Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Update on the house project August 19, 2026

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This shows progress on re-siding before work was paused because of my family visiting and the discovery of dry rot on two other sides of the house. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 4, 2026)

TWO WEEKS HAVE PASSED since my first post about a re-siding project underway at our house due to damage from a mid-April hailstorm.

My grandson Everett kept wanting to climb on the dining room chairs. Finally, his mom placed them on the table and he was not happy. This photo shows the windows covered with exterior wrap to keep the house dry during the construction pause. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 7, 2026)

We halted the project for five days when my son and his girlfriend (whom we met for the first time and absolutely love) flew in from Boston. The second daughter and her 19-month-old son were also here from Madison, Wisconsin. And the other daughter and her family, who live a half hour away, were with us at her house and ours. I absolutely did not want any pounding, dust flying or other construction activity happening while my family was in town.

Those days with my family were glorious. It meant the world to me for all of us to be together. That usually happens only once annually, if that. For several days, I mostly forgot that the exterior north and west sides of our house looked stripped and exposed. No one cared. We were together.

And then reality set in once everyone left and work on the house resumed.

An overview of the west side of the house, which connects to a corner of the garage. This side had the most rot. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 10, 2026)

Our general contractor, Minnesota Precision Construction of Bloomington, called in Roselynn Builders of Blaine to ferret out and replace rotted wood. They found rotted studs, rotted sheeting, rotted window frames. So much rot. We had no idea this was hiding under two layers of siding. The condition was such that the west side of our house was somewhat structurally compromised.

This shows our kitchen window, the area where house meets garage. This was an especially problematic area requiring reconstruction of a cricket on the garage roof to direct rain and snow melt away from the walls of the house and corner of the garage. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 29, 2026)

I was upset. Stressed. Emotional. None of this rot had anything to do with how we’ve maintained our 100-year-old house for the past 42 years. Rather, it can be attributed to age, past poor workmanship under previous ownership (who installs siding over siding?) resulting in moisture infiltration and more. I cried. Vented. And, yes, even used a few bad words on days when I was particularly upset.

Devin of Roselynn Builders is framed by a bedroom window opening. Two Marvin windows were replaced with two casement builder grade windows. The framing around the windows was rotted. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 10, 2026)

We also needed five new windows due to rotted frames. We went with builder grade rather than wait six to eight weeks for the much better quality Marvin or Anderson windows we prefer. We replaced these same windows 30 years ago with Marvin brand.

The more they looked, the more rotted wood the builders found, including rotted eaves on the northwest corner of the house. These were replaced. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 4, 2026)

The rot specialists initially planned to be here 1 ½ days. That turned into 4 ½ days. By the time the crew left at 11 a.m. last Friday, I knew them well. Justin, Devin, Jeremiah and owner Jeremiah. I have only positive comments about these guys. They arrived, jumped right in and got to work, working at a fast pace. When I had questions, they explained. I appreciate their professionalism, skills, knowledge and craftsmanship. And bonus, they were kind, compassionate and caring. Just like our general contractor.

By noon Tuesday, half of the north side of the house had been re-sided. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 18, 2026)

And so here we are on Tuesday. The siding team has returned. Julio and Alejandro are hard at work as I write. When they showed up unexpectedly, I was so happy. I just want this project done. I recognize, though, that the rotted wood discoveries under two layers of old siding led to the delays. These problems needed to be fixed.

This is a close-up of rot on the west second story wall. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 29, 2026)

If not for the hail damage and the need to replace our roof and siding, we would have been totally unaware of the rotting wood until something worse happened. Like a partial wall collapse. I’m not construction savvy enough to understand all the possible outcomes. But I do know that it wouldn’t have been good.

