Rock House Indiana

06/03/2026

That was a huge load of dirt and concrete; 31, 80lb bags to be exact. My back is fried, but the footer is done and now it's time to build the retaining wall.

05/19/2026

Hello all! Here's a quick update for the last few weeks:

The footer rock near the retaining wall has finally made it to the bottom. Next up: the veneer rock.

I’m also just about done taking apart a failing wall. Not exactly the extra project I wanted, but it wasn’t looking very trustworthy.

And with the rain comes… more window work. For such a small house, it sure packed in a surprising number of windows.

04/29/2026

It is officially concrete season!

We are well under way on walls, footers, and other concrete-based repairs. Of course, there are those rainy days, but if it's warm we'll be working on a porch. Here's the list for the last few weeks:

* Re-mortared about a 3rd of the South porch
* Finished the new wall support for the Southeast wall
* Got as far as we could on the Courtyard's NE wall cap (need to do work on the stairs before we can finish)
* Planted a couple dozen footers in the N/S driveway

04/01/2026

Now that we're working on more than just windows, we will have more frequent updates. :)

Saturday had a bit of a chill to it, but Sunday totally made up for it and I got a ton done!

For the south wall: it's leaning way more than it should, and if it ever decided to give up and fall over, it would be a complete disaster. So I decided to copy one of the existing supports, but with a pole set below the frost line.

Here's the full list:
* Finished the Jailhouse French drain
* Started cutting up a tree that nearly fell on the barn
* Started a support column for the Southeast wall
* Removed the grotto footer
* Picked up a few dozen rocks around the West bridge

03/24/2026

Two weekends of outdoor projects in a row! The 7th and 8th tried to rain me out, but it was warm enough that I just shifted over to the South porch and kept going. The next weekend I traded porches for trenches and spent my time working on the French drain behind the Jailhouse.

03/02/2026

If you’re in Indiana, I don’t need to tell you how rough the weather has been over the past month. Thankfully, the last couple of weeks have brought a break, and I’ve been grateful to finally get back outside and make some progress.

To everyone who generously donated to our GoFundMe fundraiser: you’ve probably noticed that your contribution was refunded. Unfortunately, I must have missed a step in the setup process, and GoFundMe automatically returned all donations. I’m currently working to figure out exactly what happened, and we plan to relaunch the fundraiser in the spring.

Thank you all for your support, encouragement, and willingness to help—it truly means a lot. Any help when we relaunch will be greatly appreciated.

Here's what happened in the last month:
* More scrapping, sanding, glazing the wooden windows
* Installed roof/gutter wire heaters to help prevent ice dams
* Tore down a brick structure, I'm not sure what it was for, but we only want natural rock
* Started a new French drain behind the Jailhouse
* Picked up and stacked more rock along US 52

01/16/2026

Holy cow, It's been too long! But in my defense, the weather has been terrible. Winter came in early with lots of snow & rain, so I've been inside working on windows most weekends. When it wasn't wet out, I've moved a whole bunch of rock in different parts of the property.
When cleaning the Jailhouse, I found Mittendorf's initials carved into the floor. Very cool!

Here's the full list:
* Windows
* Started digging dirty on the West side of the driveway wall
* Built a rock sled from a car hood & pipes
* Cut down a handful of dead trees
* Cleaned the inside of the Jailhouse
* Picked up scattered rocks around the wooden bridge

11/09/2025

I'm so close to being done with the Courtyard's Northeast wall veneer. The days are getting shorter and colder, but I WILL be done before it's too late to do concrete. When it's too dark to work outside; I'm working on windows.

10/02/2025

It's been a super hot September! The Courtyard South wall is done and looking pretty good. I built a platform to use as a work area and started working on the North wall.

08/12/2025

Finally, a dry weekend! I spent the whole time planting more pavers in the N/S driveway. It looks like I could be where I wanted to be at the end of the month. Then it's time for replacing another wall that is failing.

Thank you to everyone that has given to our GoFundMe! We still need much more support. Please considering giving and sharing.

I don't why, but FB keeps wanting to open the Messenger when I share the GoFundMe link. If you go to gofundme.com and search for Rock House, you'll see us right away. And I will share from my personal account.

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