Here in central Pa, there are unfortunately many deserted, ruined farmsteads. Unfortunate in that so much of the beautiful farmland is being "developed". It seems so rampant that very soon this will all disappear. Only subdivisions and malls for miles in any direction. Your home and property are beautiful and that the barn "ruin" was left is truly amazing. You've obviously worked hard to achieve all that is presented in your pictures. It's beautiful! Many years ago the city of Philadelphia discovered the foundations of Ben Franklin's home - only the foundation. Because they couldn't possibly reconstruct the home, they erected an "outline" in steel of the home's dimensions. Along that line, I was wondering if placing some trellis panels between some of the post footings to provide a shelter and an impression of barn walls - perhaps to block winter prevailing winds. There are pictures of old barns and their interiors on the web. I searched and found pix of walls and doors of stalls that would make useful, complementary trellis panels - not the usual 6x6 squares or diamonds. Also some pictures show uprights that have "y"-shaped brackets at the top evidently to support a roof overhang. I'm certainly not suggesting that the whole outline be placed, just an appropriate area, perhaps to view the gardens in winter or on a sultry summer day. Since many barn ruins are seen falling down at the edges of meadows, I wondered if native plants would help the mood like Virginia creeper or native scarlet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) or clematis on the trellises, or clambering over the footings, Alleghany spurge for ground cover, etc. There are so many thoughtful responses here from experienced, creative people for your consideration. What an engaging way to spend a long cold winter. I hope you'll post updates on what you decided to do and the project's progress.

It would have been extremely rare for a 150 year old house to have had central heat with a furnace or boiler in the cellar when it was new. The foundation survived - and was designed to survive - many years under the same conditions that will exist if you add framing and insulation. The most important thing 150 years ago and today is to keep water away from the foundation by grading and any other means. If there is no water to freeze, there will be no damage. Stone foundations were almost never mortared below grade; this enabled them to flex with soil exapansion and contraction without being damaged. In this case the conventional wisdom is just wrong. The danger is from water, not a lack of heat getting to the stone walls.

Welcome to Old House Living! Regarding pre-purchase inspections: They can only report on what they see, so if they can't see it (covered up with stucco) they can't evaluate it. And if he's going to be a weasel, well, you're probably still stuck unless you go law over it. Regarding bulge, you might need to jack up and fix-up the foundation wall, which sounds outrageous but isn't usually as traumatic, or expensive, as it sounds. (Though it's not dirt cheap, either.) The key is to find a mechanic who knows what he's doing vs. some one who just thinks he does. That can take some time. Here's what I'd do right away: Take some measurements (bulge, walls, floor slope, etc.) so you can tell if this a dynamic thing, or an old, slow, decline. Also, inside on the walls, examine any cracks in the wall surface. Take a long straight edge and draw lines across the cracks and mark and date the farthest ends of the cracks. If the wall surfaces are starting to move the cracks will shift and the lines across them will begin to be offset. Never mind how unattractive it is, this will give you peace of mind while you work out a solution, or alert you some sudden and potentially catastrophic change. Photograph the walls so you can inventory the cracks and identify new ones. Meanwhile, locate a structural engineer who has experience (and hopefully, affection) for old houses to help you sort out what the problem is. Engineers with no old-house experience will often be needlessly alarmed because they aren't used to the structural quirks (and strengths) of older, better-built buildings. A way to try and find a compentent mechanic for the jacking, and/or the right structural engineer is to hunt up people who are active in historic preservation or local history. They may know where to find the good ones. Meanwhile, make sure you've got insurance ..... (just kidding). Don't be too discouraged, either. People in new houses have problems, too. At least our buildings have withstood a lot, already, and probably will be just fine years from now. Do you know about the series of Preservation Briefs from the National Park Service? Excellent advice, courtesy of our tax dollars. I'll attach link below. Molly~ Here is a link that might be useful: Series of Bulletins on many aspects of Old House Care

Hi, Cast iron or bronze grilles in whichever design you deem appropriate; that's one way. The other way I've seen (and this only works with 4" or more thickness) is to make the grate out of thin splits of stone vertically or horizontally with spaces for air in between; a stone louver. The stones could be cut from flagstone or similar thin splits. Casey