Storm preparedness test.

About 2 years ago, we bought a small farm house with a little bit of land. Our goal was to downsize significantly for the expressed purpose of not having enough room for someone to “ move back in” with us. That part didn’t work as intended, but that’s another story.

We found an amazing 1940’s home that’s about 750 sq. ft. When we got it, there was just drywall and partially sanded hardwoods. The structure was built from timbers from an old church that also made up my neighbor’s house and another that didn’t make it over the years. So it’s built solid. We removed the chimney (around here, it’s referred to as a Chimley) and repaired the roof. We insulated the attic and put a floor down, since 750 sq ft leaves little room for storage. We installed an on demand water heater that runs off propane and put in a heat pump that also runs on gas. We opened up the kitchen, and had some great guys come and finish the drywall. Hired a flooring contractor to sand and stain the pine hardwoods, and they look amazing. All in all, the house looks really good. My wife has done a fantastic job of not letting me half ass projects as is my normal way. (I’m an 80%er) So things are done and done right. The kitchen is probably our best room. We went for the best granite due to its small footprint and overall cost. I like it.

We are having the attic roof and under floor side sprayed with foam insulation soon, to tighten things up for this winter. I was able to wire in an outlet to plug the generator into the house and power everything but the AC and dryer. This was a Godsend. The water heater just needs a small 110vac to power the logic board, so we had hot showers anytime we wanted, providing the generator was on.

Which brings me to our field test. Hurricane Florence. We lost power on Friday at 11:30am and just got power back Wednesday about 7:30pm. My temporary hardship is nothing compared to many, so believe me, I’m not complaining here, I’m grateful. But with the loss of power, we were able to find out if all those things worked, if the plan was a good one. Well, it was fantastic. We used the generator about 8-9 hours a day, split morning and night, kept the freezers frozen and even the beer cold. I have to admit, with nothing but time to wait for it to stop raining, a few beers were had. Our town is in good shape, the neighboring town borders the Cape Fear River and isn’t doing as well, but most are in good shape.

My little pond in the back turned into a big pond, dare I say lake. It has since gone back to where it should be, I only hope my fish didn’t runnoft. Time will tell on that front. But all in all, I think we are ready for the next challenge, as long as there’s sunshine…….and a big old brew.

a reply to: network dude

I had a neighbor tell me a dry basement/house is worth its weight in gold. I'd have to agree with that and it seems your passed that test too. Good for you and cute house!

a reply to: network dude

Realy nice. I'd add a good fence.

originally posted by: Trueman
a reply to: network dude

Realy nice. I'd add a good fence.

That's next. We just added a half bath, so I hope to have time for the fence in a few weeks. I want a dog, she said I have to have a fence first.

a reply to: network dude

Cute house. I'm glad you were able to survive/get through everything. My biggest issue with power loss is, in summer, the AC (obviously) but also not having the sound of a fan running..

What wattage genny do you have? I'm looking at a 10k/8k.

flooring contractor to sand and stain the pine hardwoods

Pine isn't a hardwood.

Very cool. Has a very nice character to it. Congratulations, Dude. I bought the former post office in a very small community way out in the beautiful country that I plan to live in some day. Being only about 900 sq ft I've been thinking about how to do the layout and I'll need to put in a shower and 220 for stove and dryer too so it's nice to hear about your experience fixing up.

a reply to: The GUT

I did some work for a guy who redid an old post office in Southern Pines. It's a small town oozing with charm, and the builder did a great job. He did stained concrete floors, used exposed duct work, and saved the bad ass windows. Sectioned off in three units and leased them to businesses. One was a company that sold advertising to NASCAR. It was a while ago, so I joked they should sell adds on the bottom of Elliot Sadlers ride so when he flipped (and he did) they could charge double for the add. Think of it, "Ed's body shop, we fix it straight" in mid air. I missed my calling.

originally posted by: network dude

One was a company that sold advertising to NASCAR. It was a while ago, so I joked they should sell adds on the bottom of Elliot Sadlers ride so when he flipped (and he did) they could charge double for the add. Think of it, "Ed's body shop, we fix it straight" in mid air. I missed my calling.

In my professional opinion yes you did. Pretty dang brilliant.