Alabama farmhouse getting second chance after nearly becoming fire-training structure

When the owner of an old farmhouse at 1493 Judge Road, Alabama, offered the building up to the Alabama Fire Department to use in training, Rob Crossen's thought, "I hate to see another old house go to heck."

Instead of letting the house get destroyed in training -- which would eventually include burning it down -- Crossen stepped in and bought the property.

Since last October, Rob and his son Dan, along with some local carpenters, have been working on restoring the home with the goal of eventually selling it to a family that will appreciate the old house.

It's an all-out restoration project, too. 

One hundred years ago, at least, horse-drawn tools dug a hole for a foundation and workers manually placed heavy stones around the perimeter. Crossen and his crew refurbished the masonry and dug the basement two feet deeper.

The house never had a proper sump pump, which led to a lot of water damage, so Crossen fixed installed a new one.

The back of the house -- the kitchen, primarily, was so badly damaged that Crossen just tore it away. The house will have entirely new kitchen.

Crossen's workers have completely gutted the interior of the house and each room, upstairs and down, will have new electrical works, new walls and new floors.

"It will be all new on the inside but look like an old house on the outside," Crossen said.

Below is a picture I took of the house this past October (taken with black and white film). I've photographed the old farmhouse a few times before this shot, but this is the only one I saved. It's a classic, turn-of-the-century (the last century) farmhouse and it's great to see it getting a second life.