Transforming an Old School Into Our House! -- Schoolhouse Homestead Episode 3

[@melborgeson4396]

I live in an old school in Jamaica, Iowa! It’s quite a bit larger with a full gym. My mom bought it to restore and hold businesses, but she had a stroke a few years back and has been unable to continue. My husband and I moved in the school to keep it going. We’ll likely never be able to fully restore, but seeing your journey is amazing inspiration! So excited to follow your journey!

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

I'm so, so sorry to hear about your mom, hope she's doing as well as can be. Would love to follow along if you have an Instagram or blog, I've been trying to find other schoolhouse folks!

[@Joshman601]

Whoa that’s cool Mel. You should make a video tour about your school home. Maybe you can raise some funds for your mom and for the restoration via the video. That would be cool to see. God bless and I hope your mom gets better soon! She sounds like a great lady! ❤

[@Sharlene-x4q]

Just keep doing a little at a time as you can

[@waterwarcrimes]

Great plans! I hope you have more kids to fill this baby (house) up!

[@Tonka81061]

I can't even imagine the budget you had to have had to undertake a project this size! My hats off to you for being willing to do it!

[@michellesmith4570]

I knew I recognized this old school!!! I am originally from Greenfield Indiana which is about 30 minutes east of Indianapolis and had passed by this old school, so much as a child, teen and asult, driving through the country and I truly wish rather than tearing down old historical buildings or homes, ppl would refurbish, restore these beautiful structures, into a habital living spaces or as businesses but instead despite having some historical landmarks on the US, I personally feel thatost cities, towns, always have to destroy pieces of our history and slap up all the prefab homes, new buildings etc but if one were to travel to England which is where my mother and father in law live because my father in-law is from the UK, youll see homes, farms from the 1700s and sometimes even early. Still have cottages with thatcher roofs, still have thatchers that know how to repair such roofs, never did away with that particular trade, instead of tearing down and building something new at this historical farms, cottages and so on, they just kept up repairs etc. I think its absolutely amazing youll taken this old school and are putting the bones to good use, making it a home, a usable space thatll bring you and your family generations of traditions and happiness, making all the painstaking hard work, so worth it 💜

[@woodyachttn2353]

I'm restoring a building built in 1897. When I replaced some of the floor timbers, I used the wood for countertops. It's amazing to think the trees were cut down in 1897 and we often wonder when those trees started growing in order to provide 14" wide planks.

[@heidijasper5915]

People who can reimagine current living spaces just amaze me with that talent. Nice job!

[@katieparrish4414]

Please keep making videos😊 I grew up in Greencastle Indiana and it’s amazing to see some more Hoosiers fixing up buildings that hold so much history.

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

Ah! I love Greencastle and Putnam co so much, I went to DePauw!

[@cjsadman3750]

I love this, wish more old buildings would be saved, New York just keeps demolishing them, makes me sick to my stomach! Thank you for saving a piece of history!

[@yeahbee8237]

Are they saved when they make windows and sliding doors all over the place?

[@cjsadman3750]

@@yeahbee8237 I'm talking about the entire building , not pieces of it! So I'm not entirely sure what you are asking, your question doesn't make sense to me, New York state wants every old building demolished, they do not care about historical buildings, they only want very modern, green buildings!

[@melissasueferrin3409]

Amazing project, please post more updates! Have you considered a green roof? When I saw that large flat roof, that was my first thought. A prairie up there will help you regulate the temperature in such a large building, be important wildlife habitat and there's tons of information available online, just google green roof and prairie so you get the right climate.

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

It's not actually flat! It has a pretty good slope to it. With the new roof we put in, we can't do anything like solar or a green roof on top or it will void the warranty for the roof. Eventually once we build a barn, we'll want to put solar panels on top of that!

