p_bubel said:
I love the fact that I brought something back from the dead, gave it a second chance at another 130 years and see myself has just another fool in a long line of owners.
I'm baffled at some of head scratching work done on the place and strive like hell to not "be that guy" to someone decades in the future.
I like this story. Its a bit tough going from a modern slab build with modern techniques to something built in the 1800s. I look at some stuff and think what the ****? You couldn't use 2x6 under that floor?" Or "termites? You guys couldn't do something about that?"
But if you sit back and think about gripes like lack of closets, crooked walls, iffy bracing, and put yourself back in the time period and for me, back in the environment....things that matter now weren't a concern then. Straight floors weren't a big deal. It's flat. It's close enough. Lack of proper bracing happened because they may not have had any other option. Not like running down to Home Depot. It would have been days of travel or days of milling on site to get what was needed. Lack of closets...who the hell needs a closet? Your Sunday best and your week day farm wear fits just about anywhere and sometimes they were the same clothes. Shower? What shower? There's a creek. Go bathe.
It's fun to imagine why things were done and it's a lot harder to blame people when excuses were legit. It's not like today when you see a crappy job and it's just because the contractor went home early that Friday.