Winter 2024: What Could Go Wrong?
As can be expected with an old house like this one, we started running into some problems as 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 had to evict them and quickly seal the hole so the house would be rainproof and completely dry for the winter.
For the next step, the foundation needed to be reset before we started building our new porch. This is where those unexpected challenges crop up: the new foundation sank after the first try and had to be repoured. After the second attempt, everything was securely set in place, and we could build the new porch, complete with Trex decking, wooden support beams, and a brand-new roof. Later, we added 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 a foot out of the basement floor to allow for more head clearance. We also 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: a huge pipe burst and a water leak in the basement, both of which set us back thousands of dollars. The project was starting to feel more overwhelming, very expensive, and I’ll even admit, less fun. But I sought out an adventure, and that’s definitely what I got. Onward.