More rotted wood was found on the north side of the house. This shows the second story bedroom windows, both of which had to be replaced. One was held in place by the trim, so rotted was the frame, a worker said. He showed me. We had no idea. We replaced these windows 30 years ago. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 30, 2026)

Once exterior work is completed, we will have work to do inside. Taping and mudding of sheetrock in the upstairs bedrooms is needed due to screws popping, seams cracking and other minor construction damage. This is an old house; things shift. Then it’s trimming the windows and painting.

I would love to have a kitchen like this, recently remodeled by volunteers in a rental house owned by my church, Trinity Lutheran. I jokingly asked some of the guys if they can do my kitchen next. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2026)

It’s been a bit of a domino effect with one thing leading to another. We are now thinking of updating the kitchen before the new window above the sink is trimmed. Paint the cupboards. Replace the countertop, backsplash, sink and floor. Do something with the plaster ceiling and walls. My kitchen is outdated 1970s vintage—brown sink, leaky faucet, Formica countertop, yellowed cupboards.. I’ve disliked it for years.

I’d love to have an all-new kitchen, including new cupboards. But that is not in the budget. We need to come up with an affordable plan, roll up our sleeves and get to work, doing what we can, hiring out what we can’t.

I can dream. I need the distraction. But then, realistically, I wonder if I can handle the stress and expense of another house project…

THOUGHTS ON ANY OF THIS?

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Some updates from the formerly green house on Willow August 5, 2026

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Construction materials piled in our side yard before a re-siding project began. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

THIS PROGRAMMING MESSAGE is targeted at you, my readers, and also at bloggers I follow.

You’ll see minimal posts and comments from me over the next week. I have family arriving today from Boston and from eastern Wisconsin tomorrow. I intend to spend my time with them, not writing.

This shows the back of our garage and a portion of our house with the two layers of siding removed. We are replacing the hail-damaged aluminum siding with LP Smartside. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

Secondly, we are in the midst of a major house re-siding project which I’ve termed “The Nightmare on Willow Street.” What started as seemingly routine work to replace hail-damaged siding turned nightmarish upon the discovery of rotted wood on the driveway side of the house.

This necessitates bringing in specialized professionals to replace rotted wood, including rotted studs. Yes, it’s that bad.

I’m thankful this was found so the structural integrity of that side of our nearly 100-year-old house can be reinstated. But, as you may guess, this will cost mega money. Thankfully homeowner’s insurance has covered the re-siding and re-shingling of our house due to hail damage. We’re uncertain whether the additional work will be covered.

I’ve cried. I’ve lost sleep. I’ve raged. And I’ve tried really hard to feel thankful for this unexpected discovery before the situation got worse. It’s not easy to stay positive. There’s a lot of work ahead. I don’t even want to consider the final cost if more issues are found.

Randy and I are thankful for the team at Bloomington-based Minnesota Precision Construction, our general contractor for our siding and roofing projects. They have been responsive, caring and compassionate through everything. I ask a question, raise a concern and get immediate answers from people I trust. Yes, they are an out-of-town company. But, with all the hail damage caused by a mid-April storm, local contractors can’t possibly handle all the jobs in and around Faribault. We vetted the company before we went with them and have been pleased thus far with their professionalism, workmanship and compassionate response.

So, that, my readers, is what’s happening in my life right now. As I type this Tuesday morning, the construction workers are working to re-side the front of our house. They will have to wait until the framers finish to continue on the north and west sides. Framers arrive Monday. The parts of the house and garage with new siding look stunning.

This shows the nearly completed back side of our house. You can see a corner of the garage on the left. The door leads into our kitchen. And the other side includes our bathroom and bedroom. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2026)

My adult kids protested initially that we would no longer live in “the green house.” The new siding is gray and will have a black batten board gable accent on the front. They were joking, of course. But when I’ve referred to our house location, I’ve always described it as “the green house on the corner with black shutters” or as “the Swanson house,” referencing the previous owners.

I think now, after 42 years of ownership and a color change from green to gray, we can officially term our home “the Helbling house.”

