Noah Bradley, Author at Handmade Houses with Noah Bradley

29 06, 2019

The Flint Hill house… Part 3

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:51+00:00

If this isn’t the ugliest new home that I have ever seen, it’s certainly a contender.

All of you dear friends who have been following my ramblings for a while know that I place great importance on the concept that a home needs to be attractive from all four sides… and that the most important of those four sides is the one seen from where you park your car.

After a long hard day at work, or an outing with kids, or returning from a vacation… when you get out of that car you want to be pleased with the home you are entering. Pleased, heck, I think you should be blown away with your home! “Wow! Look at this place! Am I blessed or what???”

Yet this photo is the profile these folks and their guests were given from a famous designer/builder to gaze upon when arriving. Can you believe it? The plans they were given showcased the view side of the house, which is nice, but he neglected this side completely.

Originally posted 2015-03-09 21:47:15.

The Flint Hill house… Part 3Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:51+00:00

29 06, 2019

The Flint Hill house… Part 2

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:50+00:00

I did not build this log cabin. Yet, I was called in to design and build an addition for it. I wondered why.

The cabin had been built “by a nationally recognized expert on log cabins”. Why wasn’t he being called in to add an addition?

The cabin did have some things going for it… nice old logs, not a bad chimney, appealing roof pitches, and a porch located on the side of the house where one could enjoy the views.

There were a couple of things though that jumped out at me that I would have done differently, but I didn’t comment on them to the owner. For one thing I’ve never been a big fan of square windows… I like windows that are taller than they are wide.

Also, I don’t care for board-and-batten siding on a log cabin. In all my years of looking at historic cabins… hundreds and hundreds of them… I have never seen a single one that originally had board-and-batten siding on it. None, at all.

Now don’t get me wrong, I like board-and-batten, just not on, or near, a log cabin… they tend to give a cabin an “outbuilding feel”… If you want your cabin to take on a chicken-coop look, go with board-and-batten. If not use horizontal siding.

I asked the cabin’s owners about their relationship with their previous builder and if they were pleased his workmanship. The long list of problems they began describing was unbelievable, starting with their discovery that the builder had not installed footers under the foundation and that they were forced to hire someone else to jack the house up and build a new proper foundation under it.

hmmmmm. So, his building skills needed improvement but what about his design work?
I’ll let you judge… in Part 3.

Originally posted 2015-03-09 21:21:01.

The Flint Hill house… Part 2Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:50+00:00

29 06, 2019

The Flint Hill house… Part 1

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:49+00:00

OK… Here’s another project that I think you will find of interest.

I was asked to design and build a vintage barn addition that would adjoin an old log cabin that another builder had put up.

And, that’s what I did.

Here’s a look at the nearly completed exterior of the addition. I have plenty of construction photos, as well as finished interior images, to share… but let’s start at the beginning.

Originally posted 2015-03-09 20:28:56.

The Flint Hill house… Part 1Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:49+00:00

29 06, 2019

Rope pointing

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:48+00:00

This little cottage required a lot of stone to build… a lot of stone… as you can see in the photo with the blue tarp.

I’ve also included a couple of photos showing the same area of the house as we were building it… the first shows the stonework in a phase that we call “dry laid”… the stone has been shaped and put in place using cement (most clients prefer this look and so this is where we stop.

The historic stone house that is on this property, that we restored, is a typical Valley home in that has decorative pointing that is applied between the stones once finished. And that, is what we did to this little cottage… as you can see in the final photo.

Originally posted 2015-03-09 14:42:20.

Rope pointingNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:48+00:00

29 06, 2019

Five key features of good design

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:47+00:00

While we were there… restoring the Strasburg stone home… we thought we ought to go ahead and build a sweet little stone cottage. It now serves as a guest house and studio for the homeowners… pretty cute, huh?

Found in this new structure is five key ingredients to excellent design and construction. When combined a home can be created that is striking in appearance to all who gaze upon it.

First it’s small. Now houses don’t need to be small to be attractive, and it is possible to have an ugly small home… but the odds are in your favor that if you build small, that the structure will be attractive. Large homes can be attractive too, but one must avoid the flaws so prevalent in the dreaded McMansion.

The second feature found in this home is the simple, elegant, and historical lines… nothing here for show, no doo-dads, fake gables, or plastic columns. Simplicity at it’s best.

Third, is the quality stone work… lot’s of stone… and not some kind of stick-on random pattern stone work. Here we have the best stone available for this location, laid by skilled masons. Brick can be nice too… if well done.

