Transformation… Barn to Workshop

It all started with a dirt floor, three walls and a leaky roof.
( We are conquering leaky roofs one at a time)

**Note: The transformation of the “barn” began three years ago.

Step 1: Remove all debris including scrap wood, scrap metal, car parts, mower parts, animal nests and other miscellaneous goodies left by former occupants.

Step 2: Order dirt to fill in the three-foot deep hole in the NW corner of the interior and eliminate the standing water. Stand back and watch the dirt contractor sink his “bobcat” into the mud and then wait several days for the mud to dry before towing it out and finishing the dirt work.

Step 3: Contract with concrete company to poor interior slab.

Step 4: Contract good helper to assist in hanging temporary doors and walls to “dry in” the rest of the barn.

Step 5: Identify your obstacles and deal with them accordingly.

Step 6: Get a sketch, blueprints, or doodle something on a bar napkin – you need a plan.

Step 7: Hire good, skilled, knowledgeable contractors and stay out of their way.

Step 8: Repeat step 5 and modify step 6 as needed – “revision” is not just another pretty word.

Step 9: Repeat step 7 ( and keep your hired help happy)

Step 10: Repeat step 8 until you can manage the rest yourself and be glad you are not to stubborn to use steps 5-7 - then you can sit back and relax.

**See note above**

Remodel and Recovery

Wow - its been too long between posts and time to catch up! Repair on the house began in June 2007 and continued through November - just working on the exterior.

It all started because we needed a new roof. Small hole = big problem - so we needed to replace the rotton wood decking and fascia and soffit - so while the carpenter is here - also replace the rotton wood around all of the windows and doors, and while your at it - replace the rotton doors. Whew!

Long journey to new roof has begun. Now that the new wood is in place better get some paint on it.....

Roof company also installs gutters -

What color do you want??

Need to know that before we paint. After three trips to the hardware store we finally found the right shade of brown.

So we paint - the exterior trim and windows.

Did we mention there are 36 windows?

Also need to choose shingle color - journey to new roof continues. In the mean while new doors are installed. Also found some craftsman style lanterns for the front entry.

And after much deliberation on which shade of brown we wanted for the paint, gutters and shingles and a three month waiting period for the roofers - we started to get a roof and the sky turns dark and it looks like rain - and the race is on...

But wait -

- the old shingles are gone - the rain held off and the new shingles went on - and the house had a new roof. Yeah! No more leaks and no more buckets in the house to catch rain water......-

......and the peasants rejoiced!

We decided to keep the exsisting lightening rods and cable that where original to the house but we added some decorative glass-ball-rods to the front and rear of the house just to keep a bit of character.

The painting continued for several more weeks -

Did we mention the 36 windows?

By Thanksgiving we had the main house exterior complete

and we were indeed giving thanks!

The Lay of the Land.....

The first day we arrived after closing was the first day we actually walked the fence line. As we rounded the corner of the barn we were greeting with a pile of scrap metal, car parts, old appliances and bathroom fixtures. We spent the first summer “clearing out” the pasture and hauling off stuff that had been abandoned over the years. We now know the term “putting out to pasture” can refer to any item and not just to livestock. We still have a few lawn ornaments that remain….

The old Cistern was found lying on its side – the base missing. It still has its original markings, but we have not located any other information about its original location on the property.

There was also one vehicle that we could not get out with the first clearing. A 1940-something truck “slightly” inverted with a tree growing up through the old engine compartment. It did belong to the original owner, but no one is quite sure how it got into this state.

Our second summer brought an opportunity to have livestock – the cows belong to a neighbor down the road, his parents were the original owners of the house and he is a good source for many questions we have about the house’s history. After one season the cows left our pasture.

In the beginning.....

Long, long ago in a county not far away our search for a house began. After a six year search we purchased and after a two year wait, we moved…..and the remodel begins….

The house is a combination California Mission and Craftsman Bungalow and was built in 1947 with recycled wood from Camp Swift decommissioned barracks.

1946 found Camp Swift with a skeleton crew of 800. Congressman Lyndon Johnson visited with all of Bastrop Co. mayors at a barbecue in Bastrop State Park and it is here (some historians believe) that LBJs lifelong fondness for Elgin sausage began. Their Honors wanted Camp Swift reactivated, LBJ wanted to be reelected. Shortly before elections, a convoy of Troops from the 12th Cavalry at Camp Hood (approximately 1000 men) conspicuously occupied the Camp. Johnson was reelected, the troops inconspicuously convoyed back to Camp Hood and Camp Swift was reduced to lumber being sold at $5 per truckload.

The lumber exposed in some of the attic areas and behind some of the old wall coverings had the original paint from the barracks.

One of the floorboards upstairs has the initials “L R” carved into the wood that does not match any of the previous home owners and may have been placed there by someone at Camp Swift.

The house originally had white stucco siding, which was updated to vinyl sometime in the 1980’s. The floor plan is nearly in its original layout (one door was walled over) and includes no additions.