Lauren674, we have recently acquired a 1920 colonial which, judging from the floors in the house and the home-building customs in our city, probably has very nice woodwork in the living and dining rooms. The woodwork has been painted over, and I was resigned to leaving it that way; the thought of drippy caustic paint removers wasn't an attractive one. But your pictures showed that you're using something called Peel Away, and www.peelaway.com shows multiple formulations. Which one did you choose? How messy was it? How "fumey" was it? (I have birds and they're very sensitive to chemical fumes.) This might be a good solution!

I e-mailed you instructions on using Peel away 7 to strip your woodwork. It can be done neatly and without fumes. Now our DR oak is all stripped and it looks wonderful after applied Minwax Rubbing Oil Stain and Finish to give it a fresh finish. Peel Away 7 is sort of expensive and well worth it. Just remember to apply generously and apply the paper snug like a glove so it doesn't dry out. I also used it on the stubborn areas of ceiling texture that wouldn't chip off. Applied the peel away and waited 36 hours and it slid right off. The woodwork was more like 24 hours.

Wish the room was done, but still doing it in short time increments....

First: Where doyou get Peel-Away-7? ... second.. I have now hit my saturation point!.. 5 kids, 3 dogs, 1 cat, 2 birds, one MIL.. 1 big old house and THEN~*~*~*~*~** we just bought the duplex in back of us ( so we could control the area around us)... ACK!!!!!!!!! We have just pull down out 1000 sqrft deck to build a new one and I am trying to get flower gardens in... OH!.. and putting in a master bathroom!.. I think I need a drink!.. anybody who wants to follow along can do so on my blog www. kertay.net/blog. and if you visit please leave a comment.. positive thought or name of a good shrink (G)

Maddiemom

I buy Peel Away 7 at the local Sherwin Williams store, but you can order it online if you search on google.

Took a peak at your blog and it looks like you have a big house and garden to take care of. I'll have to take another look to see how it is having MIL live with you as I expect that to happen here one of these years. Enjoy your energy and young children - that was a decade ago for me :) and I miss it!

overwhelmed. . like as in shopping for hari-kari knives overwhelmed? yeah, i'm there now. 1905 house predates electicity. i'm a master electrician and ANAL as hell. been in it going on two years and have just as much left to do as i had when i started. it could fill a book. pills would be alot cleaner. please send all your hard core drugs to me as i'm starting to stock pile

Oh, bullheimer, sorry I can't help you with the drugs. The first organic crop on this property was marijuana but it appears that it doesn't re-seed well because I've found no volunteer seedlings. And it would probably only take the edge off anyway.

You know, our 1908 precedes electricity to the area, but they put it in anyway. Talk about foresight. And talk about money. These guys were outrageous.

lauren thanks for the heads up on the peel away.. I will look for it.. and MIL has been with us for 3 years... so far so good. but she has a totally independant apt inside our home. She does eat with us a few times per week or a send food over.. but she is not up our neither regions and we do the same for her (G)

Maddiemom

I've been overwhelmed for 15 years. It was a shack then and its a shack now. The value has almost tripled, its in an ideal location, and it has afforded my now grown children an excellent education. Guess that is/was the trade off for a house that freezes your tushy off in the winter, is a sauna in the summer, has floors that lean to the left, is so poorly designed that it takes a master plan to get air to circulate.....
Oh, I forgot to ask. How long do you have to read this?

Its like the Godfather, I get overwhelmed and swear that I am going to stop doing projects for awhile, then I think, wouldn't this look good or something breaks and I get pulled back in -- only to get overwhelmed again after a few weeks of work.

1864 Victorian fixer upper in every sense of the word. After six months some thinsg have gone very well, repaired two major leaks into the basement by digging at the spot and pouring a few bags of cement in there and using that as grading and painted the house in a day, some have gone not so well, almost dropped two seperate trees on the house -- mental note give away chain saw, and some I am just dreading, replacing knob and tube throughout. We can't put an AC in my 2 yr olds room because the wiring is so shoddy.

We have had mice, ants, squirels and now roaches in the house and ,foxes, coyotes and a hawk in the backyard. At times, I just want to scream in frustration when I finish fixing one thing and go to get a drink of water only to have the tap shoot water left and right while a roach scurries out of the drain.

