Not sure if we've ever shared this angle of the house. It's the back, from what is essentially the backyard, near the fig trees.
The two window units are in the windows of each bedroom. The little window in between them is the bathroom. On the left side of the picture is the set of stairs that lead off the porch and toward Barnabas (the party/dinner tree) from the front door, and on the right side of the picture, the bump out where the roof slopes down, is the dining room.
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| Back of farmhouse, pier and beam |
For those not familiar, this house is what's called "pier and beam". There is no concrete foundation or "slab", instead the house is built up, on "piers" which are the concrete cinder blocks (often bricks are used as well) and across each of those lies a "beam". It is this beam that the floor of the house sits on. The upside is that it makes it very easy for working underneath the house, for example moving pipes if you are plumbing, running wiring (though ours is mostly in the attic and walls) and/or leveling the house. There are a couple of downsides to this as well. One is that creatures can get under your house, and the other is that in Winter, you have to worry about freezing pipes.
Now most homes like this put up lattice or something along the bottom to keep out the animals and this is something we have planned. It's on our list but just not quite at the "top" yet. Then of course planting bushes and other plants around the outside to keep it looking nice is important as well...we haven't done that yet because when we work on the exterior and have the roof done, we figured no point in getting everything trampled down. But that being said, it looks a bit barren, I might plant a few things this Spring.
Now most homes like this put up lattice or something along the bottom to keep out the animals and this is something we have planned. It's on our list but just not quite at the "top" yet. Then of course planting bushes and other plants around the outside to keep it looking nice is important as well...we haven't done that yet because when we work on the exterior and have the roof done, we figured no point in getting everything trampled down. But that being said, it looks a bit barren, I might plant a few things this Spring.
what are the dimensions. i am going to build a b & b and your house looks like about the right size. do the bedrooms have space for queen beds? thanks
ReplyDeleteHey Dindin, haven't heard from you in awhile. I'm not sure the dimensions but I'll check on that for you. Yes, the bedrooms both have queen size beds. There are pictures of the bedrooms further back on the website but I'll see if I can post some soon.
DeleteOh, and a B&B? Cool!!
DeleteThe house looks lovely but I am not use to seeing a house without gutters. All that roof space, that's a lot of water wasted. Is that the norm in America, no gutters on houses?
ReplyDeleteThere are no gutters on my house or most of the houses around my neighborhood.
DeleteIn my neighborhood we all have gutters, which means they have to be cleaned regularly.
DeleteWell, it looks like Parsimony and Janie answered perfectly, even with both answers. Here in the states, I'd say it's probably evenly split on homes with and without gutters. Our house in town has them, but only on two sides. The house next door on one side has none, the house on the other side has them on all sides.
DeleteIt IS a waste of rainwater for sure. We're definitely going to have gutters AND a harvesting method, at the farm. Hope to get that soon.
Bump outs are a really good way to add space to your house. I saw a great bump out in St. Augustine in a house that won an award for best space saving strategies from This Old House Magazine.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Ma, the previous owner, had the bump out done for the for dining room and another one for the mudroom. Maybe we can someday do another one, ha.
DeleteSometimes I think the old way of leaving the yard as packed dirt and just sweeping the yard would be good. They did it for a fire break and to keep the livestock away from the house. Also trees were planted far from the house to avoid a problem with winds.
ReplyDeleteThe old house I pictured today was built that way and the joists were sistered. That joining has come loose from water damage. The floor in one room is now bowed. In the spring I hope to fix all that.
Your house looks very much like a well loved home to me.
I hear ya. Sweeping the yard would be awesome, ha. I like the house you pictured, it reminds me of an old house that was on my Grandparent's property. And thank you with the kind words...it is loved for sure. :-)
DeleteYou might try to underpin the house with an insulating material. It will help on your pipes freezing. Many years ago when I first went to work I bought a small mobile home. I never had it underpinned and it was the coldest place I have ever lived in. The water line to the commode would even freeze in the bathroom. One really cold spell the pipes froze and even the sewer line froze. I was working at a military engineer school and luckily I had an engineer come and sort it all out for me. It might keep some of your critters out too!!
ReplyDeleteWe've talked about that but I hadn't ever heard anyone who had experience with it, ha. I really like the idea. And I'd like the idea of no cold floors, ha. Thanks for the tip!!
Deleteinteresting. was it built this way originally? i guess it must have been.
ReplyDeleteYes, down here, most old homes are pier and beam, built up like that with a crawlspace. Even our house in town is up, though not as high as the farmhouse. Now this house was re-leveled a few years back and I think she had it raised up a bit higher. Not sure why (no where near water) but it does make it easier to get under there and work on things.
DeleteKnow what? I think it's a lovely, practical house!
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks!!! Very kind of you!
DeleteYour house is so darling. I very much enjoy following your progress :)
ReplyDeleteWell thank you for that, very much appreciated!!! It's slow but steady!!
DeleteI love your house! Just perfect for the country. It looks like HOME.
ReplyDeleteYou said that it looks a bit barren around the bottom. Since you still have future roof and other exterior work that would destroy permanent plantings, you might plant some annuals just for temporary color. Marigolds, zinnias, pentas, etc.
Thank you!! Annuals is a good idea, I didn't think of that to be honest. Then if they get trampled or I want to just mow over them, no big deal. And you know i love color! Thanks!!
Delete1st Man,
ReplyDeleteYour place is wonderful. After all the work on the house, I would go a head and put something up to prevent critters from living below the house, and of course plant bushes, and flowers.
Definitely going to put up some sort of barrier when we're done. Probably a lattice frame. And then bushes and other pretty things, ha.
DeleteOne good thing about pier and beam in Texas ... with all the broken foundations you don't have to worry about that! Thats a real plus. I would under pen it with something to keep critters out yes. Perhaps a stone? When I was a kid at one point we lived in a house shaped very much like this with the wide plank siding like this. In AR there are stones laying everywhere in the fields, people gather them up and use them on houses, under penning, fireplaces, etc. That house had a stone under penning from field stone. It looked nice.
ReplyDeleteAmen!! There are lots of foundation problems here huh? I think it's our soil and/or weather conditions. Stone would be nice! I see some houses in town with stone around the bottom. There are no stones around that part of the country where the farm is but I bet we could find something that will work. :-)
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