[@bobsmith4407]

We've enjoyed watching your videos. Keep the updates coming. We are in a similar position, fixing up a 1920 Idaho school house. It's been a residence since 1946, but had been gutted before we bought it. Hoarders owned it before. We've hauled over a dozen tons of junk to the dump & recyclers. All new electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roof, interior walls, and 52 windows. We have a gym in the basement. About 4200 sqft total.

[@drewe2331]

Bob, if you're on Facebook, we have a group for owners of old schools.

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

Thank you for your kind comment Bob!! Sounds SUPER similar to us!!

[@bobsmith4407]

@@drewe2331 I am interested. Is the group "Schoolhouse owners"?

[@keepthepeacesharethelove7022]

Wow, what a cool and perfect idea to paint the ceiling and uper parts of the walls in green.

[@Grandsss1]

I just found your story on instagram and had to follow you on KZbin ❤ I am absolutely fascinated by your story and your journey, and I can’t wait to watch the rest of the videos😊

[@charlottelynch7461]

Just watched your video! Big projects, great plans. Suggestion, split your island in two pieces. I have a 12 footer and it’s a pain to get around! You won’t regret it!!

[@thistledownwoodcraft3426]

Just subbed. MORE VIDEOS!. We love watching fixup videos. Also it documents your work for the future. Good job so far.

[@mitzaz8812]

Can hardly wait to see the engine room (restored / refurbished), seeing the wheel a bit cleaner is going to make a world of difference in your cocktail room. Too bad there isn't a window there.

[@mhfl7514]

Just found your channel today. I'm a teacher and would LOVE to fix up an old school one day!! Excited to watch your progress!

[@blookieblay]

I just found your channel today!! I am over the top excited for your family! I live in north central Indiana and am happy to see some homesteading adventures here in Indiana.

[@anitasergeant]

My parents live in Westfield, IN, so I will defintley try and drive by when all the work is finished!

[@timinsandiego6979]

I just discovered your channel and your project. I really enjoy these videos and hope you'll continue with more regular updates.

[@mariangeles76]

Great job! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Can't wait to see more 😊 TFS ❤

[@1927su]

This is sooo cool!! Looking forward to seeing your progress as you go along!!! Wishing you well in all the journeys you have going on!!! And THANK YOU for repurposing this old school, that so represents a better managed time in our Country’s history!!

[@v8infinity8]

I cannot wait to follow your journey!! How fabulous. Congratulations :) Great Project. What a find!

[@MG-sm6qu]

I live in Florida . I’m from Indiana I attended a few rural schools similar to this one . Look forward to following your progress👍

[@NoMoreHeroesAnymore1334]

I will never forgive you if you get rid of those gorgeous front doors : ( but I still can't wait to see your progress!

[@SandyToes-mk1fj]

Love your updates, it’s amazing what you’re doing with this old school!

[@nicats69]

Very cool. I am turning a church into a house and let me tell you the windows are driving me crazy!! Everyone wants to give us a quote but when they get here it’s a different story. They can’t believe the windows are 11 feet tall. Yeah and still stained glass and very drafty! We too had a very wet basement and a lot of hydrolic cement and landscaping later it’s dry!! Yay. We decided to finish our basement first as there were no bedrooms or bath/showers. The kitchen was in the basement (prob for church dinners and what not). 2 bedrooms are built and third in the process. A new shower and bathroom renovation. Luckily there was already a new roof but serious signs of it being leaky. Covid wood prices slowed us for a few but we have managed to fly thru a ton of projects. We too have saved nostalgic pieces and have pews dated 1896. I am anxious to pull up all that red carpet and see what the floor has in store for us. I’ll be looking forward to your updates! Good Luck and happy renovating.

[@petertrajdos]

This is so cool, it has always been a dream of mine to live in a school

[@ellenparis2461]

So happy to see the update...looking forward to having you as "neighbors" soon!!! Oh, and congrats on your new arrival!!! 1/2 mile to your west neighbors!!! Rick & Ellen Paris❤

[@majandess]

I just learned about this project, and now I'm following. This is exciting!!

