One Year Anniversary!!!

On Oct 20 2011, I started this blog because I was planning on renovating me old farmhouse and I thought it would be an excellent way to timeline the project. I almost didn't do a blog because I am not much of a writer and I didn't think I would have anything to say. (Even though I am quite a talker in real life), Then I decided that I was blogging for me and the documentation of my house and if anyone was kind enough to read it and comment then that would be a bonus. So thank you for reading my blog. I hope you enjoy it. The good news is, my house has a lot more work so there should be YEARS of blogging.

Here are the highlights of the first year:

October 20, 2011- Decided to renovate the farmhouse one room at a time.That really turned out to be a joke looking back! Once you start, it spreads like a disease.

November 4, 2011- I started tool buying and here is where my little "Made in the USA" bubble was burst. I do love power tools and I probably should fear them more than I do. Look at this list:

Here is the power tools I have:

• Craftsman table saw
• Skil circular saw
• Black and Decker cordless drill with 2 batteries
• Portable air compressor

Here is my wish list so far

• Makita 12" Dual Slider Miter Saw (LS1216L)
• DEWALT 10 Amp Reciprocating Saw (DW304PK)
• Paslode Cordless 16 Gauge Finish Nailer (900600)
• Paslode Framing Nailer (cordless)
• Hand held Router- (???)
• Dremal (4000-6)

UPDATE as of October 20, 2012 I have all of these EXCEPT the router. Do do have a Dewalt table saw and Makita cordless driver drill with the quick charge batteries. So wow! I am doing good in the tool category. 

And while I have always been "handy" with this project I have learned some specific skills like:

Tearing out an exterior wall

Refaming the wall you just tore out

Putting in windows

Made some furniture

I don't know if demo is counted as a skill set but it should

Put in floor joist and subfloor

Frame up an interior wall

Sweated in some copper and did some plumbing

Did some electrical......and more electrical......... and more elecrical

Insulated

Drywalled......Taped.............and Mudded~

So as you can see, I have NOT finished one thing in the past year, except some goat houses, a chicken roost and some furniture. Not one major thing finished but I am making progress and this project has become a mild obsession for me. I don't know when I will finish, all I know is that I will and for now I am happy with the progress that I am making. 

Window Extravaganza!!!! (Part 1)

If you are wondering why the laundry room is not done, well, I am wondering the same thing!

It is starting to get cold here in the Midwest and I have made up my mind that I am going to put in all the windows that I have bought on sale at Menards this summer.  I already put in 2 of them when I redid the exterior wall of the laundry room.  I ONLY had 6 more to put in before winter gets here! So here is some random pics from me working on the windows. I did get all of them in and I must say that it is really nice having windows that actually open and close and have screens! Now for the best part......... I have NO after pics.

Here is one of my bedroom windows. Yes...... that is a half of shutter and I am working in the dark.

When I am doing framing I GLUE EVERYTHING!!!!!!

Here is 1 window in!!!!! It was smaller than the original. The original would have been a custom size that I DID NOT want to pay custom price for

Demoing the Living room double window.

Looking out the demo-ed window. If you look close you can see the goats are standing on the outside of the barn, peacocks on the hitching post and chickens by the horse trailer.

A view from the outside!

MORE GLUE!!!!!!

My helper Gracie!

A view looking out the front demo-ed window! I LOVE living on a farm!

So even though the laundry room sits waiting for me to finish it, I have been busy. I will get back to it in a couple weeks!