So.Much.Progress!

On September 20, 2020September 20, 2020 By NewtownOrchard

September 20, 2020

We have been working almost non-stop renovating the farm house and it shows! We are finally making significant progress and crossing major projects off our list. We still have a long way to go, but it feels so much better to be building than demolishing.

The sub-floors in the bedroom are finished. After our structural engineer noticed the joists were installed improperly and the floor was sagging, he suggested we dig concrete pillars and then install a girder under the joists. We actually decided to install 2 girders so our master bathroom would have plenty of support. We will tile where the missing hardwood is, so we won’t have much to repair when we add the finished floor.

The sub-floors in the bedroom are finished. After our structural engineer noticed the joists were installed improperly and the floor was sagging, he suggested we dig concrete pillars and then install a girder under the joists. We actually decided to install 2 girders so our master bathroom would have plenty of support. We will tile where the missing hardwood is, so we won’t have much to repair when we add the finished floor.

While we were cutting the osb for the floor, we underestimated the clearance on our table and cut right through it! Oops!

The MIW (Main Interior Wall) is also complete. This was a HUGE milestone for us because so many other projects depend on that wall being finished. The MIW is the main support for the roof of the old house. The addition (the bedrooms) did not have any kind of support under the roof, and our engineer is not sure what was holding up that part of the roof. That’s why we had to put 2 walls in, back-to-back.

While we were cutting the osb for the floor, we underestimated the clearance on our table and cut right through it! Oops!

The MIW (Main Interior Wall) is also complete. This was a HUGE milestone for us because so many other projects depend on that wall being finished. The MIW is the main support for the roof of the old house. The addition (the bedrooms) did not have any kind of support under the roof, and our engineer is not sure what was holding up that part of the roof. That’s why we had to put 2 walls in, back-to-back.

In an effort to not get wood scraps or sawdust into the crawl space, Katie rigged a shop vac to the chop saw to collect the dust as she makes cuts.

We decided early on that we were going to have mini-splits for our AC & heating, and we are glad we did. The existing vents are all rusted.

And, we had to stop working on the house for a few days to address the low water flow in the loft apartment. We ran brand-new PEX water lines. Fortunately, it was all behind the cabinets, so it was a relatively easy fix.

In an effort to not get wood scraps or sawdust into the crawl space, Katie rigged a shop vac to the chop saw to collect the dust as she makes cuts.

We decided early on that we were going to have mini-splits for our AC & heating, and we are glad we did. The existing vents are all rusted.

And, we had to stop working on the house for a few days to address the low water flow in the loft apartment. We ran brand-new PEX water lines. Fortunately, it was all behind the cabinets, so it was a relatively easy fix.

We lost a few more chickens to predators, so we had to reinforce the coop. We added hardware cloth over the entire hoop and then put the billboard tarps back on. It’s been 3 weeks and we’ve not lost another chicken so we think Chicken Coop 3.0 is a success!

We put the teenage hens in with the big chickens. First they were in a fenced off space of their own inside the coop, but then we let them integrate. They are still working out their pecking order, but are doing well.

The meat chickens are growing so fast! we separated them into 2 different chicken tractors which we move every day. They love eating the bugs and getting fresh grass. They are leaving behind their fertilizer so we can improve our soil. It’s a great system.

Our meat birds will be heading to freezer camp the first weekend of October. We still have some available for sale. Contact us if you’re interested. If you’d like to learn about butchering chickens, or want to help is in our outside set-up, just let us know, we’d love to have you.

Since we could, we purchased 30 more chicks. We were surprised to get some bonus pullets (female egg layers) in the mix. This batch of meat birds will head to freezer camp around the end of October and the pullets will go in the nursery within the big coop.

We lost a few more chickens to predators, so we had to reinforce the coop. We added hardware cloth over the entire hoop and then put the billboard tarps back on. It’s been 3 weeks and we’ve not lost another chicken so we think Chicken Coop 3.0 is a success!

We put the teenage hens in with the big chickens. First they were in a fenced off space of their own inside the coop, but then we let them integrate. They are still working out their pecking order, but are doing well.

The meat chickens are growing so fast! we separated them into 2 different chicken tractors which we move every day. They love eating the bugs and getting fresh grass. They are leaving behind their fertilizer so we can improve our soil. It’s a great system.

Our meat birds will be heading to freezer camp the first weekend of October. We still have some available for sale. Contact us if you’re interested. If you’d like to learn about butchering chickens, or want to help is in our outside set-up, just let us know, we’d love to have you.

Since we could, we purchased 30 more chicks. We were surprised to get some bonus pullets (female egg layers) in the mix. This batch of meat birds will head to freezer camp around the end of October and the pullets will go in the nursery within the big coop.

We’ve not done much else on the farm, we’ve pretty much let our garden die out. There are still a few bell peppers that we are hoping turn red, but the tomatoes have been overcome by blight and the cucumbers and beans are finished. It was not our best garden, and we know next year will be so much better. It did feel good to do some gardening.

Our Goji Berry plant is producing fruit. At first, the fruit was quite bitter, but it is getting sweeter. The berries taste like a cross between a tomato and a pepper, not at all what I expected.

The grasshoppers are everywhere this year. We don’t recall seeing this many before. Maybe it’s a 2020 thing. Although I freak out when they jump on me as I’m mowing, seeing these in their “intimate” moment on the stair rail was pretty cool.

And another great milestone – our storage unit has been emptied! We moved our last item to the farm. But it didn’t come easy. Here’s the narrative John sent to his sister, “We were moving the clicker out of storage using a mechanical device called a cherry picker. The clicker, not the picker, weighs 1500 lbs. One of the wheels of the cherry picker, not the clicker got stuck and the whole thing tipped. Katie was standing on the picker, not the clicker, and was flung into the air. Kinda cartoonish. She hit the ground and injured her arm. She thought she broke it, so went to the ER.” Fortunately, it was not broken.

We’ve not done much else on the farm, we’ve pretty much let our garden die out. There are still a few bell peppers that we are hoping turn red, but the tomatoes have been overcome by blight and the cucumbers and beans are finished. It was not our best garden, and we know next year will be so much better. It did feel good to do some gardening.

Our Goji Berry plant is producing fruit. At first, the fruit was quite bitter, but it is getting sweeter. The berries taste like a cross between a tomato and a pepper, not at all what I expected.

The grasshoppers are everywhere this year. We don’t recall seeing this many before. Maybe it’s a 2020 thing. Although I freak out when they jump on me as I’m mowing, seeing these in their “intimate” moment on the stair rail was pretty cool.

And another great milestone – our storage unit has been emptied! We moved our last item to the farm. But it didn’t come easy. Here’s the narrative John sent to his sister, “We were moving the clicker out of storage using a mechanical device called a cherry picker. The clicker, not the picker, weighs 1500 lbs. One of the wheels of the cherry picker, not the clicker got stuck and the whole thing tipped. Katie was standing on the picker, not the clicker, and was flung into the air. Kinda cartoonish. She hit the ground and injured her arm. She thought she broke it, so went to the ER.” Fortunately, it was not broken.

We still have so much to do. But, we’re still undaunted!

2 thoughts on “So.Much.Progress!”

Sharon Williams

Whew!!! I think o eed a nap after reading that!! It is good to see you are to begin building back the house. That has to be exciting! Cannot wait to come fir a visit.

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September 20, 2020 at 7:24 pm Reply
Shane Betts Williams

That all looks awesome. Can’t wait to get my own splotch of land and get going on the journey.

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September 22, 2020 at 7:41 pm Reply

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