Have you ever been so excited to get started on something to only have it blow up in your face? You’re looking forward to a trip, and you get sick, so you can’t go. You open a Christmas gift from your husband and it doesn’t work or doesn’t fit quite right. Or maybe you were putting an offer in on a house that you were so excited about and someone beat you out? We’ve all had those experiences. The question is – are we going to persevere or overcome?
Last week, I gave you a tour of our farm, and I called it a dream. We found out in short order that owning a farm is the same way. While this still has the potential to be amazing, and we’re not giving up, in the week that we’ve owned the farm, we’ve already had some not-so-fun surprises.
Our Wells
Let me give you a little backstory first. The farmhouse is on ‘city water’ aka rural water that calls itself city water. We’ve always thought that if we were out in the country, we would have a well. It’s more economical. It’s generally healthier for you – especially if you install an RO (reverse osmosis) water filter in the house. We figured we were going to try to convert the farm from ‘city water’ back to well water.
Because we didn’t know what it would entail getting switched back over to well water from city water, I called the rural water company. Right now – before we move into the farmhouse – we pay about $55/month for water for the six of us still currently residing in our home. But for a family of our size, we will pay about $150/month out in the country. I do understand. They have fewer people to pay and more infrastructure to support.
I called to try to get our well inspected almost as soon as we put an offer on the farm. The problem was the earliest that we could get someone out to inspect the well was the day AFTER we closed. So Tuesday, February 2nd, I headed out to the farm and met the person inspecting the wells.
The Well Inspection
So during the inspection, we found out that we have three wells. Sounds amazing, right? Three safe places from which to get water……Not so fast.
Turns out having three wells tells us that there’s a problem with how much water we have on the property. Having three means that there’s not enough water in any one well to keep the house running smoothly. It means that probably the property had to switch from one well to another to a third as each ran dry during the day.
We also found out that none of the three wells is up to code. If you stop using a well, you’re supposed to fill it up within thirty days so that no one ever falls into it. We have three wells on our property that are not being used and haven’t been used for a LONG time. If we wanted to hook them up, they would have to be redone entirely. Each of these wells was HAND DUG! Can you imagine? In order to use any of the wells, it would have to be brought up to code – costing – get this around $10,000 PER WELL. Then we would have to install a water storage unit in our basement so that when we need water, it wouldn’t constantly be pulled from the well. This just isn’t an option for us. We are going to overcome our water obstacles.
Our Internet 
Before we actually put an offer in on the house, we asked about the internet. Was it reliable? Would it work well? We were told that it absolutely would work well. Until I called around to find an ISP (Internet Service Provider). Yeah, no high-speed internet out there. Our only option is satellite internet which won’t work well on rainy/cloudy/stormy days. Did I mention that not only do I run this business from home, but my husband works from home?!?
So IF we go with the best satellite internet that we can find, our internet will go from about $60/month to………wait for it……..$150-$200 PER MONTH. And we’re still not sure that my husband will be able to reliably work from home. We are going to overcome?
Our Renovations on the Farmhouse
In last week’s post, I mentioned several renovations that we were getting done.
Getting a wall removed.
- Remove wall and install a header.
- Reroute electrical from the removed wall.
- Remove paneling and redo with drywall.
- Remove the floor and replace it with decent flooring.
- Install wood-burning stove.
- Remove ‘acoustic tile’ ceiling and replacing it with drywall.
- Install a ceiling fan.
So when I met our contractor out there today to go over the final numbers, it was $4000 above the price that we had discussed AND a key component was left out. The quote did not include replacing the flooring. The company that we are working with is a reputable company, and I really do feel comfortable with the contractor. Yes, he did make a mistake on the flooring, and he underestimated the cost to install the wood-burning stove because he has to hire that out. But when we were talking through the scope of the work and the figures the day AFTER we closed, I have to admit, it was everything I could do to keep from crying.
