It’s been so fun to share the story of our Schoolhouse Reno with you! After a miraculous answer to prayer (and some heavy-duty cleaning) we were able to move into our still very rough fixer-upper.

After the sale of our house in Florida went through, we were able to close out the land contract and pay cash for this place. We had a good budget left over for renovations… but then this happened:

We had the opportunity to buy this huge pole building on land adjoining our property. In fact, these used to be one piece of land, when the house was the town hall, this garage was used to store and repair vehicles owned by the township.

It took a big chunk out of the cash we had left to finish the house, but we knew that we’d never regret owning that garage and property. So we plunked down the cash, knowing that whatever renovations we’d be making on the house would be moved further out into the future.

There were, however, a few things that needed to be done right away.

The first thing we did, was to move the entrance door from the corner of the house towards the center – we felt like this was a cosmetic issue, but would also affect our future floor plan.

• 

• 

The other thing that needed to be done asap, was moving the water line from the well under the foundation and into the main part of the house. When they initially dug the well, they set up the pressure tank in the ugly lean-to that originally housed the well and pump when the building was a one-room-school. But the lean-to was poorly insulated, disgusting, and prone to freezing pipes.

• 

• 

• 

Taking down the lean-to (a.k.a. ‘The wart’) was a huge deal, with some big surprises!

Remember the major flooring issues in the house? When we bought it, we knew that these could be an indication of foundation issues. Or it could just be the floor buckling. We were willing to deal with either option, but obviously hoping it was not a structural problem.

Well, when the contractors came to work on moving the waterline, we discovered that the foundation is one of the best features of this property. It’s thick, strong, and deep. So deep, that it was too far to safely dig under, so they had to bring in a special machine to “mole” under the foundation. This made moving the waterline more expensive, but we were relieved to know the foundation was so deep and strong.

Part of moving the waterline and door also included some MAJOR renovations to the entryway and furnace rooms. It was our first round of gutting the place from the ceiling to the crawlspace and a huge mess!

We were hoping to salvage the gorgeous beadboard that covered the walls and ceiling in this part of the house, but it ended up being covered in crumbling lead paint – something we definitely did not want to keep around. Removing or encapsulating the lead paint wasn’t something we were willing to deal with, so the beadboard had to go.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We also ended up needing to insulate as part of our first fixes. Once the cooler temps of October hit, we realized just how poorly the house was insulated. We ended up spending about $5,000 on spray foam insulation that Ed installed, which sealed up the attic and the northwest corner of the house. We were super impressed a the difference that made!

• 

• 

• 

• 

Other first fixes we did included tearing out the (unsafe) existing second story — just a bedroom built into the attic — and cleaning out the dirt that had been used to insulate the original schoolhouse ceiling. (Yes, they actually used sand/gravel to insulate!)

We had hoped that we could use the original chimney, but it was structurally unsound so we had to remove that as well, while living in the house. It was a HUGE mess.

Last but not least, this spring we removed the original ceiling and drop ceiling, in preparation for the big renovations we had planned.

This is what our house looked like for the majority of the winter, though. Notice the washer/dryer in the tiny bedroom the girls were sharing. It was a cozy COZY winter in our drafty little house.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

That’s it for now. Next up, the crazy story of how (and why!) we ended up living in a camper for the summer!

Thanks so much for following along with our Schoolhouse Reno!

Want to see the transformation? Here’s the rest of the series:

• Our Schoolhouse Reno: A Miracle in the Making
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Before
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: First Fixes <<< You Are Here
• We’re Living in Camper and Here’s Why
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Demolition
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Framing
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Siding
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Temporary

In my last post, I shared with you the story of how we found our current renovation project — a former one-room-schoolhouse and town hall that had been converted into a house.

It was rough, ugly, and very much in need of rescuing. But it was also the miraculous answer to prayer that we needed at the time.

Today I’m sharing the pictures of the house the day we moved in. It was filthy and reeked of cigarette smoke, there were fist marks in the walls and knife-holes in the doors, and major floor issues.

