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So far Noah Bradley has created 1221 blog entries.
29 06, 2019

A summer beam is installed

2019-06-29T10:10:52+00:00

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Here is a “Western View” photo taken in the kitchen and looking into the dining room. Notice the beam in the ceiling that runs the length of both rooms supporting the hewn second-floor joists above it. This oak “summer beam” is 38 feet long and was salvaged from an old barn.

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I could have gotten a crane to set it in place. And at the time, the men would have been more than thankful if I had done just that.

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But today these men all have copies of these photos and the memory of that unified effort to lift this huge beam into it’s place of honor… one end at a time… from a lowly barn destined to be destroyed, to the centerpiece of a new home.

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Originally posted 2015-02-27 20:36:04.

A summer beam is installed2019-06-29T10:10:52+00:00
29 06, 2019

Life at the top of a chimney

2019-06-29T10:10:51+00:00

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a stone mason? maybe even, during his “glory moment”? To be up at the top of a chimney after many weeks of hard work and struggle… about to complete something that will stand for centuries?

Of course you have. 🙂

These five photos (all taken at the same time) pretty well showcase life at the top of a chimney.

First notice that there is the ladder, a big part of being a stone mason is the climbing, up and down. Over and over. Always while carrying something heavy… tools, stones, or mortar.

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Once you are up there at the top the views of the surrounding countryside, and all the jobsite activity, are amazing. You are on top of the world.

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It’s time to get to work though… there is the constant checking of each stone to make sure that everything is plumb and level. Each stone is laid with as much care up here as it is down below. No one else would ever know if something was a bit off… but the masons would know… and so, it is done right.

There is plenty of activity going on up here as the final shaping of each stone takes place to get it to fit just right. While here you stand on a narrow walkboard rock chips fly past you, sometimes striking you, adrenaline is flowing.

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The conversation is often jovial, each man boasting of how good they are at what they do.

One of the greatest benefits of working with stones all days is that you get to wear whatever kind of hat you want… no one would dare insult a mason on his choice of hat. A mason is after all a walking muscle. A man that can hit you with a rock at anytime from high above. A man that swings a heavy hammer for a living.

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All three of these men became dear friends of mine over the years of working together. Dan, seen here with his captain hat, passed away from cancer a few years ago… I can still hear him singing one of his old Irish tunes. Will, the man with the level, surprised us all and is now a member of the clergy in the Episcopalian church. And Stewart… he works in the local zoning office… he says its’ much easier on his back. Of that, I have no doubt.

For many years I was the only area builder who kept a full-time crew of stone masons. I loved to see their work on a daily basis. I loved the sounds that were always present in the background… of chisels being struck with hammers, but most of all I just liked having friends around me who enjoyed working with their hands.

Originally posted 2015-02-27 15:33:33.

Life at the top of a chimney2019-06-29T10:10:51+00:00
29 06, 2019

Teamwork in design and construction

2019-06-29T10:10:50+00:00

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It is important that women let men have their way at least once during the construction of a home.

I’d say that in half of the homes that I have built over the years that the woman of the house was in fully in charge. The man stood in the background to create the illusion of strength, but was quick to say “whatever you want honey”.

The other half of my projects the husband and wife presented themselves as a team and mutually decided on everything… but if there was a difference of opinion… guess who generally got their way?

Now, there was one rustic cabin that I built for a man, and no wife ever appeared to give her opinion. Of course there is to this day a bear head hanging in the hallway. And dog hairs are thick on the sofa.

Anyway, back to the point… this was a team project, the clients were the sweetest couple you could imagine, just terrific people, and the husband really wanted an atrium/sunroom/greenhouse. And, we all supported him.

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I believe the main reason for this glass room was to provide some solar heat during the winter and to create a space filled with light… and it worked. The sun heats the stone chimney and floor and the windows are then opened and the heat flows into the rooms.

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Originally posted 2015-02-26 16:32:51.

Teamwork in design and construction2019-06-29T10:10:50+00:00
29 06, 2019

Building a timber frame garage

2019-06-29T10:10:49+00:00

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Building the garage at Western View… was a blast.

I had the time of my life.

There is nothing like building a small structure out of huge timbers. The opportunity to do something like this doesn’t come around that often, so I did my best to savor every moment of it. I often reminded the crew that “these are the good old days”. And I was right, they were indeed.

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We made use of not only the old timbers from the Franklin home, but also the dental moldings, siding, and windows. The garage is a work of art… I swear it.

We enjoyed also the view of the Western View frame going up… the only time in my career where two different framed buildings were going up at the same time!

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One last comment. Having a finished garage on site all during the construction of the house was a tremendous asset. It was our workshop, our dry storage, and our refuge when storms sprung upon us.

Originally posted 2015-02-26 15:32:16.

Building a timber frame garage2019-06-29T10:10:49+00:00
29 06, 2019

A garage is built

2019-06-29T10:10:48+00:00

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And so with an abundance of massive beams, siding, and old windows from the salvaging of the house in Franklin, we built a garage.

