As a former builder in a Midwestern city, such a house with such acerage is quite a find, very rare, and either grotesquely expensive or with such drawbacks as you have. Congrats.
Thanks, William. We got a real deal, especially because when we purchased in 2017, St. Louis was actually still lagging behind in the recovery, and the home had been on the market for 9 months without offers, so we were able to put in a low bid.
Cool house, lots of character. What did you do about the “self hosing basement” feature? That’s our name for the periodic rainwater infiltration that that supported unique flora and fauna to our house.
We installed new larger gutters that empty into water storage that overflows into a rain garden. We also had a french drain put in that also empties to the water garden. It has made a huge difference. We only get water in the basement now if it rains hard for a very long time. Which, in St. Louis, it will do on occasion. But even then the clean up is 10 minutes of mopping.
Diversion! That's probably the most economical way. Super smart to move the water to where its useful. We did the nuclear option, dug a moat, installed footer drains sealed the outer walls with tar and plastic, and refilled the moat with gravel. We've been pretty dry for many years now.
I'll cover this in an upcoming post as well. We explored that nuclear option, but the quotes were well beyond our budget, and it isn't something we could tackle ourselves.
For sure! These days, the costs of digging a moat are astronomical. When I was growing up, the family undertook a similar project, dug by hand. It took a long time :-D
If you look carefully at the photo that shows the lovely "dumpters and parking lot" you can also see the crazy chainlink fence. It angles from the edge of the property into the backyard and the angles back out to the edge. To this day this has mystified me.
Enjoying your adventure, thanks. Looks like you found a great house, and the yard has great potential. Big, sunny and level. Maybe some beehives would fit in nicely? Would like to know what someone was thinking when they put in that fence.
We have an old house with love those old glass doorknobs. They are pretty easy to clean up and lubricate and will probably last another hundred years.
Thanks, Phil! You're right the yard had great potential; since we're going back now and recounting the process from 6 years ago, I can tell you it had the potential to become what it is today, a platinum-certified garden full of native perennials and a regular annual food plot, plus a rain garden, rockery, and more. If you're in the area, come on by for Sunday's Sustainable Backyard Tour.
We haven't tried beekeeping, but I've been a volunteer in the citizen science project Shutterbee now for 4 years, and that involves taking surveys for bee foraging presence in your garden. I've logged a lot of native bees, as well as the domesticated European honeybee. That's a great sign.
Your house sounds lovely, and you are so right about those doorknobs. Wish we still made things like that...
Hey, everyone! Hit like above and feel free to comment--we've opened the threads up to all subscribers, going forward.
As a former builder in a Midwestern city, such a house with such acerage is quite a find, very rare, and either grotesquely expensive or with such drawbacks as you have. Congrats.
Thanks, William. We got a real deal, especially because when we purchased in 2017, St. Louis was actually still lagging behind in the recovery, and the home had been on the market for 9 months without offers, so we were able to put in a low bid.
Cool house, lots of character. What did you do about the “self hosing basement” feature? That’s our name for the periodic rainwater infiltration that that supported unique flora and fauna to our house.
We installed new larger gutters that empty into water storage that overflows into a rain garden. We also had a french drain put in that also empties to the water garden. It has made a huge difference. We only get water in the basement now if it rains hard for a very long time. Which, in St. Louis, it will do on occasion. But even then the clean up is 10 minutes of mopping.
Diversion! That's probably the most economical way. Super smart to move the water to where its useful. We did the nuclear option, dug a moat, installed footer drains sealed the outer walls with tar and plastic, and refilled the moat with gravel. We've been pretty dry for many years now.
I'll cover this in an upcoming post as well. We explored that nuclear option, but the quotes were well beyond our budget, and it isn't something we could tackle ourselves.
For sure! These days, the costs of digging a moat are astronomical. When I was growing up, the family undertook a similar project, dug by hand. It took a long time :-D
That's a great skill for your family to pass down to you.
If you look carefully at the photo that shows the lovely "dumpters and parking lot" you can also see the crazy chainlink fence. It angles from the edge of the property into the backyard and the angles back out to the edge. To this day this has mystified me.
Enjoying your adventure, thanks. Looks like you found a great house, and the yard has great potential. Big, sunny and level. Maybe some beehives would fit in nicely? Would like to know what someone was thinking when they put in that fence.
We have an old house with love those old glass doorknobs. They are pretty easy to clean up and lubricate and will probably last another hundred years.
Thanks, Phil! You're right the yard had great potential; since we're going back now and recounting the process from 6 years ago, I can tell you it had the potential to become what it is today, a platinum-certified garden full of native perennials and a regular annual food plot, plus a rain garden, rockery, and more. If you're in the area, come on by for Sunday's Sustainable Backyard Tour.
We haven't tried beekeeping, but I've been a volunteer in the citizen science project Shutterbee now for 4 years, and that involves taking surveys for bee foraging presence in your garden. I've logged a lot of native bees, as well as the domesticated European honeybee. That's a great sign.
Your house sounds lovely, and you are so right about those doorknobs. Wish we still made things like that...
This is wonderful, Lisa! Thanks for sharing with me and congratulations!!!
Thank you!