Were we brave? Desperate? Crazy?

Well, probably a little bit of both.

It’s amazing to look back — we’ve come so far in just over a year.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here’s what our house looked like the day we moved in.

Spoiler alert: It’s rough.

The Schoolhouse Reno: Before Pics

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

So what do you think? Were we brave or crazy? Would you take on a project like this?

Thanks so much for following along with our Schoolhouse Reno!

Want to see the transformation? Here’s the rest of the series:

• Our Schoolhouse Reno: A Miracle in the Making
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Before <<< You Are Here
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: First Fixes
• We’re Living in Camper and Here’s Why
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Demolition
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Framing
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Siding
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Temporary

Do you believe in miracles?

Would you believe that this ugly house with the missing siding and the crooked lean-to is a miraculous answer to prayer?

It’s not our first miraculous house purchase — I’ll share that story another day — but I’m still amazed every time I think of how we came to own this little gem.

You see, we were living in temporary housing and determined to find a home in a specific school district. The housing market there was super tight, and every house we looked at had major structural issues and was way out of our budget.

We would soon have a chunk of cash from our house sale, but were unemployed at the time (we had just moved) and so getting a mortgage was out of the question… even getting a rental would be tricky. Friends had offered a tiny one-bedroom apartment if we really needed it, but we wouldn’t be able to keep our cat there.

The campground we were staying at was fantastic, except for the tiny detail that there was ZERO wifi or cell reception, and we had to drive almost an hour into the local version of Stars Hollow to hang out at a coffee shop any time we wanted to search for houses, or jobs, or check email.

It was a super stressful time and the school year was starting in just a few weeks.

We found out about a house that was about to go on the market and drove down to look at it (even though it was too small and far beyond what we could afford).

On the way home, I realized that we were a mile or so away from a house I used to live in, and we decided to drive by and show the girls where I lived while I was in high school.

And we drove past this:

I quickly snapped the picture above, and we called the number right away.

A few days later, the owner called us back and that weekend we were able to look at the rustic little place.

It was rough.

The little 24’x36′ building was a former one-room-schoolhouse and town hall that had been (poorly) converted into a home.

The upsides:

• The location was perfect, in the country but just a quarter-mile off the main road.
• It was a fixer-upper that we could afford.
• I loved the history of the place.
• We would have great neighbors.
• There was room to add a second floor, which would increase the space and value.
• There was a functional well and septic on the property.
• It was vacant, so we could possibly move in right away.
• We could pay cash.

The downsides:

• School was starting in 3 weeks.
• We were waiting on our house close, so we literally had less than $1,000 in cash.
• There were some major heaves in the flooring that indicated possible structural issues with the foundation.
• The person who had lived there last had anger issues and there were fist marks and knife holes in the doors and walls, and the place was filthy.
• It needed a lot of work.

Despite the downsides, I fell in love.

I really did love the place. And we saw so much potential.

So we made an offer.

Cash, but with one crazy condition.

We needed to be able to move in right away. With a land contract so we could establish residency.

With only $500 down until the sale of our house closed.

And they accepted.

That, my friends, is a miracle.

And the start of another crazy adventure.

Thanks so much for following along with our Schoolhouse Reno!

Want to see the transformation? Here’s the rest of the series:

• Our Schoolhouse Reno: A Miracle in the Making <<< You Are Here
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Before
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: First Fixes
• We’re Living in Camper and Here’s Why
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Demolition
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Framing
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Siding
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Temporary

Six years ago, we lived in a camper.

When we moved from Wisconsin to Florida six years ago we moved into a 26 foot camper with our two daughters (ages 2&3) for several months while we looked for where we wanted to settle down. Five years later we did the same move in reverse, this time staying in a 29 foot camper for two months while house hunting. After both of those extended stays I never dreamed that I would find myself choosing to live in a camper with kids again – certainly not so soon. But here we are, the four of us tucked into a 24 foot camper for the duration of the summer. And I’m thrilled, because being here means that dreams are literally becoming true right before our eyes.

Finding our “dream” home.

