Farmhouse Update: Feelin' Good!

Before we met with the contractor yesterday I was feeling pretty down and out about the whole house.  Bad enough that gazing at the pictures, imagining how I was going to decorate and coming up with the names of our various farm animals couldn't even get me outta' my funk.

Within 20 minutes of meeting the contractor, I was ecstatic again! He had experience with old farm houses, he's a local, and while he didn't sugar coat anything - he said it was doable.  

Everything was doable! Our house wasn't going to fall into the basement at any second and we weren't going to have to replace the entire I-Beam and this isn't like the house in the movie The Money Pit.  Sure we had to shore up that beam at the ends where the damage was and we would have to get the pest control guys out to mitigate any further damage (ewwy) and such but structurally, we're sound.  

Electrically speaking? We're screwed.  The entire house needs to be rewired including a new service panel.  That is going to cost us four times as much as shoring up the I-Beam and nearly twice as much as having to potentially repair/replace the well & pump.  Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!

But, but, but it's going to be all good.  I just know it is.  He said it is.  And my Beloved and I are confident and happy with our decision to move forward.  Now all we have to do is to go back to Fannie Mae and present them with our latest and greatest addendum/offer/whatchamacallit.

Hey you know what? It's picture time!

Mud  room doorknob

There are a couple of rooms that have this type of doorknob, however as you can plainly see this doorknob does not belong on this door, there's no keyhole in the door itself.

Here's the other side of the same doorknob:

Cool beans, right?

And one last thing for today - are there any budding Dendrologists or Arborists out there? 'Cause we have a wicked cool tree in the front yard that looks like it's been there for the whole 150 years.  

I want to know what it is but I haven't got the patience or knowledge to even begin Googling this bad boy.

My next post, I'll show you some of the not so awesomeness that is my (soon-to-be) house!