All in all though, if I keep in mind that we would have never been able to afford the house in good shape and just watch how much the kids enjoy the room to run and roam, and keep the percocet at a high level its all ok in the end. Truthfully, as long as I have tunnel vision regarding the projects, focus on one at a time, and don't neglect other things I enjoy and get great satisfaction from doing it. I'm babbling, I know.

Hobbs

I hear you on the wildlife, hobbs. We hear packrats in our walls at night. I found a nest in a storage shed a few days ago and need to figure out how to deal with it. We've got those jumbo snap traps but those scare me. We've got live traps, but those scare me for other reasons. And then there is poison, but that scares me too.

And then we've got the racoons, ground squirrels, moles, gophers, and deer, all of whom are after the garden. Then there are the carpenter ants.

Friends ask if I'm "done" fixing the house. They don't understand, do they! No, I'm not, and won't ever be, I try to explain to them. And I agree totally with Hobbs67 - as soon as you get over the stress and mayhem of a big project, another one entices you into its lair!

We've got this 1840 Georgian farmhouse and had raccoons living in the attic and have "escorted" 24 bats out of the house in the 2 years we've been there. Nothing quite like waking to the sound of bat's wings in the darkness!

beds-we just had our second bat of the week in the screened porch...how do you deal with them? Any ideas? We have an old house also and I am sure they are setting up housekeeping
somewhere.

Hi Maggi, They are likely getting in between your original house and the porch. Try sealing that space. In the interim, keep a light on - that seems to keep them away. You have to keep it on so that they don't enter that space at night - turning it on after they're there is too late.

Good luck!

Thanks, beds..will keep the lights on tonight! And also caulk up the tiny spaces between the house and porch..although I read you should wait until Nov. so you dont seal up their young and have an odor problem!

I think if you caulk the inside and can't see them living inside your sunporch (like "hanging" around), then they're probably living in the gap between the house and the porch. I think you're safe to do it now, as long as you do it on the inside of the porch. JMHO.

good luck!

i love the friends who ask if you are done. My family asks me that too- you are right they have NO CLUE. Stripping wallpaper and repairing plaster walls takes forever. I painted over wallboard in our hallway because I knew behind it were four layers of OLD wallpaper and how long it has taken to just do the small area. I told Hubby don't you dare take that stuff down ( he had aready done so along the stairs etc) knowing full well what we would be looking at. Someday I will remove the wallboard but for now it is tolerable. I have crabbed already,had sore arms,back, sore wrists from painting and need a vacation!!!LOL Thank goodness dh has saved us a lot by doing repairs etc. and I still love this old house so that's the good news. But I do sometimes feel like I am glued at the hip to my house.

Love the friends asking if we're "done." When we first bought our 1914 Craftsman bungalow in gentle disrepair (read "good price") some friends visited and said cheerfully "It will be fun to come back next month and see it all fixed up." I didn't know what to say given how much time it would take to start hacking away at all the invisible but important stuff like wiring, plumbing, insulation, ancient heating systems, etc. And yes I spent a lifetime removing old wallpaper from every wall and ceiling...

Right now we're finishing up a kitchen remodel, just refinished half the floors and will begin to repaint those rooms next week or so. And there are so many little projects along the way.

I will say old houses are charming to hang out in along the way, especially after some of the projects are "finished." Whatever that means!

Hello everyone, my first time on this site, and overwhelmed seems all too appropriate a space to start. Our home is late 1700's and has been used as a rental for many years,so everything has just been covered up over the years. Found the origional fireplace behind panalboard in the basement, which floods due to having the road built up over the decades! Have replaced Furnace, hot water heater, stove fridge, electric panal and ripped up old carpet. Need to paint exterior, move kitchen, put on new roof, install in floor heating in the basement,and redo all the interior walls and floors,all without being too noticable as this house is in an historically protected town where you need a permit to sneeze, and any sign of upgrading means our property tax cap will be removed! Feeling damned if we do or damned if we don't, We are far from rich, both have full time jobs and will be doing the work ourselves!If you don't mind I would like to ask for advice on upcomming projects Thanks for listening! M

I know what you mean. Since April we gutted and redid the kitchen and one bathroom. Also did the family room which was a prior addition which essentially had to be rebuilt. The deck wasn't put on right and now I'm left with a mess. I still have the original slate roof which needs either serious maintenance or replacement. One bathroom needs to be totally redone. Basement floor and toilet needs attention. The columns are peeling ...... and it is only October. Still I love the old house ... I just wish she would get a job!!!