Because of our church situation, removing the wall is non-negotiable. Because we had the appraisal of the house based upon removing the paneling walls and replacing the flooring, those are non-negotiable. Getting the wood-burning stove is also a non-negotiable for us. That doesn’t leave us many places to cut.
We going to overcome our renovation obstacles.
Our Renovations to the Morton Building
So in doing the Morton building, we were hoping to put two floors in it. It’s a tall building, but when the contractor, designer, and I were out there today, we found out that it isn’t tall enough – or at least not QUITE. But at least for this, we came up with an acceptable – though not perfect solution. The main part of the building is going to be for the apartment(s), it will end up being about 900 sqft.
The other 600 sqft will be for storage. But because of the height problem, we’re going to give the storage section a lower ceiling – around 6’3″. Then we’re also going to put a second story over JUST the storage portion. This second story will be an office/guest space. It will eventually house two desks – one for Steve and one for me. It will have a fold-out couch – or a futon, a small kitchenette, and a 3/4 bath. But because of the constraints to the main floor, this will also have a ceiling of about 6’3″. It’s not ideal, but it will work, and it gives us dedicated office space.
Are We Still Moving Forward?
Each of these things could be huge in itself if we didn’t have a vision for what we want to do. That’s the thing. Even if obstacles are thrown into your path, if you know where you’re going, you can work around those obstacles. You can overcome those obstacles.
We Will Overcome Our Internet Obstacles
The Lord dropped someone in our laps through a very unusual circumstance! This person not only specializes in helping rural customers get internet – which is excellent. But he also used to live in our area and is familiar with it – which will help out as well. And the third thing is that he is friends with people we know, so we have better access to troubleshooting help if we need it?
Now, that may not be our ultimate internet solution. I am holding out hopes that Starlink internet will become available in our location SOON. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Starlink, it’s Elon Musk’s high-speed satellite internet. It is already available in many areas for beta-testing. I’m hoping to be added to the beta-testing “soon.”
We Will Overcome Any Renovations Obstacles
We are going to try to do some of the renovations ourselves – we’re going to do all the painting ourselves – which will save us about $2,000. We’re also going to modify some other parts of the plan in hopes of saving more money and meeting more in the middle.
And I’m glad we found a workable solution to the Morton building ceiling problem.
We Will Overcome Our Water Obstacles
We are going to stay on ‘city’ water for now. Yes, we will end up paying more, but that’s part of the price that we’ll have to pay if we want to be out in the country. My bigger concern was emergency water. We do have a pond, but the pond is populated with fish. It won’t be sanitary to drink, but it IS an option.
However, after talking with the well inspector, we now have a second option as well. We have purchased a ‘well bucket‘ to draw water from a well in an emergency. This is a 3 1/2′ bucket that can be lowered into our 4’ well pipe. This can be used to draw water out from the well. The well-inspector showed me how to use it today. While it’s not the ultimate solution that we wanted, it will work in a pinch.
So What About You?
What one thing did you start out looking forward to, and end up finding it to be a nightmare? Were you able to work through the problems or overcome them? Please share your experiences with us below so that we can all be better prepared.
Together let’s Love, Learn, Practice, and Overcome!
We bought an old farmhouse and acreage. Renovations were done little by little, over 20 years! That way time and money came available for each project as we went along.
being hand dug, i imagine your wells are quite shallow, possibly 20 feet deep. the shallower the well, the more likely to run out of water. you might do well to drill one new deeper well. local well drillers have maps of your area and will have a good idea if it is likely to be cost effective to drill. my farm had a “shallow” puddle of water underground at between 100 and 140 feet and another at about 400 feet. the 140 was doable for us, the 400 not. you might be able to use your wells for watering gardens and orchard which would cut the price of your city water bill and not put chlorine into your garden. if your wells don’t have pumps, there are portable ones made you can move from well to well to use. not so convenient, but workable. compared to city living, there are so many inconveniences to rural living. it is going to be a challenge. maybe you need a 10 year plan!