Announcing Old House Blogger Contest

I would love to be included in this contest! Please visit us at http://theoctagonhouse.net/ and follow our journey as we create a new life in an old house. Thanks so much!

Hello: Old House Web has been a mainstay for many years — Love it. Please consider my piece below. . .and please let me know if I can do anything to better my chances (like submitting closer to the deadline).

My blog is the Agents of Moxie at http://www.agentsofmoxie.com —
This is my submission —
http://www.agentsofmoxie.com/2009/01/cats-mice-and-old-houses.html

Keeping on Keeping & BMoxie BMore!
Thank you, jbbartkowiak

Sounds great and I would love a shot at it from our site at http://www.contractorblabblog.com. Lowe’s is my favorite store.

Hi everyone. Just a reminder to please include the url to a specific blog post that you would like to submit to the contest, as opposed to just the blog domain. Or email your entry. Thanks!

We’d love to be included in the contest. Visit http://www.haleyanderic.blogspot.com to see #2021’s journey from utter decrepitness to slightly less decrepit. Plus, with a baby on the way, things are bound to get interesting.

Thanks!

Sorry–I didn’t link to a post: http://haleyanderic.blogspot.com/2009/09/possum-next-door.html

This goes back a bit. In the 50’s a local company advertised a free upright freezer (in those days they were enormous because home freezers then didn’t have the lightweight insulation they have today)when you bought your meats in bulk from their warehouse. Well with a family of 6 to feed it sounded like a great idea to my Dad so he ordered it. It was so huge there was no room in the kitchen for it so he decided to put it on the covered summer porch on the back of the house. It was duly installed and filled with hundreds of pounds of meat and the next day the entire unit fell through the porch floor and landed on bare ground although still upright. The solution was to empty it, remove it and make a pile of cinderblocks in the resulting hole and sit the freezer on top of the cinderblocks the thinking being that it would still be inside and protected from the elements. This was done and then over the next few days the cinder block reinforcements settled into the soil and the freezer developed a decided list and slowly moved up against the side wall. Well it still worked and while it was a bit difficult to get into as the door opener was not made to open at the angle we had to use, it remained there for more than 10 years chugging away.

I just checked out this site. I love it. The adventures of young, loving couple willing to put the hard work into the home of their dreams.

Count me in. A long distance “cousin” (the connection itself is a long story) did a “tweet” about the contest. I’m sure you’ll see a submission from him. Here’s a brief post on a “wabe” - a landscape feature created by Lewis Carroll - check it out!

http://mizblueprint.blogspot.com/2009/07/wabe.html

I loved reading haleyanderic.blogspot.com. #2021. brought back alot of memories of when we were fixing up our first place and starting a family. Haley has a way with words, I find myself laughing out sometimes at her “world view”. Sue

old house blogger

Hello there!

Sorry about my mix up! Here is my blog entry submission:

http://theoctagonhouse.net/2009/09/23/one-month/

Thanks so much for this opportunity!
Tara

Love the OldHouseWeb!

Fix a leaking bathtub faucet
http://www.charlesandhudson.com/archives/2009/03/how_to_fix_a_leaking_bathtub_faucet.htm

My blog is about two people redoing a 1912 Eclectic Bungalow an a very limited budget while our large family lives in the house.

I love this blog! Thanks for the opportunity to share a post with everyone. Russet Street Reno is a blog I started to document the renovations of our gorgeous but mistreated 1937 home in southeastern WI, while holding down full time jobs and trying to plan our wedding! Celebrity humor and ridiculous ‘before’ pictures abound! This post is about wallpaper stripping in the entry hall and refinishing our beautiful staircase. http://www.russetstreetreno.com/2009/09/step-in-right-direction.html

Sorry but my link did not post so here it ishttp://www.bungalowreborn.blogspot.com/

From http://diydiva.net, I’m in!
Submission: http://diydiva.net/2008/01/lesson-four-how-youll-probably-never-cope-crown-molding-joints/

blog is delightful. Haley has a way of making my life seem so simple.

