We bought this old farmhouse with a collapsed foundation in the fall of 2021. Two walls of the foundation had caved in, leaving the old house above struggling but standing. Most people would run away from such a sight, but we saw a sturdy old house that could stand without most of its foundation.

After our offer was accepted we immediately had it stabilized with metal foundation posts until we could close and begin foundation work.

We started with this beautiful sight:

I hardly even had the courage to step foot in this house, even after it was stabilized (and safe). The house was so uneven that it felt like it could fall over at any moment. I refused to let Reed leave my side.

We spent the fall demoing the house. Countless giant dumpsters were filled until the house was empty and gutted. We even had the pleasure of taking out the chest freezer still full of decades-old meat. and had to tear off the back small addition because it was rotten through the joists.

Then we lifted the house and the work started on the new ICF foundation. The house ended up sitting on its pilings up in the air for the whole winter after our foundation contractor’s delays and too-cold weather.

After 14 Months of Work, Haines is finally done and is now a stunning farmhouse…..

This is the first house we wanted to give up on.

We ran out of money multiple times.

We went over almost double what we estimated.

It took twice as long to finish as we thought.

But we are DONE.

And now, after sitting empty for 10 years and on the verge of collapse and sure demolition, it is a beautiful “new” 110-year-old farmhouse filled with historic charm but all of the modern comforts of home.

Here’s to one more house we’ve saved from demolition. On to the next!

Be sure to stick around for the full Before and After Haines blog post, and the full source posts for all of the finishes in this home. This post would have been too big of a monster to do all at once. Stay tuned….