The Historic District

Hello all!

My screen name refers to the reason I have joined, my beloved cottage, Braeburn. It's been in the family since 1918, but we believe the house dates to the 1880s, though the original foundation is even older; it was once the foundation of a stagecoach inn in the 1840s or so. It is located on the Wisconsin River in the now unincorporated town of Dekorra. Legend has it that Dekorra would be the state capitol but for a bottle of whisky, but that's a story for a different time.

Due to lack of use for many years, dear Braeburn is in rough shape. Her immediate needs include replacing all the floors and likely sistering the joists; my stepfather stupidly cemented the old dirt floors in the basement and subsequently moisture from below has caused the floorboards to rot. There's even mold on some joists.

The rubber roof over the sleeping porch (added in 1918) needs replacing and there is a leak in the main roof next to where the kerosene & wood stoves' chimney once was. This leak has caused damage to the ceiling in the kitchen. The sleeping porch roof leaks have exacerbated the deterioration of the sleeping porch floors. And the electricity in one room does not work (Braeburn was electrified in 1948). Most of the screening on the sleeping porch is original to the 1918 addition and desperately needs repair/replacement.

Adding character, Braeburn does not have running water. We also need to build a new outhouse before the current one falls over, lol.

On the plus side, we built a beautiful brick fireplace in the living room in 1976 using what was once the front door and the front stoop. In 2003 we built a new 12 x 14 deck in back, using 6 x 6's and 2 x 12 joists-- it is rock solid.

Our main home is in foreclosure, and the possibility exists that we may need to make Braeburn into a primary residence. After 2+ years of unemployment or underemployment! we are facing a potential bankruptcy and I cannot and will not lose my cottage. It is the place on this earth where my soul is at home.

This summer, even with no money and a crowded work schedule, I'd like to begin tackling the floor issues and the outhouse. I know we will have to tear the floors out down to the joists and I would LOVE advice on doing this! And of course the million other things that need doing, too .

I hope to make friends and gain some advisors in this labor of love.

Peace,

Carrie

Welcome. You'll get loads of great advice and support here.

Alooha! Pictures would make advice easier (wink wink nudge nudge, ya know't I mean....)

Cheers!
Chaz

Greetings, I know your neck of the woods (fellow Badger here). I know all about that blood connection and the love of the land - the farm my grandfather built in 1912 was sold off recently and Im surprised at the depth of my grief ...

Can you keep it rustic or do you intend to modernize it? What do you do for water- is there a pump you can bring it in from outside? Can you do what you need to do without arousing the interest of the bldg. code enforcers who might tell you you cant make it into a full time residence.... unless you do all kinds of stuff to it you might not want to do. A while back when we were looking at some pretty far gone places & thinking creatively about what we could do with them - I remember hearing there was only so much we could do to a house before being required to bring the ENTIRE THING up to modern code. In other words, we would have ended up having to do far more to it and spend a lot more money than we would've wanted to... which in the end wouldn't really have been what we wanted it to be. I guess I just mean to say ... tread carefully!

Anyway - I would guess the first thing to do would be to get it watertight (to avoid further damage).

Hi all! Thanks for the warm welcome! Last night I was on my tablet, tonight I am on the computer so hopefully can show you a bit of my baby.

Kashka, you asked about rustic vs modernizing, and I am torn. I want to keep as much of the place "authentic" as I can, but I also need to make it livable. You cannot live in Wisconsin in winter without heat and indoor plumbing (well, I guess you actually can, but I am not willing to make that sacrifice, unless completely necessary!!! We've had an estimate of about $10K to drill a well, add a septic mound system (normal for that area) and put in a bathroom and a kitchen sink. I envision dividing the room off the living room that we refer to as the dressing room into two spaces, one of which would be the bathroom, which would abut the kitchen, so all the plumbing could go in one wall. I'm thinking electric baseboard heating for simplicity, and am thinking we could put drywall on the inside of the sleeping porch half walls (made of 2x4's inside holding up the tongue & groove outside), stuff insulation down, and put in double hung windows. We could actually divide the sleeping porch space up and have a master bedroom out there, and the family room/dining area would still be adjacent to the kitchen. We will see how it goes.

More pictures, I guess I am limited to 3 at a time

Hey BraeburnGirl, sounds like a ton of history in your place. The home my wife and I bought in Dixon Il, is very near the site of an old ferry crossing, and there were a number of troops located here while chasing Blackhawk. Small world I guess. Rock river isn't as big as Wisconsin river but it still has wonderfull scenery, and our home was river front property until 1910's when mansions were built on banks of river . Always remember there are tons of people who would love to have a Old Family Cottage like yours ! Go Bears !

Very nice! If you want to keep it simple and/or off the grid - have you considered things like composting toilet, pellet stove, solar or wind generator? It doesn't have to mean primitive and uncomfortable.

Actually the one winter I spent in a drafty old farmhouse with coal stove and outhouse and no hot water was really quite do-able - I remember it fondly. You figure out ways of making it work - like having to stop and sit next to the stove periodically to warm up. It just becomes part of life. Wear many layers, pile on the warm bedding. Don't drink liquids after 6 pm. (Or alternatively, get a chamber pot for night time use.) The ordeal involved with taking a hot...ummm I mean LUKEWARM... bath was the only thing I really didn't like.

Cute place; keep us posted with your progress.