dian, we've done the tape the plastic to the floor thing and didn't find any moisture. Dh & I even talked about painting the slab for a short term cheap solution, but agree that it would look pretty awful. We went to Home Depot & found some vinyl flooring strips called Traffic Master and were on the verge of ordering it when we thought we'd better come home & do some remeasuring first. I got online & found about as many happy people as unhappy, and really, about half the unhappy folks sounded like they hadn't put it down according to directions. Still, even though it would be a short term solution for us, I don't want to look at curling edges for 6-8 months either so we've backed off that for now. Thought we'd visit a Floor & Decor tomorrow & see what other options we have. If the TrafficMaster worked, it would be ideal. It would only cost about $600, and would be able to clean it during construction, and if for some reason we actually loved it, we could patch it in to the new addition & just leave it here.

Thanks for the responses. I should first note that my estimate of $6-8k was supposed to be for the foundation work only, not the moving. I have no idea how much that costs, although talking to a house mover seems smart. As far as what I want to use the barn for, that's a good question for me to think about. I'd been planning on a garage, workspace, and storage. So basically that's equal to 'big garage'. So if I could actually have someone pay me to take down the barn and take the wood, I'd probably be glad to do that and just build a garage instead. I like old barns in general, and it was one of the things that attracted me to this house. But now that I better understand the lot shape and the zoning rules, I'd wouldn't mind it it was gone. The barn was built between 1900-1910. The other idea of conserving the wood and using it to build a new garage is also very interesting, and the next time I look at the property I'll talk about it with my contractor. Thanks for the help!

I should have added we are also doing the butlers pantry (hence the additional dishwasher) at the same time. It's fun to read about people thinking of redoing their kitchens in vintage homes. I recently gut remodeled a kitchen in a 1980's townhouse and had no restrictions as to style given that the only style I didn't want to consider was 1980's :) It's a very eclectic space that I love and was easy to make work well because of the lack of an identifiable decade to focus on. A kitchen in a victorian or any older home IMO is much harder. To make the right items for a busy cook work well and yet also nod carefully to the home's history is a challenge. Our home has special rules attached to the first floor so research has been my best friend. I was originally not happy about the rules, but now I'm glad they're there so no one comes in and does something evil to the house. That said...I would agree that the copper slate above is gorgeous...it would have made a wonderful floor in my other place as I'm a total copper/gold/bronze color nut. :) It's rich and magnificant and best of all...interesting :) not the same old stuff you see everywhere. I just don't want to see it in a victorian :oP I'm odd that way I guess LOL ohhhh the compactors are because we recycle here and they only pick up every other week. We have a child and four hundred cats and dogs (ok 3 and 1 respectively but sometimes it seems like more). We always seem to overflow the recycling and would like to get down to one can someday. Squishing it seems the easiest LOL KS...the kitchen is 20x25 or so....plenty of room for plural LOL I will say despite the size it's harder to design than my 13x18 kitchen back in alaska. But at least I have the floors figured out heh heh We did find a piece of a lino carpet under the old servants stairs and I went off in a wild tangent thinking I could do that in the new kitchen....gorgeous stuff, just like a persian rug but lino :) Turns out they're rarely available and when found cost an arm and three legs. I did find one from the 40's which we'll put in the servants dining room (where we eat the most LOL) on the...you guessed it...painted fir floor heh heh

Mtdoug, I'm happy that you like plan C and hope that your wife likes it as well. Agree that Robotropolis did a fantastic job. Here are some additional thoughts for tweeking "C" plan: 1. Since your dining room is large, you have the option of putting your snack area in there with a "wet bar" sink, an undercounter fridge, and a mini microwave. Shelves on brackets could go above. Other snacks, paper plates, etc. could be placed in decorative baskets on the shelves yet keep the mess out of view. This would allow the placement of a chair in the kitchen with it's back against that 41" wall space. Replace that larger sink with a small work table for sit down prep. With your good view there, you could even have the chair on castors to directly face the window and then move back to the corner when not in use. Where the small sink is in plan C, enlarge it and place a dishwasher to the left of the sink. Recycle can be placed on the wall next to the small prep table. A floor to ceiling pantry could be to the left of the recycle, in the left corner on the wall. 2. I would think another option is to place more storage or the pantry in the dining room rather than the entry. To give it more of a dining room look, pull out drawers could be in the lower portion and doors with textured glass that obscures (or gathered curtains inside the door) for shallow 12" uppers. That arrangement would make it flexible for resale with options for new owners. 3. To the right of the stove (cooktop?), you can either have an Easy Reach corner wall cabinet or a 27" diagonal corner wall cabinet. Most people on GW prefer the Easy Reach because it's better if two cooks are in the kitchen with more access to the counter. The advantage of the diagonal is that it stores a great deal more if after market D-shaped Super Susans (on ball bearings) are added to allow easy access to the far reaches of the back cabinet. The add ons are very reasonably priced. I'm a one person kitchen and desperately needed that storage so love my diagonal cabinet. See what your wife prefers, consider your top priority, and perhaps look at both types of cabinets in the showroom. Edited to add that I have a 36" diagonal base cabinet with two Super Susans below the 27" diagonal wall cabinet. This combination provides additional counter and prevents the upper from being "in your face." This combination works in a one cook small kitchen when storage needs to be maximized. Also, I don't like the added care that's needed with bifold doors on cabinets that get frequent use. In my other corner is a 33" Easy Reach base cabinet with bifold doors that is used for trash. Unfortunately, there was no room for a trash pullout in my kitchen, and I did not want trash under the sink. This obviously works only with one or two, and only kitchen trash goes here. There are no Super Susans in this cabinet, just shelves. Garbage that could have an odor goes in the freezer for trash day. I have a small plastic trash container on both the upper and lower shelf. Baking pans and large cooker are also stored vertically in that cabinet. The bottom line is that you and your wife need to plan what's going into each cabinet to determine which types of cabinets best meet your needs. 4. The 6" base vertical "spice drawers" work well in a small kitchen if you have a 6" space available and are short on drawers. These are 6" x 6" x 22"d that are available unfinished outside of Ikea. These hold all my "junk drawer" items such as large cooking spatulas, pizza cutter, ice cream scoop, long parchment paper box, rolling pin, etc. It's been interesting to read about your progress and issues that need to be addressed. I hope you will allow GW to follow your progress as you bring your long awaiting plans to completion. It's obvious that a great deal of thought has gone into your planning. This post was edited by Texasgal47 on Sun, May 4, 14 at 11:20