Libby and Russ Buy the Farm

Some more pictures from weekend. See captions!

Busy weekend here at the farm! Getting the house ready to hibernate for the winter. First up: taking down some porch ceiling to remove a GIGANTIC wasp nest. Probably should've hired a professional 🙄 Wasps were getting into the house through a wall we gutted. What a mess! See photo captions.
Tomorrow we will drain the pipes and close up the house

Windows are in! It took weeks of preparation and 5 of us to get them in place but they look so beautiful and the views now are breathtaking! The most satisfying part was removing the protective plastic lol! So thrilled with the results - another tiny drop in our renovation bucket 👍18 more windows to go! 😭

Working hard to get framing done so we can install these TWO massive windows! Each window has to weigh at least 500 lbs. Check back to see final install!

We made a disturbing discovery this week: 99% sure our attic insulation contains asbestos so removing it will be ridiculously expensive 😭 Sending sample out now for testing. If your attic is insulated with vermiculite (Zonolite) -a huge number of attics in the US are - don’t try to remove yourself! If you want to donate to the Remediation Effort Venmo me -Lomauro 😂haha jk

Happy 4th of July from Lake Ledge Farm 🇺🇸

We have hot water! Never looked forward to a shower more 😛

Grape vines are budding! We didn’t kill them 👍 It’s hard to work on the interior of the house when so much of the exterior needs maintenance. It’s a full time job mowing, pruning, edging and clean up. If I were rich I’d hire a groundskeeper!
We did have a rare sighting of a Sally Bearus lurking in the wilderness ❤️

Update: we have running water! So proud of Russ! It's a beautiful day in the Champlain Valley 😀

It was a long, very unseasonably hot week! We pruned all the vines down and hauled off the clippings to be burned. We got the well pump working again so we could turn on the water - only to discover broken pipes 😭and we thought we were so careful draining everything last fall! So no running water until our plumber (Russ) fixes the pipes! Hot showers and flushing toilets are really taken for granted!

Back for Season 2! Stay tuned! First up, getting the well pump working again so we have water, and pruning our grape vines 🍇🍷

Just thought I'd post this heart-stopping photo from last summer! Russ rented this dangerous-looking piece of equipment to reach the chimney which he disassembled brick by brick and lowered down to me in buckets. I was sure it was going to tip over and catapult him into the lake!

The house is hibernating while we plan for springtime 😊

This last visit was spent winterizing the house: draining all the pipes, radiators, baseboard heating, boilers (one newer, one ancient) It was a dirty hard job but had to be done since the house can't be heated this winter. We may come up now and then over the winter to check on the house and maybe do some work but we can't stay here. It's disappointing and frustrating we haven't gotten farther with the project and very stressful financially. I took a lot of walks and pictures this weekend to remind myself why we bought this property. It's beyond beautiful! I just have to have patience (and a million dollars)

FIRST 2 WINDOWS INSTALLED! I am so proud of Russ for figuring out how to do this all by himself! He had some heavy lifting help from Katie Couch and Johnny P - these windows are massive! Now only 16 more to go 😳 and it's getting cold!

Roof is finally complete! So glad we got it done because it's already getting cold up here. The reason we left the slate on the other part of the roof is because it is an addition and so at approximately 50 years old, it's still in great shape! One huge improvement down, several more to go. Trying to get the new windows installed before the first snow. Any helpers? 😉

Lake side of the roof complete! Removal has begun on the other side. Progress! In the meantime Russ is working on installing the first new window. Definitely figuring it out as we go! Gotta love YouTube👍

After stalling for months the roofer finally showed up today! Well, for a couple of hours anyway 😛 They started removing the old slate and cedar shingle, piece by piece. Check back for more progress (when they show up again)

This week’s project: power washing, scraping, sanding and scrubbing the porch. And a fresh coat of paint! Now we have a nice place to get away from the mayhem 😊 It was nice to do something that didn’t involve demo!
Next week the roofer comes to take off the crumbling slate roof and replace it with standing-seam metal 👍

This past weekend was spent in the attic. It was brutally hot and NOT fun! All the floorboards have to come up and old insulation removed so new insulation can go in. 2 centuries of bat and rodent p**p to deal with as well. Respirators and hazmat suits in this heat!

...and here are some pictures of the demo of the kitchen. See captions!
Next steps: new electrical and plumbing and then spray foam insulation

Here are some "before" pictures of the kitchen. It seemed like a pretty nice space at first, until we started peeling back the layers...

It's now easier to send Libby and Russ Buy the Farm a message.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2_yrSPO8zM Here is a video of the property we unintentionally purchased! 🤣 We went with friends to an auction just to see what it was like and ended up leaving with a dilapidated old house and 25 acres of land that need constant attention. What started as "we'll just paint the cabinets and refinish the floors" has turned into a TOTAL gut job. Walls, ceilings, plumbing, asbestos, TONS of bat and mouse poo, old wiring, drafty windows and doors...all torn out. And we are just getting started!

Lake Champlain Waterfront Property 4BR Home on 23± Acres with Lake Champlain Frontage, Vineyard. Real estate Auction: Thursday, September 2, 2021 @ 11AM. Register & Inspect at 10AM. Open House...