I want to vote for haley and eric’s blog.
deserving house, deserving couple!

That is one great blog - haleyanderic.blogspot.com
Very entertaining to read.
Sometimes life lends itself to comedy.
Good Luck!!!

My newlywed blog has recently become a home renovation blog due to the purchase of 209-year old house which needs updates to every surface of every room! There are lots of “before” and “during” posts at the moment, but the “afters” are coming!

Here is a recent post:
http://ohapostrophe.blogspot.com/2009/09/when-after-is-worse-than-before.html

Haley and Eric are very creative and doing a fantastic job restoring their “old house” in Indianapolis….we’ve fixed up a few ourselves and know it is a labor of love!

I love reading and keeping up with the young couple Floyd and Tara. They sure have accomplished much since buying the Octagon house in Sparland Il. The house isn’t very far from my home town and has quite a reputation. The little town of Sparland is sure pleased to have new owners in “this old house” in Central Illinois. I mean goodness it is registered on the national registry of historic places. The Octagon shape seems it would present several interesting obstacles. I like how the blog they have begun shares other peoples take on the history of the home, others photographs and interesting articles that have been written about the unique home that the Oathouts are calling home these days. I think it is very worthy of taking a serious look at for winning “This Old House” blog contest.

understand that older home are probably filled with lead-based paints,,,asbestos,,and other materials that are detrimental. upgrade to less dangerous materials or hire the work-out professionally

Sounds great and I would love a shot at it from our site at http://www.contractorblabblog.com. Lowe’s is my favorite store

I am not sure if you are looking for comments from interested observers, but I am an ‘across the river’ neighbor of the ‘Octagon House’ in Sparland Illinois, which is a contestant in your contest.
Just wanted to comment on how impressed I am with the energy and enthusiasm of this young couple, Tara & Floyd Oathout - I have never met them except thru reading their blog, but have known this house my entire life as a landmark on the hill in this small village in the middle of nowhere.
This “house” has been crying to become a “home” and it seems that is happening! As an amateur I have remodeled 14 homes and built 2 so I know this can only be a labor of love! There ain’t enough money to buy this dedication to this type of project.
I hope their efforts are rewarded in some measure by winning your contest. They already have a winning attitude and perserverance going for them.
Thanks for giving them the opportunity to compete.

One neglected, abandoned, old house about ready to fall down,
Two ambitious people(ok one ambitious woman with a dream and her loving husband)
$1 (yes one dollar)
hundreds of hours of hard work
and a beautiful home is reborn
Priceless!

http://www.1907millerhouse.com
Please enter our home in your blog contest.

Pretty much my whole blog is dedicated to our old house. I guess you can start with this entry:

http://andtheycalledherminimoo.blogspot.com/2009/03/nearly-3-years-to-day-and-i-can-say-we.html

Here is the direct link to my blog post entry. Thanks for the contest. I also tweeted it, and subscribed to your feed.

http://thestylishnest.com/blog/2009/10/11/office-remake/

I vote for Haley and Eric’s blog, #2021. I always get great inspiration from their stories, not to mention a laugh or two! Good stuff!

we are remodeling our mobile home and have so far added onto one side of it and this year are going to expand the front side to make the kitchen and living room and my bedroom bigger I love doing these things with my family it gives us alot of time together and it makes all of us feel good seeing the end results thanks for the giveaway

Very Cool

SUBMITTED VIA EMAIL:

My blog is “Bless This DIY Mess: Two thirty-somethings renovate a 1920s Pittsburgh home, one do-it-yourself disaster at a time.” This post is about the super-filthy, super-humbling demolition phase of our renovation. Hope you enjoy it!

http://www.blessthisdiymess.com/Site/Blog/Entries/2008/6/24_Give_us_this_day_our_daily_humble_pie.html