Yes I am now! Have to install some storm windows, paint the bottom half of the house, have one basement wall repaired (will be done on Nov 28/29-yah!), replace bathroom floor, toilet (damaged by MIL, grrr), tub surround, faucet, and have the tub refinished. Also have to fix basement windows and paint the interior walls of the basement. My DH, who is a handyman, had a freak accident where he slipped and his ankle broke in 3 places. Had to have rod and screws put in and a cast, too. Soooo some of the projects had to be put on hold. Even then I have been waiting for him to do some stuff for about 2 months. Well.....at least I still have my DH.

Overwhelmed is an understatement. Are there any support groups out there for us serial remodelers? I have so much to do, and can't seem to get anywhere. My DD is demanding attention. I put off finishing the kitchen (1 1/2 years since I started) to insulated the entire(3 story) house, then had it restuccoed.Now summer is gone and so is all my money!! I'm taking the winter off I think, I can't take it anymore.

Our house was built around 1890, was vacant about 15 years at one time, and shabbily remodelled by the previous owners. We haven't had much money to spend on it for the past 17 years, but did have some money this year so I hired a contractor who said he could do everything.

His crew took down the wall and ceiling materials in eight rooms, and tore off the floors in three. He has left them in that condition for the past six weeks, promising me from week to week that they'll be here, and then not coming. Overwhelmed? I am fit to be tied. He said he'd have 6 guys here working ten hour days but the most it's ever been is two guys and maybe sometimes a boy with them.

They did some roofing repairs. Some are good, but they left the gutters off and shingles hanging too long over the edge. The other roof area was not sealed properly and leaks far worse than it ever has. They finally worked on a bathroom last week but the tub leaks and they failed to reinforce a floor area where the sink will go and it is gooshy.

I am ready to call a lawyer but if I do, they'll probably never put my house back together. I already paid them for labor. I know....I asked for it I guess.

Most of the time I am glad we have an old house. I think it is built better and could be a great house. I wish the contractor cared about his work and about his word.

Eramus.....what you just posted is the exact reason I ask on the electrical forum a few days ago, if I should give a contactor $$$$ in advance for his work....We have an old house that needs to be rewired & the electrican wants $$ for materials PLUS part of his labor BEFORE starting....never heard of such!! I really like him but cannot give anyone $$$ for work not yet completed....

We had a similar experience as yours with our painters...we hired them to paint the outside of our house....We were told 4 or 5 painters would be on the job site at all times.. only the 1st day for a few hours did I see more than 2 guys..some days only one guy & many days NO ONE!!! I finaly had to fire them and hire someone else...We have been through 3 painters & wouldnt recommend any of them...

We are looking for a GC to help us....But, I want to find someone that takes pride in their work and really enjoys working on old homes....Not just in it for the $$$.....

LOVE my OH but there are days I wish I had never seen it...

skw

Yeah, SKW, I'm glad you are more careful. I am probably never going to hire anyone to do a whole lot of work and put it on one contract. This is one miserable experience.

Am longing for a new house sometimes, but then I think they're not made as well. Sigh.

Oh, I don't know. Some new homes are built very well, and modern materials and building standards have a lot to recommend them. And, given what we're all doing with our old houses, fixing and restoring non-stop, they can't be more expensive to maintain!

But this old house (85 years old) has an ineffable something that I wouldn't find in a new structure. History and the ghosts of former occupants and a settled feeling. Mature trees.

But there are definite advantages to a newer house. Our old houses were new houses once!

If I've learned one thing after living in our 1827 farmhouse for the past 16 years (we are on a 2nd remodel of some of the rooms-the first was to just get our young family in the place) it is to do what you can, the best way you can and enjoy it while you do. No putting anything off until things are finished (as they most likely will never be!)have that dinner party if you want and have a ball-this is your life, you don't get a second chance!

