There’s A Bird(s) In Our House – This Old Dean House

During renovations, I came in from working outside one afternoon, and there was a bird in our kitchen. I got him/her out (or so I thought). Later, it got back in, and so did Dad/Mom. I’m not sure how many birds came through. At some point, I’m pretty sure I heard them calling in reinforcements …

Living In A Historic Home Remodel – This Old Dean House

We’ve been knee-deep in a historic home remodel for the past 6 months. We are living in the house while doing all the renovations. We are not finished, but getting close. What does living through a renovation like this look like? Lots of dust and lots of musical chairs with rooms full of furniture! This …

Painting The House Inside – This Old Dean House

We chose the color scheme for the inside of the house (or so we thought). Turns out, when I was doing some demo, I found out the color we chose was already under several layers of paint. I think the house liked that color and “made us” select it when we were at the paint …

Restoring Historic Trim – This Old Dean House

Someone ripped out the original trim in several rooms of our old house. They installed off-the-shelf stuff and made no attempt to match the original home. We put it back, but it was ‘a process’. We had to get it custom-made because nobody had trim from 130 years ago in stock. Imagine the audacity! LOL …

First Time Mowing The Yard In 7 Years – This Old Dean House

I snapped and sold the family home back in 2018. That decision came after I’d pressure-washed the patio/deck all weekend (after working and chasing kids all week). I was DONE with homeownership. We moved into a condo and I did no yard work for many years. But now, mowing my yard (er…weeds) is my newest …

Refinishing Oak Hardwood Floors – This Old Dean House

After wrapping up the original 130-year-old floors, we moved to the next job. The downstairs oak floors were a big job, but much easier. Joseph (the floor refinisher) Emily, and I did a dance of “move every piece of furniture in your house around while I chase you” for about a week. By the end …

Restoring 130 Year Old Hardwood Floors – This Old Dean House

When we ripped up the carpet, it revealed the original 130-year-old wood floors throughout most of the upstairs (and in our bedroom). The floors were in various stages of disrepair. Some were painted, some were kinda painted, some had holes, some were fine. We decided to try to keep them and get them restored. We …

It’s Raining In Our Bathroom – This Old Dean House

I knew we had a leak when we bought the house. We didn’t have a leak. We had a waterfall! One night, when it was raining really hard, I decided to do a little demo to figure out where the leak was. The answer: The entire roof! [much water in my face later] We got …

Water In The Basement and Wall Is Caving In – This Old Dean House

Our new old house had some foundation issues. The main house has a crawl space (with no real issues). The den addition was built over a basement. The basement was flooding, and a wall was caving in. To make sure we have the old house on a firm foundation for the next century, we added …

Moving Electrical Panel Indoors – This Old Dean House

The house was built 130+ years ago…no electricity. Our bedroom still has the original gas lantern on the ceiling (converted to electricity at some point). Electricity was added to the house over time. Initially knob and tube was installed (I’ve found remnants). Then, when everything was upgraded (probably 60+ years ago) they slapped the electrical …