October Highlights

We finally made it back to Halifax! We always try to get up to North Carolina every three months or so. However, COVID-19 set us back and delayed our trip back up. This time around was super special for us; we were able to bring our son Brax with us and show him the John Brown House. Brax also got to meet a few of our dear friends in Halifax!

There is never enough time to tackle an entire to-do list. We had high hopes on getting a lot of items crossed off our to-do list, but that just wasn’t the case. Brandon did an awesome job pouring new footers, hanging siding, and getting our sill coated and covered. The concrete footers needed 2-3 days to set and dry before he built up the piers and set the timbers back down. He’s been trying to get the first floor floor-joists level so that we can lay down the wood flooring. One thing we realized with old houses - nothing will ever be perfectly level!

Exterior Siding: Budget $500

Good news, we FINALLY made it to Louisburg to Mullis Millworks to pick up our custom made exterior siding for the house. They’ve been sitting on the siding for a few too many months - I think I ordered the siding in January. This has been a project that we’ve been wanting to accomplish for quite some time. We had the mill replicate our exact siding to stick to historical guidelines and the cost was right within budget. Brandon was able to pick it up and get the main sill covered and sealed. Flying Colours will go back and prime and paint the new siding that was put up this week. Stay tuned for updated pictures!

First Floor Bathroom: Budget $500

My goal was to get our first floor bathroom ready for a sink, claw foot tub, and toilet. We purchased the sink at an antique store here in Fort Myers and I took the time to refinish it with a re-glazing kit. I believe I paid $30 bucks for the sink and $20 for the re-glazing kit! The fixture for the sink is from Home Depot and it was only $60. The claw foot tub came with the house when we purchased it - thank goodness (FREE). I have a thing for claw foot tubs and I can’t wait to soak in this one.

I went a little bold with the floors and window/door trim, Sherwin Williams Jadite was the color that we selected for this space. What do you think of the color?

I still need to touch up the walls and the floors with the leftover paint. The plumbing fixtures also need to be connected to the water and sewer line. It looks like we will be under budget on this project and it will be marked complete on our next trip up.