Cheers,
Elaine Vitone

Hey this is the nice opportunity to grab $250 Lowe’s gift certificate and the opportunity to be a paid contributor to the Old House Blog. I have recently gone through home improvement task in my home. I changed my ceiling and made some changes in the furniture by following some tips from DIY home improvement blogs. I don’t remember the URL. I am I eligible for this contest.

would love to win 250.00 gift card from lowes

I’ve been following the “Agents of Moxie” blog for quite some time. It’s educational, intelligent and entertaining…very encouraging for the fixer-upper wannabe. Please give this blog strong consideration for your contest:

http://www.agentsofmoxie.com/2009/01/cats-mice-and-old-houses.html

I just read Jb Bartkowiak’s submission to your contest, “Cats, Mice and Old Houses” and left the following comment which I repost here:

“Often in television we have to apply a willing suspension of disbelief, such as when the CSI’s coax the owner of a fingerprint from a database in seconds, but I think you have hit on one of the rarely heralded things which make cartoons so appealing to youngsters: The way they use reality to help complete the fantasy. I remember the first time I saw Toy Story, I marveled that the paint on Sid’s window sill was old and realistically alligatoring.

This post ran the realism in reverse, pointed out that there was at least one hole in the production teams vision and then in true cartoon fashion described how a human or ‘toon would go about cutting it. I like when construction writing draws on the real and not so real world. I feel like I just watched an episode!”

I enjoyed this piece and its off the wall observations.

We don’t have a porch over the front, and I have wanted one for 9 years, well Lowe’s magazine had a stylish beautiful porch over and how easy it is do complete it. We got the wood estimate on line and we hope to do this project with the income tax return.

Thanks!

i recently repainted my dining room and hopefully soon put down wood flooring! it will be beautiful and the gift card will help!

This contest seems very interesting but the complete mechanics of the contest were not clearly established. The prize is not quite impressive although the contest itself seems to be a lot of fun.

Welcome to our home-very lived in, but loaded with love. Many things need fixing,but they also come with a steep price tag. I am most proud of our new kitchen addition. We were able to add a breakfast nook and some very badly needed shelves. In today’s economy, a little storage holds a lot of equity!

I love my old home that I grew up in! It belonged to my mom until she died two years ago. I’d love to win this contest!

my son is fixing his bathroom in the house he bought.i call the money pit. so i watch and learn.

Remodeling my home,and Lowes is the store to go!Has everything from kitchen cabinets to carpet.

We decided to remodel our home, adding on a bedroom, and expanding the second bath. This chore turned into changing further flooring in our old house, and windows..! And, and, and. We ran out of $$. Still, I’m hooked on HGTV, and love to dream of doing more, more, & more!

This is such a cool prize I could buy alot with 250.00 for my family and my home.

This is a really nice prize My home was built in the 70’s and is just starting to fall apart I didnt buy this home my mother left it to me after she died of cancer in 04.And I dont know how to keep up the maintaince of a home or a yard.So if I win this money would all go toward my home.

I’d love to win this giftcard to buy somethings for my Old House! Pick me!

We’re Atomic Indy. Mid Century Modernists on a mission to mid century modernize the modern world.

We blog it out. Click “our renovation” on top left of: http://atomicindy.com

Cheers,

-Baz

Hello!!!
Adore you guys and follow you on twitter regularly as the @bklyncontessa. Would love for my blog to be included in your contest: http://www.brooklynbrownblog.com
Brooklyn Brown Blog follows newlyweds as they tackle the enormous project of re-decorating their nyc apartment in a turn-of-the-century Brooklyn tenement on a limited budget.
Thanks!

The finalists have been announced!

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/blog/old-house-blogger-finalists-announced/

Thanks to everyone who entered. We were impressed by the quality of the entries. We hope everyone will vote for their favorite finalist.

Hi would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re working with? I’m planning to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a difficult time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique. P.S Apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!

Oh man, I missed the contest. Hehe Thanks for sharing though.