ouroldfarmhouse.com - Restoring a Historic Farmhouse

140-Year-Old Brick, Bad Drainage, and a Weekend of Digging and Repointing

More masonry work this past weekend—and everything hurts… We’ve started digging around the perimeter of the house to repoint the brick about 6–8 inches below grade, where the mortar has…

Phil Atkinson August 3, 2026

Demo Progress Update Restoration

First Attempt at Masonry (and What We Found Along the Way)

Work has picked back up in the parlor/office after a few weeks of delays for family commitments. From the beginning, it was obvious something was hiding within the fireplace wall…

Phil Atkinson July 6, 2026

Demo Progress Update Restoration

Restoring the Old Parlor: Update

Another month has passed, and we’re still renovating the office. What started as a simple “let’s freshen things up with some paint” has escalated into what will likely be a…

Phil Atkinson May 28, 2026

Demo Progress Update Restoration

One Room at a Time: Restoring the Old Parlor

For the past several weeks, it’s been demolition and restoration work in the office—what may have originally been the home’s parlor. There’s still a lot to tackle in this space.…

Phil Atkinson May 1, 2026

History Planning

Digging Deeper: The Hidden Bricks of Proctor Place

So, one of the mysteries now has an answer... For years, the history of Proctor Place included this claim: "The footings of the house are of brick-five rows of brick…

Phil Atkinson March 23, 2026

Money Pit Moments Planning

Foundations and Faith: One Year of Stewardship

As of today, it’s been one year since we became stewards of ole Milton—and I’ve got to say, he’s been a bit of a grumpy old soul. In many ways,…

Phil Atkinson February 28, 2026

Planning Progress Update

A Year later: We Passed!

Outside of early planning, I believe demo began in late March or April '25 for a garage project I optimistically thought would be wrapped up by late June or July.…

Phil Atkinson February 27, 2026

Progress Update

The Never-Ending Garage Saga

From the Land of Cursed Construction… For whatever reason, we just can’t seem to wrap up construction on the garage. Just before the New Year, the plumber and electrician finished…

Phil Atkinson February 3, 2026

Progress Update

Heat, Gutters, and Hard Choices: December at the Old House

Another month, and there’s still not a lot that feels “big” enough to report on, but things are moving along. The HVAC is installed, so the heat is on and…

Phil Atkinson December 26, 2025

Progress Update

Phase 1 Complete (almost): Grateful and Ready for What’s Next

Hard to believe it's been a month since my last post... let's see... So, we both got COVID back in October. Only my second time, but for whatever reason, I'm…

Phil Atkinson November 20, 2025