We are smack dab in the middle of the renovations of the farmhouse at Gold Shaw Farm. It’s been a very big project, but things have been going very well. (Knock on 185-year-old joists that I didn’t just jinx myself!)
The work started in January when we separated the barn from the house. It has now continued with some significant structural, electrical, plumbing, heating and insulation overhauls. We toyed with the idea of doing the work in several stages, but it turns out that the work is so extensive that it made more sense to do it all in one fell swoop.
Right now, most of the house is ripped down to the studs. While it doesn’t make for the coziest home right now, I am fascinated by what ripping off the plaster reveals—a patchwork of old trees, some still with bark. I have spent hours studying them.
Our house was built in 1830ish. And some of the beams supporting the house are still that old. Massive trees that were chopped down before my great-great-great-grandfather was born serve as the backbone of this house. And many of them remain in remarkably good condition.
The house underwent a significant renovation following World War I. It went from a 1 1/2 story home to 2 1/2 stories. The removal of the walls has also revealed the seams from that work. I guess it is fitting that the house is getting a major upgrade nearly 100 years since its last major overhaul.