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We designed the garage as a blend between the refinement of the house and the roughness one would expect in a farm building, and having a feel of a 1940’s roadside garage. We did place it a distance from the home, but connected it visually through the addition of a long stone retaining wall.

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The clients have told me that one of their greatest challenges with this homestead is that when visitors arrive they want to see the garage and that after it is shown that they have a hard time pulling their guests away from the garage and into the home.

I consider that a compliment.

Originally posted 2015-02-26 14:29:18.

A garage is built2019-06-29T10:10:48+00:00
29 06, 2019

A hidden surprise when salvaging a house

2019-06-29T10:10:47+00:00

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So, I needed a lot of interior salvaged materials to finish up Western View.

And as fate would have it, I received a call from a farmer down near Franklin who had an old house on his property that he was planning on removing, and he wandered if I might be interested in doing any salvage work on the neglected home.

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The house was just what I needed… lot’s of really nice interior woodwork. And when I crawled under the house, it was plain to see that the first floor system had a lot of rot and termite damage, which likely was spread throughout the frame… good, I didn’t need another frame anyway. We struck up a deal.

There are always surprises to be found when taking down an old house, almost all of those surprises are bad, but with this house we were surprised to find that a majority of the timber-frame was in very good shape, and, it was impressive to behold.

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I tossed around some options with my client, from using these framing members in the rest of his house, to selling them to someone else and recoup some of our expenses, or perhaps we could build him the ultimate garage… a manly garage… yes, let’s do that.

Originally posted 2015-02-25 15:23:43.

A hidden surprise when salvaging a house2019-06-29T10:10:47+00:00
29 06, 2019

The front door

2019-06-29T10:10:46+00:00

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“Ninety percent of home buyers have made their decision on whether or not to buy a home by the time they reach the front door”… at least that is what my realtor told me.

I have no idea if that is a proven fact or not.
But, there is a lot of reason to think that that statement might be true.

The entrance to a home says a lot about the character and quality of a home. Also, by the time someone reaches the door, they have seen the neighborhood, the curb appeal of the home, and the landscaping.

A new homeowner can do a lot to adapt the interior to their tastes… new paint, fixtures, appliances and furnishings and the interior is reborn, but what is outside is pretty well set in place, without major disruption and expense.

The door and surrounding glass on Western View came from an old brick home that was falling down in Culpeper County. That home served as a hospital during the Civil War, one in which Walt Whitman spent several months recovering, and in which he did some of his writing.

Every time you enter this home you can’t help but think of who has walked across that threshold before you.

A door can be so much more than something you pick up at the lumber yard.

Originally posted 2015-02-25 14:57:51.

The front door2019-06-29T10:10:46+00:00
29 06, 2019

A handmade house requires unique materials

2019-06-29T10:10:45+00:00

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We needed a lot more material to finish up the new “Western View”. A lot more. The completed home tallied in at 4,000 square feet.

The old Western View house had provided the timber frame to create the front four rooms of this home, but there was “a lot of house ’round back”.

We framed all of this back section using new lumber and we finished the exterior with locally harvested poplar siding and trim.

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But, we needed enough salvaged material to finish the interior of the kitchen, dining, laundry, mud, and baths, and the master bedroom suite upstairs. That meant I needed to round up an antique staircase, old doors, vintage flooring, trim, paneling, wainscoting… the list goes on and on.

My job title goes beyond designer and builder… I am also “seeker of old materials”… one of my favorite responsibilities. It takes me all over the state and beyond. I meet a lot of great people, and see a lot of old homes, and I save some of them from destruction.

Originally posted 2015-02-25 14:11:19.

A handmade house requires unique materials2019-06-29T10:10:45+00:00
29 06, 2019

Bedrooms of a vintage timber-frame home

2019-06-29T10:10:44+00:00

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Western View’s antique timber-frame provided four rooms for this new home (not counting the hallways), there are the two downstairs rooms (the family room and home office) of which I have already posted photos.

And then, there are the two bedrooms upstairs. Each are mirrored images of the other… offering a fireplace, antique heart pine floors, vintage trim-work, and painted paneled walls.

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Notice the tray ceilings which is a trick I often use on the second floor rooms of old houses, which often come with very low ceilings.

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Originally posted 2015-02-24 16:55:43.

Bedrooms of a vintage timber-frame home2019-06-29T10:10:44+00:00
29 06, 2019

Is it worth the effort?

2019-06-29T10:10:43+00:00

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Western View… so, the question comes up… was it all worth the effort? from the searching for an old house, to the struggle of saving it from being destroyed… the hard work involved, the dirt, and the dangers that come from salvaging a historic structure, and then, putting it back together… not to mention the added expense from the extra labor and materials needed to build something that is not a cookie cutter home… and don’t forget there are the grumblings from the tradesmen who have to work in situations out of the norm… and the government officials from whom we need their approval to build our homes. At times it can be overwhelming. So, is it worth it?

Yes, yes it is. 🙂

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Originally posted 2015-02-24 16:33:24.

Is it worth the effort?2019-06-29T10:10:43+00:00
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