YES! I feel your pain. I'm right with you girlfriend! The question that pops in my head alot is "why?". Like why am i still here restoring this old house? why haven't i sold this old house? The only answer i can come up with is that there is nothing better out there. I could not buy a house that would even come close to this old house and it would cost me a fortune to boot. So here i am making the best of a bad situation. Our house had not been restored since it was build in 1909. We are the 3rd owners. It's taking us a long time to get things done. But we keep on plugging along and never give up. Are you willing to settle for a new home that can be built in a day? Not me. There is something to be said for houses that can last several lifetimes and we live in one. Is your house a home? Does it reflect you and your family? Are you making memories for you children and/or grandchildren. Don't get caught up on the house and how it looks. Get caught up in the house and how you live in it and enjoy it!!!

Hi all,
Thanks so much for the great forum here. It has been so much help to us as we work our way through a big renovation project (most recently as we try to choose appliances).

Overwhelmed? There are so many reasons to feel that way: money! contractors, progress slower than hoped, so many details, so many decisions. But at each step we are rewarded with a little clearer picture of what it will be like when we're done, what a pleasure it will be to live in this old house. Maybe we're too new at it for it to have become a love/hate relationship, as mentioned in the original question. But certainly there are moments when we agree we must be crazy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our (always behind) blog about the renovation

In answer to the original question, yes. Nothing has worked out as I planned, and in many ways, the house is worse off than when I moved in just a few years ago. If I could sell it for what I paid for it (before wasting about $30k on it) I would.

People tend to think that home ownership is just that, you pay your money, you own your home. It isn't. It is a stewardship issue. You pay your money, you get the privilege of caring for a house and land for a period of time.

Houses aren't unique. It is the same with any large asset, exposed to the elements. If you have ever been on a cruise, you will have seen the crew going around painting, repairing and replacing. Once they reach one end of the ship they start again. I have a son-in-law who thinks cars just run by adding gas at regular intervals. His car needed a new engine a few months ago.

Even if you buy a new house, it is really important to find out what ongoing care your house needs and do it. Most houses don't come with an owner's manual. (My daughter's home inspector gave her one, but that is the only one I know.)

Unfortunately many of us have inherited houses from people who thought that once they bought that was the end of their responsibility. That is why we are in the position of discovering so many major problems.

Another problem is that there are so many different expert opinions on what needs doing. (Fix this; no replace it. Use original materials; no use nodern technologically created ones.) It isn't easy to decide what do do or what the priorities are.

There are a lot of us in the same boat. We just have to accept that the maintenance is a constant stem-to-stern and back again never ending job. Don't expect it ever to be finished. It won't, even when you are.

Yes, I do get overwhelmed, quite often! However, I have only owned this home since June and sometimes I don't feel like I've done much, til I look at the BEFORE pictures! Do yourself a favor and take lots of pictures....before, during and after. You will get so much satisifaction from seeing what you have accomplished. My house was built in 1928, and I don't think anyone has "loved" this old house in a long time. But it's coming around, my neighbors are amazed and I just keep looking back at the "before" pics and realize how much I have done, and how much more I can do to make it my place. IF I didn't have the "before" pics I would get really discouraged. And...Rome wasn't built in a day....and anything worth doing is worth doing right!

Oh my goodness. Finally, a thread on a website that addresses the primary issue in my life! I feel like I've come home. Our OH is a small 1933 Spanish revival that has needed everything. We bought it in 1988 from owners who clearly hated it and neglected it. Slowly but surely we are rehabbing it. The problem is not the amount of work; it's the availability of GCs and the money! I won't even enumerate all the things to be done here as it would amount to spamming the site, but rehabbing two bathrooms and enlarging the kitchen with a style-appropriate build-out are at the top of the list. We have a good GC, but he's very busy, as are all GCs on the California coast.

I love this house because of its history and character, despite all its problems. It was built as a summer home for a prominent San Francisco family, whose matriarch has a state park named for her down in Big Sur. It has thick plaster walls with bull-nose edges, arches, and the original black metal sconces in every room, and it has all its original swing-out windows. We really care for those windows, as replacing them is impossible; we'd be required to update to code, and the house would lose its 'look'.

