Let the Demolition Begin!

We are just over 1 month into the demolition process at the farm. As soon as the key was in my hand I was ready to start tearing into this little home to discover all the secrets it holds. Built in 1900, we have limited knowledge of the house’s full history. Based on the information we have found on the property, we believe the house has only belonged to one family, the Snyder’s. Left to their daughters, the home was passed down the family line from 1900 until 2020 when we purchased it.

My husband, daughter, and I moved to the area around 6 years ago and purchased a 6 acre plot on what could essentially be called a mountainside. As our family grew with the addition of twin boys in 2016, I began to really dislike the fact that my yard had zero flat space. The hill was great for sleigh riding, slip and slides, and building up a strong cardiovascular system, but wasn’t the space I envisioned playing ball with my boys.

On the plus side, it was a fully wooded mountain which allowed for some decent close to home hunting and hiking as well as a plethora of a favorite spring time delicacy, morel mushrooms. I love the fact that the woods are right at our back door, along with all the critters that live there. Except for the mice. Those critters I can do without.

Christopher and I knew that long term we wanted a small farm. I wanted cows, and chickens, and maybe a donkey. We looked at a few spaces, but couldn’t find the right fit for our family. Then in mid 2019, the field adjacent to our property came up for sale. Since we moved to our current home my husband had jokingly said if the field ever went up for sale we were buying it. We discussed and it was a no, too much work, too much money. But in early 2020,the discussion came back to the table and ultimately we decided we loved the land and the fact that we could keep our mountain. So we placed an offer and Hackett Hill Farm was born.

The home where we currently live is situated on a small mountain called Hackett Hill. With an elevation of 1902 feet, it is really little more than a molehill compared to some of the grand mountains that surround us. But it is our hill and now we are taking it with us as part of our next chapter.

My husband and I decided that the bulk of the renovation would be done by us. This is a big undertaking for an already full time work schedule, three kids, and juggling virtual learning due to COVID-19, but we wanted to own this process. We wanted to have our farm be part of us. And that is just what we are doing.

We plan to completely gut and renovate the entire property. We had gone back and forth on just demolishing the house and starting from scratch, but the charm this little house has couldn’t be built into a new home. We will be adding a small addition for a master bedroom and bath, but overall the foot print of the home will stay the same.

I will be sharing our progress step by step on the home renovation on our blog as well as on our Instagram and Facebook page. I hope you enjoy watching the process and feel free to share our page with others who may enjoy it too!

Have you ever done a large renovation? We welcome any insight or recommendations you may want to share! We would love to hear from you! Leave us a comment!

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