Clearing the right of way of power, phone, cable TV lines and other overhead utilites was a large part of the bill. Even the trafic lights had to be raised. In some states you can threaten to sue the POCO for obstructing the right of way and make them eat the bill, in others you cannot. Short moves without right of way issues are often surprisingly inexpensive. Another gotcha that occured was a requirement to upgrade all interior systems to the latest code revision. We got zero grandfathering.

Now, my question is...how have others incorporated existing additions into an older home remodel? Did you just tear everything out (or down) that was newer? Or did you try to incorporate the different elements into the remodel? I'd like to try to recognize the different stages that make up the 'story' of the farmhouse, but still keep with an overall theme. You start by getting a structural analysis of the current house. Can the older elements be saved? Because if it turns out that the addition done in the past is not structurally sound, why incorporate that element? And even if they can be saved, does it make fiscal sense to do so? Just because something was build in the past, does not mean the workmanship is better than what you would have today. My brother has a house that was build in the 1920's. There were some tough times in the 1920's. When he opens up his walls he finds all kinds of things - any type of lumber was used because they used what they could find. And insulation is nothing like what is available today. Unless you know that the finest workmanship of the time was used, you have to be prepared for anything. Then, you consider the other systems that go in the house and how those will impact the structure you are trying to save. How will new electric, plumbing, HVAC, etc. be tied into the old systems. What about insulation? Can these updates be incorporated without damaging the structural elements that you are trying to save? If you need all new plumbing, electrical, and HVAC, does that mean you are demoing down to the studs? If that is the case, and you need a new roof and siding, then what is the value in staying with the footprint of the old house? Financially, does it make more sense to completely demo the building and start from scratch? I am not saying that this is the case for your house, but without having a complete structural analysis plus an analysis the of electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc. you cannot determine whether it even makes sense to save the house. Once those questions are answered, then you move on to design. At this point you ask if house layouts from the past work with the life you are living today. Some people don't have a problem living in layouts from the past, while others prefer open floor plans, wide doors, walk-in closets, larger laundry rooms, larger kitchens, heck larger rooms in general. And then there are the materials that go into building a house that looks like it is from an earlier timeframe. Are they still available today, at what cost, and are newer designs better? Changes in building systems/materials have usually been made for a reason. You have posted pictures of the 1920's sunroom windows that you like. When I look at them, I see single glazed multi paned windows that are very energy inefficient and a pain to keep clean. Different strokes for different folks, you probably wouldn't care for my house. You also have to figure out how much the current footprint of the house is limiting your ability to design the house of your dreams. If you are completely renovating a house, you are going to end up with a custom home. To me, a custom home means it is customized for the people who are living there. Being unnecessarily constrained by what was, is, imo, not the way to get to a custom dream home. If you don't feel constrained by the current house, than you don't have a problem. But since you have been at this for quite some time and haven't been able to finalize your design, it doesn't sound like the process is making a lot of progress. I suggest getting a complete analysis of the current house, then taking that information along with all your inspiration photos and ideas to an architect that specializes in old house renovations and getting a professional's opinion on how best to get to the goal of a dream home.