I made one large mistake. I had a job which I loved, but which was very stressful, and I worked in it for the first fourteen years that we lived here. Finally quit because of burn-out, a wrecked back, and chronic sinus attacks. During those years I didn't address remodeling as I was so tired and busy. We simply improved and maintained the necessities. Now that I have the time, we don't have my salary, which means slower progress and constant watching of the pennies we're investing. I deeply admire women who can both work and mother and deal with their OHs at the same time! I beg all my working friends to please begin to deal with their house issues now, even if progress is slow. Once you're at home all the time, you notice every tiny imperfection. Only yesterday, wonderful DH gently put his hands on my shoulders, looked me in the eyes with the saddest expression and said "Please don't ask me to look at one more piece of fabric..." LOL.

I love this website and its very kind and polite members!

Just wanted to thank you all for this thread! I'm new here and mostly just soaking everything all in, but I could not have spotted these posts at a better time! Definitely feeling overwhelmed -- month 6 of first time homeownership and I just feel so utterly responsible for the well-being of my 1875 home. I'm afraid to miss something crucial and have the whole place collapse around me! Of course, my husband isn't much help ... how does he not notice the moisture in the basement, for example?! And, having just purchased the house, we're broke! But, thanks to the above posts, I am reminded to breathe, think about all we did when we first moved in, and take it day by day. I'll continue to freak out, but its certainly helpful to know that I am not alone out there. Thanks folks.

I just bought an 1885 victorian one year ago in a transitional (still sketchy but getting better every day) neighborhood. I'm doing a ton of work on it and I'm totally overwhelmed!!! that said, I'm also sad. I'm looking at the possibility of marrying a wonderful man with a 5 year old daughter, and my neighborhood isn't quite right for her, so now I think I'm going to turn my house into a rental. That means no more casual paint stripping on my off nights. I have to rush the critical projects, get it rental ready and then say goodbye for a while. :( I thought I was overwhelmed, but I have been really enjoying the slow transformation. And when I'm feeling really really overwhelmed, someone always comes over and says "Wow! You're house looks SO COOL! - Don't fix that stripped wood, just leave it like that!" I'm going to miss my little art project.

Yes, I reached overwhelmed while doing my windows. Throw in a worst room renovation while doing those and refinishing a floor. I don't know if I'll meet my window goal for this year, but I'm close and I did love doing them.

I broke down this week and hired a painter to do all of the really high trim. Age and fear were getting the better of me. To my surprise, he did the attic windows while he had his ladders set up. It has been so energizing to see more of the mud brown trim disappear that I now feel I can get those last two windows finished this weekend and reinstalled before it gets really cold!

This forum and the helpful people here have often provided the incentive to keep working. Thanks for all of your help.

We're still renovating.....and renovating brings highs and lows but during the night we had our first snow and this morning I was in the backyard and took this picture of our old house and I felt warm all over...it's becoming a very nice cozy "chaumiere" as we say in French.

{{!gwi}}

I used to dread that feeling, but I got to noticing something; I will share with you all.

I find that when I feel overwhelmed, if I just quit for a while and rethink and recheck, I was about to make a mistake. A before B or some structural thing I hadn't really checked properly, something. Anyway, I've learned that overwhelmed is my way of nudging myself to reconsider, remeasure, retest (apparently my subconscious is aware of a problem), and I no longer dread it. Once I "find" what I was missing, most of my motivation and optimism returns and the dread melts away.

Oh, by the way, this site has been very helpful in making the dread/overwhelm part of the cycle shorter with better outcomes.

Thanks everyone!

Oh yes!! That is part of the deal when you by an old house. Especially if it is one that needs work. (Don't they all??)

This is our house when we bought it 9 yrs ago

and this is a couple of days ago.{{gwi:660303}}

Wow, Wow and Wow! Elisabeth Rose, thanks for posting this inspiration. That's enough to keep me scraping and painting. Your house and its transformation is amazing!
Thanks!!

Elisabeth Rose: This is quite an achievement. Your house is like an estate, absolutely beautiful!

Anicee

We completely restored our 1700 farmhouse.I didnt feel it was over whelming,in fact we enjoyed it very much.It took us a year.We didnt move in till we were done..We had a plan,what needed done first,second and on and on,had people lined up ready to come in like trim etc that was bad we had replaced exactly what we had,the painters,the guy to antique the wood ,cabinets,etc.The one thing that helped us is hubbys a builder so he replaced plumbing ,electric,he has backhoe,loader,skidloader,scaffolding etc for work out side,We had materials to make job easier,We had all new windows put in same thing all built to match what was here with original glass.But still we enjoyed it.

