Evening star., 1915-02-27
Eager to Make improvements.

Eager to Make Improvements.
1t is this desire to go ahead with a
program of permanent improvements
that has been the strongest impelling
force toward buying the place. We are
very well satisfied not to have at
tempted anything the past year, for
we were greenhorns of the greenest
kind; but we think we now have a
reasonably clear conception of what
we want, and, like the man i'll the
song, Eve want what we want when
we want it,
Though we haven't Yet taken title
to the property, we already feel the
a big difference in the way you re-
gard house and land when you can
call 1T your own. These eight acres of
poor. scrubby land have become do
are so busy with plans for it's i'm
provement that 1 haven't been able to
get to sleep any night before mid
night since the decision to buy was
1 left James five-thousand- dollar
bond at the bank yesterday. with in.
structions to sell it. At the price quoted
or on shdm, IT Friday syod IT viii bring premium
5000. We are going to pay half cash
and carry the rest on trust at 6 per
cent. This will leave US s3.325. The
M sosa asou 5eo Pan of of the the s1ss
left We are going to set aside $1,000
as rainy day fund, which we prob
ably will invest in another bond. The
$500 remaining is to constitute our
working capital for development of
the farm. but we are not going to be
IN any hurry to expend it
We plan to add front and side porches
to the house and put in a hot-water-
heating system and running water,
with bath. We haven't decided yet
on the kind of a water system to install,
whether pressure tank in the cellar,
or gravity tank outside. Most of our
mills, but 1 have decided on q gasoline
engine. This will necessitate housing
in the well, and Jane favors continuing
this house into a tower with a tank in
the top of it. / have seen some< that
were really artistic, and were an at
traction to the place, instead of an eye
sore, as most outside tanks are.
Remodeling of House.
We are going to take the partition
from between the front room down
stairs and the one Immediately back of
it. which will give US living room
about 1890 feet. The chimney be-
tween these rooms will have to come
down, but on one side, midway the
length of this room, I am going to have
built big open fireplace, taking the
chimney up on the outside of the house. |
This chimney also will carry the smoke
from the furnace in the cellar. |
= The only other change we plan to
make in the interior of the house is to
make one side of the dining room al
most all window, and to put a partition
through the back room upstairs, using
half of 1t as a bathroom and the other
half as clothes and linen closet.
This will leave us only three bedrooms,
and in order to have a guestroom we
are going to put two beds in the bigl
front room, which the boys and l will
occupy, and Jane and Margery will
have the room next to it.
The front porch is to be narrow. sol
as not to shut off the light. and it's roof
will be supported by round columns.
It's chief function will be to improve
the appearance of the house. The side
porch. which is to be on the east side,
will run back thirty feet, which will be
the depth of the living room, and also
of the first and second upstairs rooms.
This porch is to be twelve feet wide,
and Is to extend up to form sleeping
porch above. a window from the sit
ting room and one from each of the
bedrooms will be cut down into doors
leading on to the porch.
a friend of ours in the city who is a
building contractor visited us some
time ago and went over the house and
our rough plans for the improvements.
He estimated all the improvements
could be made and the house papered
and painted inside and out at a cost
not TO exceed $500. He offered to
draw up specifications for the work
and let us advertise for bids, and un-
less we got bid under $1,000 he would
take the contract at that figure. As
he has the reputation of being good
builder and as We have known him
long time and know he is honest, that
looks to me like a mighty good prepo-
sition.