I refer to our two hundred year old home as a white elephant. I am in the greenhouse business and my husband is a rabid gardener, so the grounds are planted with rare trees and flower gardens and go on for acres. Over the years we have added a large gazebo and a spring fed pond. yadayadayada. Only a person who knows old homes first hand, and has the time or money to hire a professional full-time gardener, should ever buy it. There'll be lots of people to come look when it goes up for sale, but it would not be for the weak of heart. Heating bills. Put that at the top of your list. Even if you let the house fall down around you, they'll just keep coming. We've installed new double-paned energy efficient windows. Caulked. Weather stripped. Built a solarium across 2/3 of the northern exposure of the home for solar gain, replaced the roof, put in a new boiler, converted from electric to gas heat (yes we had to pay to have lines ran), and placed gas grates in strategic spots to take off chill or use when it wasn't too cold. Use reversing ceiling fans to distribute the heat. We've cut our heating bill IN HALF as far as energy consumption. But, rates rise and will keep rising. We still have six hundred dollar a month heating bills in winter. And this is an old farmhouse. It does not have fourteen foot ceilings. It also is nowhere near 6,000k square feet. And, until we put a small fortune in the energy efficiency items, a draft from a window on one side of the room could blow out a candle on the other. It's comfy now, and even cool in summer so we don't need air conditioning, but for the first fifteen years of my marriage you needed a wet suit to take a bath. Think also about the bones of the house. Redecorating is great, but get somebody in there who knows construction really well to look at the skeleton of the house before you even consider buying it. The last two winters, we replaced the beams and joists under our kitchen and dining room. They were logs with the bark still on them, or logs cut on site and hand hewn to nearly square. They were ENORMOUS,and likely dragged into place by teams of horses. We needed to chain saw them to even think about getting them out. We had to gut these rooms clean down to the dirt underneath and after we got new joists up then replaced floors. Moolah. BTW, we never thought about replacing joists and floor beams in this house. After all, they'd withstood two centuries before us. Then termites happened. LOL. The roofer left about a hundred bats homeless when we replaced the slate for modern shingles. We've put in a new entrance box and had to rewire the whole house and it has solid brick interior walls. The logistics of running electricals, and the plumbing for the boiler system were staggering. If you see fuse boxes that should send up a red flag to check out the electricals for modern wiring. Moolah. We had to restucco over the seventy five year old stucco over the bricks. (major, major moolah) We've had to repair or renovate chimneys and it's hard to find brickmasons here who are familiar with the old craftsmanship. That's another thing about very old houses. Nearly everything in seriously old house is done by methods not common to craftsmen anymore and that includes materials. If you have to replace parts of woodwork it's going to be something like oak or mahogany and large. Not box store kickplates. My walls are so old, it's not even plaster on most of them, it's a sandy almost concrete covering. If we put together all the money we have spent in the last two and a half decades breathing life back into our wonderful old home, we could be living in a really fancy new one. We don't want to. We love our old home and pretty much know it inside and out by now. But, it's like a marriage and yes.............we are the volunteer caretakers to an historic old building we couldn't see being left to ruin. But, it's going to take a very special person to want the job after us. Now, ask me about the plastering schedule where the doors and windows are. LOL. Old houses just keep settling. Not a door in this house even resembles a rectangle. They all have been trimmed or had wood added to them to fit the openings. Every window was custom made and no two are the same size. The house is nearly regained its integrity now, and I can see the end in sight of the major issues. But, if we had been forced to sell this at any point along our long path of renovation, and somebody else had to pick up where we'd left off, if they knew up from down, you can take it to the bank our money and sweat wouldn't have left much room for profit. There'd have been no quick sells. The end results perfect for us. It's rustic yet and even has a pitcher pump in the kitchen to pull up the spring water for the house. But you always live with a foot in the past where people lived simpler and made do in some respects. Some people can do that. Some people can't. It fits our lifestyle well.........simple and hard working. But, it was purchased because my husband wanted an old large home in a rural setting. If he'd just wanted "room" it wouldn't have even been in the game. Good luck whatever you decide.

Ooooooh, I love it! It is the perfect table for a kitchen islandy-thing. I know it's too late, but just in case others read this - you should wear a mask when sanding old furniture because of the likelihood of lead in the paint. I've done this so many times, I think I have permanent brain damage. And yeah, it is easier if you strip most of the paint and then sand, but yours looks great no matter how you got there. Are you going to paint the legs? If you stain the top, I've found minwax has a colour called Early American that gives a nice antiquey finish. If it still looks too pristine/light you can lightly go over it with Minwax's Jacobean and it darkens it up and looks a bit more aged. Make sure you post progess pics as you go.