Started stripping in December of 2004,two 30 yard (BIG) construction dumpsters and 14 days straight with a sledge hammer and my favorite (YEP) pry bar, we were ready to START our remodel. All new drywall and insulation. Rewired almost everything, removed 2 closets and 2 windows to reconfigure 2 bedrooms to end up with walk in closets in both. Removed wall between bathrooms to make master bath larger.EVERTHING in 2 baths new including all plumbing.Solid concrete slabs down here to bust up to redo octopuss of plumbing to rerout it all.Repoured concrete floors when done.ALL windows and 2-12ft,2-8ft and 1-6ft sliders replaced.Front door and laundry room doors replaced and had to make the opening for laundry room door bigger,can we say more of the old sledge hammer through solid old hard concrete!ALL new lighting throughout as well as paddle fans replaced.Every light switch and electric outlet as well as their covers replaced.New Cabinets(NIGHTMARE ON PRIMA VISTA)and THEN we hire someone to remarcite our pool and they POPPED it 3 ft out of the ground and destroyed it and the entire patio and screen room,you would not believe the pictures if I could figure out how I would post a few!We have just paid $10,500.00 to have it taken out and have hired an Att. to sue their Ins co. as they want to pay me $34,000.00 an amount that will not even pay for another pool let alone take the old one out, pour a new patio and the screen room alone is $17,000.00.So that has been an ongoing nightmare.All new flooring and then painted most of interior.Have'nt gotten all the wallpaper up yet.Trim still needs to be caulked Then painted and the gameroom ceiling still needs drywall and the drywall in the cabanna room(used to be) and laundry still needs to be finished.The tile in both showers still needs to be done AND the stucco on the outside still has to be fixed from installing all the new windows and doors and THEN the outside painting can begin!OH YEA they still have to form and pour the new patio(minus my pool)and pour the new driveway that the tree took out when it blew over in hurricain Francis.Then the landscape lighting and plants can go back in. ANYBODY WANT TO TAKE A "FREE" VACATION IN SUNNY(HA) FLORIDA THIS WINTER!! OVERWELMED? I CAN STILL LAUGH!!! I hope this puts it in perspective for you, as someone else said somebody always has a story worse than ours. OH YEA did I mention the new security system that they got the dates messed up and hooked it up on MONDAY when it was supposed to be hooked up on FRIDAY? We were robbed on Saturday night!!! NO KIDDING!! BUT my to do list is shorter than my GOT ER DONE list!!! Oh well I live in the land of the FREE and the home of the BRAVE and I can get on here and get it all off my chest and fell better (HA!) about it all tomorrow when they start forming my new patio(NO POOL) and driveway. Did I mention NO Pool? OH WELL I will jump in the brook behind our house in Vermont(if I ever get there!!!)

Sorry for bringing this post back, but it speaks to where I am at right now.

Overwhelmed? YES! I am in the process of working on my grandparent's farmhouse, and while I am not living there yet, the "one thing leads to another" bit sometimes gets me wondering why I'm doing this!

The house was built in the early 1900's by my great grandfather. He used wood that he scavenged from other old houses that were being torn down. Nothing fits well, nothing matches. The woodwork looks as if it came from a barn, the back pantry (which is now the bathroom) is not level. There is no plumbing in the house (my grandmother lived to her dying day with an out house and chamber pot, heated her water on the stove for a bath, and used an immersion heater to heat the water in the old Maytag wringer washer), hence the conversion of the pantry to a bathroom.

The house has been vacant for twenty years, and has borne its share of grief. A tornado came through in 1996, taking out the old, stately trees, ripping both the front and back porch roofs off, and blew in most of the windows. Still the polace stood strong against the blast. My father worked slowly at rebuilding (until he became ill and passed away), so at least, I have new wiring to feel good about.

The house is situated on 67 acres of farmland, with wonderful woods and neighbors close by, not on top of me as they are here in my current house in the city. I see deer with fawns, bluebirds and foxes, wild turkey and pheasants. The air is sweet and fresh. It is quiet.

On top of it all, I am working at settling my father's estate, and just began work at a new job. Yeah, I am overwhelmed, but then I slow down, take a deep breath and think of what the place will be like in the future as I nip away at various projects, and I know in my heart that I am doing the right thing.

It truly is a great adventure!

