The renovations are fully underway and it’s so exciting to see all of our hard work (okay, fine, technically our contractors’ hard work) come to fruition. It’s still early; we’re mostly working with the “bones” of the house; nothing that’s been done will actually be visible at the end of the job, but we’ve already come across quite a few pleasant (and not so pleasant) surprises.
Underneath layers of paint and wallpaper, we’ve discovered the original wood planks that make up the walls and gorgeous tongue and groove on the ceilings. Instead of applying drywall, we’ve decided to restore the walls and ceiling. This will save us lots of money in the long run, and it will add to the farmhouse charm that we’ve been trying to keep during this renovation.
Every room downstairs has turned out to have hardwood floors that require just a little TLC; something we are willing to give in exchange for pocketing the money we would have otherwise spent on new flooring.
Of course, there are also some unexpected expenses popping up (on what seems like) a weekly basis, although it’s probably not as bad as I’m making it sound. The cellar underneath the house is going to require a sump pump due to flooding issues. Our wood stove, which will serve as the main heat source during the winter, needs to be replaced, along with all the piping. We need to purchase a larger generator than we had originally planned. These changes, combined with little add-ons here and there have already totaled in the thousands. Everyone tells you that you’re going to go over budget on any new build or remodel, no matter how hard you plan. You just never think it’s going to happen to you.
Until it does. Ugh.
Walking the property yesterday morning, I noticed little signs of Spring; tiny buds in the orchard and on the plants surrounding the house, a cloudless morning, and…mud. Everywhere. Ah, Washington. There’s always mud somewhere. I walked the length of our new orchard fence and planned out my Spring garden in my head. The workers were talking and laughing while scraping linoleum off the floors and it smelled liked freshly cut wood. We might not have a working bathroom or any functional heat source, but it already feels like a happy home.