[@moxielouise]

I hope you kept all the geodes that made the previous entrance. So much fun for the kids when they're bigger as well as yard decor. I wondered if the school children found all of them to contribute

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

We’ve saved a ton! That geode entrance wasn’t original, before the other owners had it they ripped out the whole front and took out the boiler to use the metal for the war. The geode entrance was falling down and was dangerous so we had to take it out. But we’ve saved pieces!

[@sarahthaman7541]

Love these updates, Stacie! So fun to watch and see your vision come to life.

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

Thank you so much Sarah!! Can't wait to have you and the crew down to Franklin someday!!

[@sarahthaman7541]

@@Schoolhousehomestead EPIC!

[@anniechantale5869]

Thank you for the update! Exciting things ahead 😊 looking forward to see more updates

[@kylepuckett6786]

Impressive work! I can’t imagine restoring one of these old schools. I actually filmed at an abandoned (early 1900s) school in Indiana outside of Lafayette. Similar design, but much larger. The owner planned to renovate the space into a commercial building. It was BEAUTIFUL. The gym was big for a school from that era. But the basement was partially flooded and looked like an absolutely nightmare to cleanup. Still, I got some fun footage to look back on!

[@thesoundofrock-jf7us]

Quite an interesting video.

[@pamlovell9125]

I can't imagine pouring this much sweat, tears, and money into a school I never personally attended!!

[@shaunaroddenberry1341]

So excited to see the progress! Cheering you on from N.E. Arkansas!❤️

[@lovepugs05]

You should , keep all the old windows , and build a green house, with them. Just a thought !

[@stevesimon1994]

I would love to know what your estimated contruction budget is for this project.

[@marlavancannon1096]

So beautiful you guys are so amazingly and loving home

[@BA-ef4pr]

What was the purchase price for the school? And what is the budget?

[@EtherealReality]

Awesome to see the progress that's been made so far. I assume you'll get the highest efficiency furnaces you can, since 4 furnaces and 10K square feet is just so much to heat. Good luck with the build!

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

Thank you!! And yes efficiency was definitely a huge factor in figuring out the zoning. Eventually we'll also want to add some supplemental solar but one step at a time. 😅

[@EtherealReality]

That would be great. I'd love to get solar and a battery bank installed. electric is the only thing keeping us connected to the grid.

[@riri2170]

This is amazing to watch! Thank you for making this a channel. I can’t wait to watch your journey. We live in Lawrenceburg IN, not too far from Franklin. Found this on my Google homepage. I’ll be watching…. Good luck and great job so far!!

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

Thank you so much!!

[@carolyncook3611]

Great idea if you can afford it and are very handy. Issue is that most of these very old abandoned buildings are located in bad areas, inner city hoods. Not safe to be there any time of day or night. Can’t even drive through those old neighborhoods without great risk. I live in big city now, but I’m from Terre Haute IN…..the Terre Haute of 60 years ago. Boy, have things changed.

[@yo66]

Awesome 👍👋

[@vgshwk]

Good luck

[@ArkanSubotic]

This is such a cool idea, Defs subscribed

[@jeannettedaughtry1989]

Roman wasn't built in a day. You have done a great job! Chin up ! You will do it !

[@patriciamcintosh8799]

I am enjoying your video very much thank you for making it 💞🇨🇦💞🇨🇦

[@debbieflaherty1975]

Let me know if you’re needing a Lunch Lady!!

[@hidinginsight1879]

I'm seeing all the hard work of renovation and want to throw in an added thought. How about some fruit trees in the surrounding area. Cherry, pear, apple, peach trees would be so lovely to look at, heavenly scented and would encourage honey bees. I have orchard all around my home and they have been a Godsend in hard times, an added blessing in the good times. Bless your efforts!❤ Oh, also, make sure any hallway/doorway is wide enough to get either a wheelchair or gurney through. Make every space accessible for emergencies❤

[@librarynan4610]

Hope you put a fireplace and a pizza oven into the kitchen. Yikes, what a lot of works y’all have done!