Good luck to all here,

Joe

We all get overwhelmed at one time or another. It passes. We move forward and then wonder what all the fuss was about.
I've found when ya get too overwhelmed it's best to step back from the project and take a break. Do something totally unrelated to the house, if even just for a day or two. It helps you re-energize, it clears the cobwebs, it gives you a different prospective.

Joe it sounds like you have a diamond in the rough. As busy as you are don't forget to take before and after pics. Those too are helpful. They let you see where you've been and how far you come. Living in a old house, working on it daily you sometimes forget the wonderful progress you've made. Pictures often tell us things we easily forget.
They are part ofthe houses history too, and for the next caretaker will be a valuable keepsake and treasure.

Wow, what a cathartic thread! When I think of all the things I need/want to do with the house, I'm grateful that it's only 1300 sq. ft.!

On the other hand, I've had many people who bought new houses tell me that stuff still breaks down all the time. I was at a friend's new loft recently and saw that paint was already peeling off the industrial piping, and her floors already squeeked!!

I think the biggest drag in this house is redoing things that were done poorly or illogically by PO's. This is a 2 BR/1 BA starter home from 1921, so many people have done many things over the years, and it shows!!

We won't be here forever, but my goal is to leave the house in better shape than we found it, and to make sensible, good quality improvements.

In the meantime, I enjoy the good things about the house: central location in a thriving town, huge windows/french doors in every room, large backyard with mature firs/aspens/etc., and plenty of space for two people, two cats, and a rambunctious puppy.

What more could you ask for?

Joe, I sent an email to you. The only way I maintain any sanity is to set a goal for the season. I'm just about there for this summer. Today, instead of doing any more "work", I weeded my neglected garden and potted mums for the front of the house. I think it is the icing on the painting cake I worked on this summer. The entire front has been stripped, primed, reglazed and painted. It took two years.

Now, I'll set some goals for the inside time. I've realized setting the bar a little lower helps me to have a sense of accomplishment and do other things. It's taken 4 years to reach this point. We tried to do too much in the beginning and I became really overwhelmed.

I'm also in PA. If I can help with resources or with the stuff I have salvaged, don't hesitate to email. I think the idea that you are carrying on the family home is terrific. What do you need to do next? Can you do that along with a "want to do"?

carol:

We are on the same page, as I have been taking before and after photos. It is truly amazing to see just how far I have made progress. I think that working on an old house is like living with children...one does not always see them grow until the kids are away for a bit of time or we pour over family photos. Like-wise, it is when we look at the photos documenting our progress with our houses, we see how far we have come.

I am very aware of the history of the house, as my grandparents lived there, my mother grew up there, and they all told me stories about the place when I was a little kid. I feel a tremendous burden, as I am the caretaker at this time, and want to be the best steward of what I have been given to work with, preserve and protect...and enjoy.

Joe

I always tell my husband, please put on my tombstone: I loved my children and the house is finally done! It is a joke of course, but the truth too.

We take 1 room a year. We did the upstairs and downstairs hallways first- counted them as 1 room. Those are the worst parts to do, at least in our house, because you have to go through the hallway to get to every room.

And make light of it when you can. We still don't have trim in the bedrooms upstairs (10 years later), I keep giving him other "top priorities" like fixing the washing machine or I start gutting the dining room- which then leads to wiring, steel plates in various places and engineered headers, oh yea, and new windows that he made from scratch.....hmm, sometimes I think we're lucky it doesn't take longer since we both work full time, have 2 kids with soccer, school and ice skating!!

Take breaks, enjoy and invite people over. We have a massive Halloween Party every year amd some years people see bare studs, that's O.K., because next year they won't and it makes them appreciate the hard work we do.

Have fun!

Love!

Elizabeth, your photos made me weepy!

What a great thread.

We have a 1910 colonial and although it was immaculately maintained, I was really mourning our wavy windows, oddball kitchen and the fact that I would never have a giant kitchen or an "open floor plan" so prized these days around here.

But I stumbled upon this forum in hopes of making peace with our purchase, and I am positively inspired by all the posters insight, pictures and ideas. I am finding myself becoming smitten with our OH and really getting excited about the possibilities...this forum has taught me to respect OH's (and also to be thankful for my unpainted wood trim, which I was just about to paint over :-0 )

thank you, all