, everything was securely set and we could re-build the new porch, complete with trex decking, wooden support beams, and a brand new roof. Later, we’d add a restored porch swing that was original to the house, as well as goat wire fencing around the ledge. 

After finishing the porch, we dug up the backyard, built an outdoor entrance to the basement, and constructed a new deck off of the back door.

We dug one foot out of the basement floor to allow for more headroom, and installed a french drain in the floor. This was a huge undertaking as the digging needed to be done by hand! In December, the cold weather brought more problems, as we had to deal with a huge pipe burst and water leak in the basement that set us back thousands of dollars. The project was starting to feel more and more overwhelming, and was getting very expensive. 

Spring 2025: The Vision Starts to Grow

As spring came, things started to turn around. We had reframed the new layouts, reinstalled plumbing and electricity, and started to sound proof and insulate the house. I could start to see the vision coming to life. We had some family friends help us install all of the sound proofing and spray foam insulation. Those extra long hours allowed the drywallers to come on schedule and they were amazing. In just two weeks they had finished the whole house! Next we replaced every window in the home and got the AC and mini splits set up for the summer months!

Below you can see images of our progress reframing, insulating, and sound proofing:

… and more pictures of our work on the exterior including:

• Exposing and replacing old windows

• Adding new siding and a new back door

• Excavating the backyard

Our next steps were tiling the bathrooms, and adding brand new doors to all of the rooms. We built in custom shelving in each of the new closets so that they all had functional storage, and we added new crown molding to complete the look. Next, our flooring experts came in to install riftsawn red oak for the first and third floors. On the second floor of the house, we were able to salvage and refinish the original wood floors, preserving the only remaining original piece of the home.

Summer 2025: The Finishing Touches

As the summer came to an end, we began the long process of priming, painting, and furnishing the home. We had a team of excavators pour a pathway across the back yard and clean up the front landscaping.

Meanwhile, our electrician was installing new lights, the Amish builders brought in our custom kitchen cabinetry, and the carpenters built up the railing to wrap around the porch. My daughter Kylee worked hard staining the main posts, frames, and porch swing all black to match the new front door. 

The house was finally starting to come together. The windows let in beautiful natural light and the fresh white paint brought an openness to the space. Our team began to work on restoring antique furniture that we salvaged in the house, and the design started coming to life. We repurposed many items- balancing sustainability and style all while staying within our budget. Our Amish builders installed beautiful custom cabinetry in the kitchen and vanities in the bathrooms, and the carpenters installed a few sliding barn doors. We picked out countertops, light fixtures, carpets, and artwork. As the final pieces come together, we are looking forward to having our first renters make this beautiful space into their temporary home!

Below we have some amazing before and after photos, showing all of the incredible work that got done in the last month of this project. A huge thank you to our team for putting in the hard work!

Kitchen

Second Floor guest bedroom

THird Floor Bathroom

Living / dining room

Second Floor Bathroom

Primary bathroom

Primary Bedroom Walk-in Closet

Third Floor bedroom