Hovel Renovation: Step Two

After purchasing our property we spent the majority of the first summer and early autumn replacing windows, re-siding the house and clearing up the property enough that it looked cared for. We even planted a few fruit trees. Unfortunately even with all that work the house was far from being habitable. So, with the hovel closed up and sealed better than it had been in years, we spent the winter and half of the spring in Florida.

During that winter I drew and redrew plans for what we wanted to do to the inside of the building. We decided early in the planning stage that we would treat the structure like a blank slate. Power, water and lighting all had to be replaced in the house. Even the plumbing venting for the house had to be redone properly. (The venting system at that time for the plumbing was a dryer hose vent stuck out an upstairs window.) The fact that all of these major systems had to be built from scratch the costs normally associated with moving a kitchen and bathroom in a normal renovation were going to occur in our renovation no matter what we did. So while the new plans did require the removal of the lovely dryer vent running along the staircase wall they also included special things like a sink in a bathroom that had four walls and a real door and a kitchen with actual appliances and countertops.

With current plans in hand we returned to the hovel and focused our attention on the inside of the house. Naturally the plans changed when we taped the walls out on the floors but it was a starting place. We got our building permit and electrical permit in place and then spent most of the summer away from the property. George’s work took him to Scotland for the summer and I had no intention on staying home. It was also the year of Hurricane Irma which meant a trip to our boat to check for damage and we needed to help our son organize his life after losing his home to the storm. Still we did manage to get a good portion of the lath and plaster as well as old, damp insulation torn out.

We hired a contractor to replace the shingles on the roof. The roof was one of three things we contracted out for the whole project. One trip to the roof was all it took for George to part with some cash. The first contractor we dealt with said he would do the job in early summer. By October he was still putting us off so we hired a second contractor who started that week. He removed three saddle chimneys in a snow storm and worked on the rest of the roof when the weather allowed. By the time we returned the following May we had a new roof and no more concerns about leaks.

The next year started in April for our son, who had started a job locally and planned on living on the property and helping us when he could. We arrived in early May and started working on the house and gardens right away. We once again spent most of the year tearing out parts of the house. By the autumn we were finally putting the first steps towards rebuilding. Wiring, closet walls and insulation had all started to be added back to the building.

Year four was the first time we spent any portion of the winter in the hovel. We moved inside the house in late February. We spent nights on mattresses on the floor in front of the woodstove but we were there. By the end of that fourth year we had two bedrooms and a bathroom finished upstairs. New wiring, drywall and plumbing were completed. We chose to refinish the floor in the bedrooms. We sanded the floor boards, some of which were over sixteen feet long, and treated them with tung oil. We had also replaced the old wood stove with a much more efficient version which meant we could stay in our bedrooms to sleep even in the depths of winter.

Year five continued with our refinishing of the hovel. Accomplishments that year included a powder/laundry room on the main floor, a kitchen in its permanent location, a deck off of the living room, a new staircase in a new location and an in-floor heating system covered downstairs with new oak flooring that was treated with tung oil like upstairs. We owe a great big thank you to good friends that helped with the heating system. They had experience with in-floor heating and knew all the tricks for handling the very springy pipe.

Year six has included lots of drywall finishing, more kitchen cabinet building and the beginning of trim installation. This has also been the biggest year for garden expansion and food preservation. At the end of the year we had over 2000 square feet of gardening space that includes raised beds and in ground gardens, a small greenhouse and the developing of a food forest that will take up approximately half an acre by the time it’s complete.

As we head towards our seventh year of owning this property we still have lots to do. There are closets to finish, doors to build, trim to install and an en-suite to start, although right now the en-

suite is functioning as a small office so there isn’t a big rush on that front. At times it seems like we are moving very slowly but on reflection I’m reminded that in the beginning of this adventure we only had a few months each year to work on the house while developing the property. George’s contract work continued to take him away from projects even after we moved to the property permanently four years ago. Covid-19 causing increased building costs also slowed progress while waiting for prices to return to something approaching normal.

Despite the time it has taken so far we are quite proud that we did things right. We took the time to strap the exterior wall to allow a second layer of insulation to be added before vapour barrier was installed. All or the electric has been brought up to current standards including smoke/carbon monoxide detectors that include alarm, voice and strobe light warning signals. We developed a floor plan that is functional and makes use of spaces that were previously underutilized. The hovel originally had an upstairs landing that was sixteen feet by twelve feet that was windowless. Now that landing is six feet by six feet. The space under the staircase was designed to be used as a pantry while still functioning as the control room for the in floor heating system. We’ve built modern bathrooms with updated plumbing including proper venting. We also installed two sources of heat even though the wood stove was quite capable of keeping the house warm because of the attention paid to insulation. In general we have managed to take a 19th century house and allowed it to function like any 21st century home.

So while we have taken more time than we would have liked to get to this point and we still have lots to do the transformation has been amazing. Best of all with the exception of 2 or 3 jobs George along with help from family and friends has managed to do it on his own while working a job at some points, dealing with broken ribs for a few months and developing the land with gardens, food forests and pastures. Not too bad.