I thought I would share a few old posts over the next few weeks. It will help give me a little perspective. These posts were migrated from another blog spot so I apologize for how wonky they look in WordPress.
We are about to begin one of the biggest restoration projects to date (and our first in Rowe). By big I’m referring to area. Without measuring we figured this room is about 28′ x 15′ – I think that may be a conservative guess.
The barnboard on the end wall is going to stay – Dad told me it was put up originally because the plaster was falling off the wall. This kind of repair seems to be the way it’s been done in sooo many of the old houses we’ve worked on (or visited).
As you can see the ceiling is coming down in the far corner – it’s been like this for a couple of years but there are other points in the ceiling that are really beginning to sag so we’ve decided to gut the room, insulate and drywall. If it was a true restoration we’d be mixing up the plaster but it seems to be a lost art (and we don’t have the time or knowledge to do it). The window that is closest on the left actually has a deep ledge, almost a window seat. That whole window is being removed and replaced to bring it back flush with the wall. It overhangs the patio with a small roof and the whole structure is rotten and looks like its ready to fall off.
Of course this is the kind of help Bill will have for the week – they look better earlier in the day. God help him is all I have to say.
I’ll post next week on the progress – I will at least have shots of the demo – 200 years of dirt. Everyone will be in respirators, fun is.
We began the living room project in June of 2008. It took us 3 years to finally finish it (these kinds of projects seem to stretch out when you are only working on them on weekends). We had a lot of help along the way from people that know what they are doing. It’s good to have friends like that. Here’s a shot of what it looked like after the floor was finished.
We are thinking about another room restoration and I have to keep reminding myself what a long, tedious thing it is to do. But with every room you learn. You gain skills that make the next job easier. We’ve done 2 bathrooms and many bedrooms, halls, etc. The next project will be a room upstairs, a rather large one. It was once a bedroom but the plan is for it to house my looms, sewing machines, fabric and fiber. It’s been in boxes too long and having it have a place of its own will only free me up to be creative rather than looking for what I might want to do next (or shopping because its too tedious to search). I wonder how many duplicate tools I will find when the unpacking begins?
Fort Pelham Farm 
If your final picture is the result, good work. It looks great.