[@chareast9997]

I like the entryway you have now. your drawing of what you are going to do with it is fantastic. Are you going to use the current entryway somewhere else?

[@davidr6026]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@Kimella777]

❤😊

[@Hollandsemum2]

The aerial views show close proximity to a rural highway. Are you going to add a fence so your young children can freely play in the backyard?

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

Yup that's the plan! Just need to save up a bit more to do a nice fence in the front.

[@who-gives-a-toss_Bear]

7:16 A powder room is that where you recharge your firearm bullets? By the way do you still use the old powder for your firearm bullets? Here in Australia we use the new propellants, such as the tubular nitrocellulose smokeless powders.

[@juansimmons6214]

Is it haunted? Its such a beautiful place indeed

[@ll-yh7pg]

Notice how most of the craftsmen are older. Unfortunately today's generation has not been taught the trades and has been told all they need to do is keyboard for a living.

[@denisei7929]

What kind of budget did it take to do this? Enjoying watching from day. 1

[@billyjack2657]

There is an old school just like this that I would be so interested in doing this to for my family & business but I don't have the foggiest idea how much $ we'd be looking at to renovate it. Just part of it to make liveable for our family of 5. Anyone have a ballpark guestimate?

[@Sharlene-x4q]

Love your videos but think it would have been nice if you could have found a place for a fireplace

[@deineadam2240]

I want one. Hubby is diy but I'm buy it new silly. So yeah. Older too so maybe not.

[@bizzfo]

What about lead paint and asbestos?

[@leogrubb]

How do you plan on heating the building?

[@Sharlene-x4q]

I'm curious how much an old schoolhouse cost to purchase

[@mdh1974]

Can you allocate a little space. in the basmeent as an underground garage?

[@lynallbest4353]

My concern is that the bottom windows are at grade. What happens with a crazy flood rainstorm or deep snow? Shouldn’t you grade away from the house?

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

We actually are grading away right now!! Update coming soon ☺️

[@bif90210]

Hi I was wondering what the square footage of the place is.

[@drewe2331]

Might be too late, but have you considered repurposed doors instead of windows?

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

We're using all original and repurposed doors on the inside!

[@drewe2331]

@@Schoolhousehomestead i meant to accommodate the challenging height for the external windows. A set of French doors could fill that height.

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

@@drewe2331 Ah got it! We ended up getting some 72" windows and added on transoms!

[@SteveGunnfl]

Great project but I have to say I was shocked you left so much water on those floors....

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

it was during the brief period when the roof was off to replace it, did not feel good to do it either but we had to get a new roof

[@shelliecollier7017]

Please just update the front door area. It would be a crime to take all of that out IMHO.

[@Sam465]

Is there a follow up to this one ?.

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

Yup! Right here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIjKY31mhdlpo7csi=ls_BTPoeyUtO0sCW

[@peter_bazinet]

What? No ballroom?

[@joeyhicks7738]

Promo*SM 🏃

[@theresarezac7502]

Wouldnt be easier and cheaper to start from scratch?

[@JM-iz3fr]

Curious- when the roof done, was white an option instead of black? Are you considering solar for the roof?

[@Schoolhousehomestead]

We are considering solar! We could not put it on the roof because it would have voided the warranty, so we're figuring something else out. White wasn't an option as far as I know, too!

[@leahtv7778]

We don’t need the intro

[@demetriuswillams972]

Is the building haunted ?

[@yeahbee8237]

Alotta these kinds of videos seem like they have money to burn. Especially in regards to willy nilly putting in windows al the time. It would be cheaper to work around the problem and keep doors and windows as is. Be creative. Not work through the problem but just adding adding. Why get an old building if you wanna live in something super modern? Light is overrated.

[@roymaddocks3184]

I think your new huge tall windows are wonderful

[@1eyedea]

This is awesome, I can't wait to see more