You see, last summer we searched and searched for a home we could afford in a very specific location and school district. Of the few homes available in our price range, all had major structural issues that couldn’t be easily fixed or ignored. We were losing hope. After looking at our last possible option, we came upon a For Sale by Owner sign for a small (obviously) fixer-upper in a location I adored.

It was rough. Ugly, even.

But it was in the right location, and just a quarter mile off of a main road, but still 100% in the country. The setting felt like something out of Little House on the Prairie. We found out that the house, formerly converted from a town hall, had originally been a one room schoolhouse. With the setting and location and the history, I fell in love. Hard.

Even though the timing was short, we were able to move in.

By some not-so-small miracle, we were able to buy it and move in just weeks before school started. Shortly after, we were given the opportunity to buy a huge pole building on land that attached to our property. It took the rest of our savings – money we had planned on using to make repairs to the house – but we knew that in the long run we would never regret buying that additional property.

In the short term, though, it meant that the four of us and our cat would be living in an ugly, poorly insulated, 850 square foot space for (what turned out to be) a brutal Wisconsin winter.

We were able to make some initial renovations.

We did end up doing some fairly major demolition right away, removing the crooked, awkwardly placed side building that we called “the wart.” This housed the water heater and pressure tank and was nasty and ugly inside and out. Removing it was a major process as we had to have a well-driller come out and move the line from the well, under the extremely thick/deep/solid foundation and into the house. It was a big deal, but totally worth it in the long run!

After all of these renovations we ended up putting in over $5,000 in spray foam insulation, just to make the house liveable over the winter. We were so very glad we did, too. It was an extremely cold winter, with constant wind and multiple days of below-zero temps.

But we had also spent every last penny (and then some!) of the money we had set aside to fix the house. All winter long we’d look at the house around us and try to figure out how we would do the work that we needed to do, especially while living there. So many early mornings I would sit and stare at the space and pray for a miracle for us to be able to finish the renovations we envisioned.

We needed a miracle.

And then one day that miracle happened. The bank for one of our vehicle loans called and offered us a home equity line of credit – something we didn’t think was even possible due to the current condition of the home. The amount we were able to get was just what we needed to finish the majority of the main renovations we had planned for our home. It took almost a month to work out the details – but we used that time to finalize plans and brainstorm how we would be able to do such major work while living in the house

One night, we were sitting by the fire making plans and the thought popped into my head – “What if we could live in a camper on our property this summer and get the house done in one fell swoop.”

Living in a camper was the perfect solution!

It was the perfect answer, really. We could easily hook into water, sewer and electric at the house. There was infrastructure already in place for us to have a full size shower, washer/dryer, toilet and refrigerator in one almost-finished room of the house – we knew from experience that those amenities would make living in a camper (again!) much more doable.

Being out of the house would allow us to work much more efficiently on the huge renovation projects we had planned. (More on that soon!) We’d be able to get a demo dumpster which would save us from having to make a million runs to the dump (saving us time and money!) We’d be able to get building supplies delivered and quickly frame up rooms and put in a second floor. Other than having to live in a camper (something we knew we could do) there was no downside here.

We decided to just do it!

So, the first week of July we bought a 24 foot camper and moved it onto our property. We spent our first night there July 10th, and have completely moved out of the house – selling furniture that won’t work with the new floor plan, and moving everything else into storage.

Living in a camper isn’t easy, but it will be worth it.

It might not be my most favorite path – living in such a small space with kids is HARD – and this is the smallest camper we’ve lived in yet. But it’s the means to an end and an answer to prayer. Being able to work efficiently and not have to live in construction, while being able to finish our house this summer makes the whole experience worth it! THAT is why we’re living in a camper this summer.

Thanks so much for following along with our Schoolhouse Reno!

Want to see the transformation? Here’s the rest of the series:

• Our Schoolhouse Reno: A Miracle in the Making
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Before
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: First Fixes
• We’re Living in Camper and Here’s Why <<< You Are Here
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Demolition
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Framing
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Siding
• Our Schoolhouse Reno: Temporary