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

The “Jesus Saves” house May 16, 2016

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Jesus saves house in Owatonna

 

I DON’T KNOW THE REASON behind the sign.

I don’t even know who lives in this house along Rose Street in Owatonna.

I don’t know the story. I wish I did. But if I stopped every time I wanted to hear a story, I would get nowhere.

A decorative rock, inscribed with these words, sits at the base of the cross:

Those we love don’t go away, they walk beside us everyday. Unseen, unheard, but always always near, so loved, so missed, so very dear.

And that is all I know. A dear loved one is missed by someone inside the “Jesus Saves” house.

© Copyright 2016 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

This old house, a work still in progress August 6, 2014

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I ALWAYS WANTED TO LIVE in a big old white farmhouse that holds the history of generations. Abundant, aged woodwork and built-ins. A sprawling porch and plenty of windows with sunlight pouring in. Wood floors that creak with age.

A farm site along U.S. Highway 14 between Nicollet and Mankato.

A farm site along U.S. Highway 14 between Nicollet and Mankato with the type of old house I like.

That was my dream.

But as we know, dreams don’t always become reality. Rather, I’ve lived for 30 years in a smallish home along a busy street. Anything original to our old house was hidden behind dark, dreary paneling. My husband and I long ago removed most of the paneling, replacing it with sheetrock. We didn’t want to live in a cave.

Yet, one bit of 1970s cavedom remained—in the basement. It was time, after 30 years here, to begin the process of transforming our basement.

We are currently in the demo stage, thus the stacks of Styrofoam insulation/ceiling panels, paneling and wood edging our driveway.

Gutting of our basement is well under way. This photo shows paneling stripped from the clay tile foundation walls with some paneling remaining yet on along the stairway. The floor shows carpet backing scraped off, backing to be scraped off and the not-so-lovely carpet.

Gutting of our basement is well under way. This photo shows paneling stripped from the clay tile foundation walls with some paneling remaining yet along the stairway. The floor shows carpet backing scraped off, backing to be scraped off and the not-so-lovely carpet.

Now we’re adding to that debris pile as, strip by strip, the red-and-black striped carpet is being sliced from the floor. Underneath lie the remains of black carpet backing and glue, there for, we guesstimate, forty years.

So, on hands and knees, we have been scraping remnants of carpet backing from the concrete with one-inch wide gasket scrapers. It is a slow, tedious and labor intensive process. My hands and arms ache. My knees and back are sore. But there is no easier way. We tried a wire brush on the end of a drill. The heat warmed the glue enough to melt some of the backing into it. This is not what we want; we desire the cement as clean as possible. Solvents are not an option.

Original wainscoting uncovered beneath the paneling.

Original wainscoting uncovered beneath the paneling.

But in the midst of all this mess, I uncovered a treasure when I pulled a portion of paneling from the basement stairwell. Underneath was wainscoting. Why, oh, why would you cover wainscoting with paneling? The answer, I suspect, lies in the paneling fad of the 1970s.

Perhaps I could ask Nicky or Cheryl or Randy, whose names and heights were penciled upon the wainscoting in 1969.

© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Grassroots patriotism July 9, 2014

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EACH TIME I TRAVEL through Sleepy Eye, I notice this old house situated on a corner along U.S. Highway 14 east of downtown.

A quick snapshot of a patriotic house in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota.

A quick snapshot of a patriotic house in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota.

I could lament at the need for a little exterior TLC.

But rather, I focus on the patriotism, that always-there “WE SUPPORT OUR TROOPS” sign.

Within the walls of this old house lives someone who’s perhaps served or has a loved one serving our country or who’s simply just proud of our military. Maybe all three.

I love the genuineness of this patriotic display. I imagine the homeowner shopping for the bunting and the flags and those little whirligigs.

I imagine, too, the long search, or maybe even a special order placement, for that can’t miss royal blue carpet.

This old house shows me patriotism at its grassroots basic. From the heart. From the home.

© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling