On the very first day we owned the farm, we had no heat and no hot water. It was the beginning of March. In Canada. Not warm.
When it came time for lunch, we retreated to the one and only room that felt somewhat comfortable: the sunroom. Thanks to glass roof and walls, it was warm. Though that was about all it had going for it.
The panes of glass in the roof looked shattered (it was just a film). The carpeted floor was filthy.
Over the past 8 years, the sunroom has deteriorated even further. The only times I used it were in cool weather when I needed a workshop. I didn’t care about making the room messy, and it kept the mess or fumes out of the house.
We never had plans to fix the sunroom. All along we’ve wanted to get rid of it. And last weekend, we finally did.
I had been prepping for a couple of weeks. A friend and her two kids had helped me empty the room, remove one of the patio doors, cut down the overgrown brush around the outside and take off the exterior siding. I had taken out the baseboard heaters and the interior paneling.
As each piece came out, I got to see just how disgusting the sunroom was. There were rot and ants and disintegrated insulation and mossy carpet. It. Was. Gross.
And now it is gone.
A bunch of cousins showed up last weekend, and we carefully took out all the glass. After a few cuts with the sawzall, the rafters and frames were gone too.
The glass is in the barn in case I want to build a greenhouse someday. The metal is in the trailer to go to the charity bin at a local special needs riding school. I burnt the wood over the weekend–one of our biggest fires ever. The wee bit of garbage all fit in the trunk of my car and went to the dump last week.
The roof needs some patching (I’ve bent some flashing to cover any openings for now) and I’d like to remove the concrete slab, but those are (hopefully) next year’s projects. For now, I’m thrilled to have the main eyesore gone.
In this year with so much change and uncertainty, it feels really, really good to complete one house project. Especially one that’s been on the list for so long. Matt and I have a vision for this house, and I’m working toward that, ever so slowly.
Home on 129 Acres 
What a fantastic think to check off your list! I believe your entire home may be a more healthy place with that gone! (Esp that carpet – wow!) That is a real accomplishment. I’m sure Matt would be (or is, depending on how you think of it) just delighted with this development.
Is this outside view on the back of the house? The sunroom looks like it may have once been a beautiful place, but at this point in time, the whole house looks so much better without it. Yay for you and the bunch of cousins!
On another note, I can’t believe how blonde little Ellie is! She is what my mother would call a towhead. She sure looks happy to be pitching in! I love it when littles get to be equals. Yesterday we had my two-year-old granddaughter over and she helped us rake the garden – with a broom – and had a wonderful time. She worked unhesitatingly for as long as we did! ❤
Oh, and yay for your friend and her two kids! You have a great network.
We have a phenomenal network with lots of support and love. I was blown away when 7 cousins showed up to help with the sunroom. I’d been expecting 3. I took a minute at one point during the morning to look at everyone working together and helping us, and it was very moving for me. I’ve also learned not to be afraid to ask. Whether it’s friends or family people are happy to say yes.
Matt definitely is happy to see us making the house what we planned. (Thank you for saying that). The sunroom is on the south side of the house. It’s kind of hard to say what’s the back and what’s the front, as our house is turned sideways on the property, and the property is so large it really doesn’t matter anyways. So the sunroom faces towards the rear side of the property, but it’s the side of the house architecturally, if that makes sense. With the southern exposure, this is our best natural light, so I’m glad to have the sunroom out of the way.
Ellie sounds like your granddaughter. She loves being part of everything. She’s very good at working alongside me, or amusing herself (for awhile) while I work. The neat fact about my friend who came to help is her kids are 7 and 4. So our crew was definitely on the young side, like yours. But they learned, they worked, they had fun and they did a great job. We both share the same philosophy about exposing our kids to work and supervised risk, so it worked out super well.
It looks so much cleaner and more open (and also probably lets so much more light in the house now!) I have also been filling up dumpsters at my place… sometimes getting rid of things is more satisfying that building. (Also, definitely voting for that greenhouse one day!)
Nice to hear from you! It totally does open up that side of the house. I was actually thinking of you as I watched the wood go up in flames. It felt like your size of fire! Dumpsters are very satisfying. Thanks for connecting.
I agree with Jem, that was probably a great feature at some point, but it had seen it’s better days. I’m sure you feel like a weight has been lifted. Those “to-do” lists some times weigh you down. 😊
It is so nice to cross this one off the list when it’s been on it for so long!