One of the aspects of living in on old home that we are very aware of is that the old homestead house needs remodeling. Not necessarily a total updating of the home, but simple cosmetic upgrades. Some of the plans that we have are more involved than others. Our home was built about 1890 and is the oldest inhabited structure still standing in our small rural community. With that age, there are definite changes that need to be made. Here is a list of some of the upcoming projects.
First, we will be lowering the tall ceilings. This is to help lower costs of heating the home in winter as well as to allow us to better insulate the ceiling. We will only be lowering the ceilings by about 1 foot, but it will make quite a difference once winter comes.
Next, we are putting down new flooring. When my husband served in the Navy, the ships her served on had a rubberized material as flooring. This material indulated the floors very well and was easy to maintain. We checked at the home improvement centers and a similar product can be purchased there. We plan to put it in nearly every room. The house was built with a crawl space under it. Each year, the floor becomes cold from the winter winds blowing under the house. This flooring will help to prevent that. It will also give the kids a warmer and more cushioned surface to play on.
For lighting, we are looking at buying the old fashioned propane gas lights. These work in a similar way as the camp lanterns in that you burn a mantle. The gas lights are very safe and modern versions of the old lights are readily sold for use in Amish or other off-grid homes. These lights are mounted as sconces on the wall, so will be well out of the children’s reach. Because they give off heat, we will likely use them more in the winter. Summer months, the daylight lasts plenty long enough to meet out needs without much additional lighting needed. As they do now, the kids will still have battery operated lanterns for lighting their bedrooms. This has proven to be the safest option. Small decorative lights can be found even at the Dollar Tree type stores. These usually take 2 of the AAA batteries. For each child’s lantern, I find myself changing batteries only about once every week or two, depending on the time of year. The batteries are also purchased at Dollar Tree, so the cost for their lighting is very low. I have tried the solar lights for them, but the small ones only give out enough light to be used as a nightlight. Never enough to illuminate the bedroom sufficiently for them to play in the room on early winter evenings before bedtime. My husband and I still use oil lamps on high shelves. Currently, we go through a 5 gallon container of kerosene once every 2-3 months if used for lighting the lamps alone. In winter when lamps are lit for longer amounts of time, the usage is about 5 gallons every 4-6 weeks.
One of the main resources that we are planning to use with our remodeling are businesses that sell reclaimed or factory seconds lumber and building supplies. Just by using the factory seconds in lumber, we can save over 50% of the cost for building materials. We found a business that sells this type of product up in Tulsa. It will be a long drive (nearly 80 miles) to reach the business, but the savings will make the trip worth while.
I found the business by doing an internet search for “recycled reclaimed construction lumber Oklahoma”. Yeah, it was quite a long search topic but it gave the results we were looking for. There are many such businesses across the USA. This one happens to sell not just the lumber, but flooring and roofing materials as well.
We are still planning to build our own wind turbine and expand our solar panel system. Harbor Freight sells solar panels for far less than many other retailers. Being as we do not have a house full of electricity using appliances and such, the systems from Harbor Freight will be more than sufficient.
In short, the remodel is more cosmetic than anything. We are going to relay the plumbing to get rid of the PVC pipes which easily can freeze during an Oklahoma winter. A subzero outdoor faucet will also be installed at the water faucet near the porch. A new bathroom is being designed by my darling husband. Putting in new insulation and more efficient windows is also in the plans. The house, once done, will be far easier to heat in winter and keep cool in summer.
I can’t wait to get started. Soon, we will be heading out and buying the first of many trailer loads of supplies to get started. In the meantime, I am going to be sorting out more things to donate. There are boxes that have not been looked into for several months upwards to a year or more. Those are easily going to be donated since we have had no need for the items in those boxes in all this time. End goal is to have less stuff and keep only what is necessary. That particular goal has never changed. Only my definitions of what is needed has undergone adjustments.
