Congrats on your buy! I can totally relate to you saying you are "home," my husband and I were discussing that very thing tonight. There was just something about our new old house that just felt right. I pretty much knew I was going to buy it just from the pics I saw on the internet.

I have only recently been lurking this board, but have already learned a ton. I notice that "thrifty" is part of your user name and believe me, I appreciate the frugal advice given around here. In looking at magazines, etc. that have been mentioned here, I've realized that the experts on this board are right about them being geared towards the uppercrust hiring their work out. What fun is that??

Which reminds me, Molly, I scored several back issues of Old House Journal that are on their way to me right now. I can't wait to scour through them.

Again, congratulations, Thrifty!

Good luck doesnt get any better when you can call it "home" and love it.I love my old housemine is 1700 with old barn one of the oldest in county.It just has a lived in broke in feeling.Homey ...thats great.

Welcome to the joys and frustrations of owning an new-old house. That is says "home" to you is what it should say. If doesn't, keep looking. Because if it doesn't say home to you, you will become overwhelmed and consider it not worthwile to continue the repair and upkeep. Repairing and maintaining an old house truely is a labor of love.

We love our old home and have felt that it was truely home the day we moved in!
Mary Lu

I hope for your sake "thriftyoldhippie" can be AKA "veryhandyoldhippie" otherwise in a very short time you may change your handle to "totallybrokeoldhippie"! :-) Good luck with it though.

Congratulations and welcome to the club! Check your sanity at the door and relax , you'll get used to being in debt!

Thank you all for your kind words. On Dec. 21, the little old house will be mine. I love being in it and imagining what is was like as a working farm in 1920's Georgia.
I also like to read about that period in history and picture the family that might have lived there.
Two funny things (I'm sure there will be more!), there is a square hole in the wall in the living room (currently has a picture over it ) where a medicine cabinet used to be! Must have been the bathroom at some point.....
And, the back bedroom closet has a trap door in the floor (just like in the movies!) where you go down into the crawl space to change the furnace filter!

Thanks again, y'all!

Congratulations! Sounds like much fun and a string of projects to enjoy. Love 1920's kitchens & simple farmhouses, sounds great, esp if you're in love with the place. Love and a great sense of humor are important tools in an older home.

1920s? Farmhouse? On the tracks? Now you *MUST* post a picture so I can tell you if it's a kit house!! How interesting.

Aside from that, I *envy* you being on the tracks. I've been looking and looking for a house that's very close to train tracks. I looked at one house for sale and responded, "But David, it's not close enough to the train tracks."

The dear Realtor rolled his eyes and said, "Ya know Rose, most people want to be FAR AWAY from the tracks."

Tell me more about your 1920s farmhouse on the tracks. :)

Rose
author, The Houses That Sears Built

Hi all,
I just joined. My husband and I purchased an old 16 acre farm in Ohio north of Dayton. The two-story house was built around 1865-70 we think, around the Civil War. Written court records arent'clear before the 1900s.

It has the orangish, soft clay, handmade bricks and white/gray horse hairs are mixed into the mortar. There are huge, hand hewn, solid oak beams and oak floor panels about 1" thick. Very solid.

We have a lot of restoration to do. Luckily my husband likes to do carpentry, but it is soooo time consuming. The oak flooring was found under plywood with 1950's lineoleum tile that we ripped out. There were little "popcorn" corn cobs used as insulative wall stuffing and old newspapers used as padding under the floors upstairs.

This doesn't include what we've found in the two barns. It's a lot of fun exploring and experiencing life out of the past. Glad to find your group!

Hi all,
Your houses all sound amazing...now only if I could convince my husband to buy me a house like that.
We recently purchased a home that is about 1950 and that is too old for him.
We did put in a bid on a 1918 home that was amazing but the homeowners wouldn't come down enough for my husband to purchase. He said heating, wiring, all that stuff would be too much of an issue..funny really though considering the one we bought needs all that now that we are in it and see what it has.
Post some pics! I would love to see these houses!

I like our old house a lot but I hope you have better luck finding carpenters and fix it people who have positive attitudes about houses that need work. Some of them seem to enjoy watching your reactions when they tell you all the things that are wrong with your house. I think they're jealous. Have fun!

So, thriftyoldhippie, did everything go through OK with the sale? If so, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW HOME!

I'm glad to see that there are others out there that feel the same way I (we) do about old farmhouses. My wife and I fell in love with our house the day we drove by it. We knew without even seeing the inside that this was the home for us. I think when you truly like your house and the surroundings, it makes all those mountains of maintenance and what seem like unsurmountable projects, bearable if not enjoyable. My one piece of advice that I would give and do tend to give to others in older homes is; Use logic and common sense as well as tons of research into what you want to do and what you will do, because if you try to hire someone else to do it, they will do what's easiest and can make them the most money. You will have a hard time finding someone who will care about what you are doing as much as you do.

Hi folks!
As of yesterday, the little old farmhouse is mine! Thanks for all your good wishes and good advice. I am truly excited to make this house my own - and , maybe even cuter than it is now.. Did I tell you that it sits on an acre of land with 3 pecan trees, 2 fig trees, and a mimosa tree, too!? I am planning to put a tin roof on it before too long.. I will keep you all up to date on my projects. Yahoo!

Thanks again!
Dona (thriftyoldhippie)

Congratulations, Dona. The acre and trees sound great. Pecans are so expensive these days. A tin roof will sound neat in the rain.

Congradulations Dona, We are building new with an old house design, but it's not the same. It's always been a dream of mine to completely renovate an 1800's or older home incorporating new materials that you dont see,(such as electrical, plumbing,insulation,etc), and reproducing the woodwork and astethics to it's original form. In other words, bring it back to life. If you have a recycled building supply in or around your area, they often have period materials such as doors, mouldings, sinks,etc. that often times were used in the days of your home when it was new.I've also heard mention of some window mfg's that make period reproduction products that look original, but are way more energy efficient. Maybe someone out there can give you a link.Im an old hippie carpenter that has a great passion for vintage homes. We are building in an old logging town in the sierra nevada's , where working on some 1800's homes might turn into a reality. Best of luck and have great fun working on your "baby". Merry Xmas to all!

Hi Everybobdy! WOW!!!! Nice to read your stories! I just closed (Oct) on a 1800's farmhouse! I am hooked on the history and I too...LOL...ordered on Ebay back issues of every "This Old House" magazine! Yes, I am in the process of putting in a new foundation and the rusty tin roof has to be replaced....I am having more fun than I ever imagined possible! Happy New Year!!!! Annie...of course the plumbing needs updating and the wiring is a fire hazard...I KNEW it was 'MY' house before I even walked in! It felt like it was meant to be!!!

Congradulations on "Joining the club". My current house is 1890's vintage and I have had several "projects" over the years which were just as much HOME as this one. I am getting a little old and creaky to do all the work myself and have to get a little "bartered" help now days. Don't skimp on the electrical work if you can help it. If you can't do it yourself consider having an evaluation by a professional. Old wiring can be a pain to fix. Just be safe above all.