Fourth… install a quality roof. This one is copper. The eye and the mind, can’t help but notice the added richness, if the house is worthy of possessing a precious metal for it’s roof, then it must be precious. Like fine jewelry on a woman.

And finally use antique wood on the interior. An antique is always worth more than something newly manufactured. It’s warmer, worn from use, and of a higher quality than can be found anywhere else.

Originally posted 2015-03-08 17:27:23.

Five key features of good designNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:47+00:00

29 06, 2019

Increasing the height of a basement ceiling

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:46+00:00

Here are two photos of the restored stone home’s interior.

The first photo was taken of the main floor. As you can see, the danger phase is now over, and sanity once again rules the home. This new floor system should be good for another century or two.

The second photo was taken of the restored fireplace in the basement kitchen, with the new/old joists that we installed clearly seen overhead. Nice aren’t they?

The second “issue” with this home… the other reason we were brought in… was the low ceiling height found down in the basement. I believe it was something like 6’6″, from finished basement floor to it’s plastered ceiling.

It was “possible” for someone like me, who is 6’2″, to be down there without bending over, but it was mighty uncomfortable. All I would need to do would be to drink a little too much coffee, gain a little bounce in my step, and I would be destined to acquire a headache very quickly.

Now anywhere else in world, other than the Shenandoah Valley, this would have been an easy fix… just dig out more dirt below. But the builders in the Valley, when they build a home, dig down until they hit bedrock and then build their homes… hmmm… they build their houses on rock… that sounds almost… well…Biblical… a house doesn’t get any stronger than one setting on a miles-deep ledge of stone.

So with that being the case, I could not give my clients their desired extra two feet of ceiling height, at least not for any reasonable cost. But, we were in a situation where every inch I could gain would make a difference.

The first idea for more height was easy, we would not replace the plastered ceiling. That would not only give us an extra inch, but more importantly it would give the illusion of having much more headroom due to the higher space between each ceiling joist.

Next, we thought we could eliminate the stone flooring and perhaps even pull out the old concrete slab below it. We could then put back in a thinner slab and use it for a finished floor.

And that, is what we did… in the process we gained a full six inches in basement height… which surprisingly made a huge difference in the enjoyment of the basement kitchen.

Originally posted 2015-03-08 16:42:54.

Increasing the height of a basement ceilingNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:46+00:00

29 06, 2019

Replacing a floor system in a stone home

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:45+00:00

You better watch that last step when you come down in the morning!
It’s a doozy.

Don’t stand below the suspended woodstove!
It’s a headache waiting to happen.

And finally, here is a great way to get rid of unwanted solicitors, just yell to them to “come on in!” smile emoticon

Keep in mind that just because you own a stone home doesn’t mean that you will never have problems. There were two major issues going on in this Strasburg home that we were called in to cure.

The first issue was with the main floor system. It had grown weak from age and neglect. The floor was sagging and bouncy. Once we started looking her over we discovered some rot, some insect damage, and some inappropriate alterations. It was time for an upgrade.

We carefully took up all the old flooring, replaced the worn-out floor joists with stronger antique joists and reinstalled the original flooring. Replacing floor joists is tricky in an old stone home because each end of a joist is embedded into the stone walls, so they each required careful stone removal and replacement.

But, the mission was accomplished, she was once again as good as new (maybe even better) but still looking like a loved antique.

Let’s continue onto problem number two and the restored floor system photos in our next post…

Originally posted 2015-03-08 15:16:51.

Replacing a floor system in a stone homeNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:45+00:00

29 06, 2019

A three room stone home

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:44+00:00

This Valley stone house appears large, but she is basically just a three room home.

The top floor is a single bedroom with bath.
The main floor is a large family room.
And on the basement level… you will find the kitchen/dining area.

Originally posted 2015-03-07 18:51:43.

A three room stone homeNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:44+00:00

29 06, 2019

The many virtues of limestone

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:43+00:00

This home was as black as coal when it was first built.

I would have loved to have seen that.

It doesn’t take long for limestone to develop a grey patina on it’s surface once it is exposed to air.

Whenever I visit the Valley and see all the stone structures that were built there so long ago I try to imagine what they must have looked like when they were new. I’m not aware of any other stone that changes it’s color over time.

The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia is full of stone houses, bridges, barns, and walls… all made out of huge blocks of limestone. If you have ever desired to live in stone home, this is the place where dreams come true.

I am told that the Valley was once a huge inland sea and that over many years a deep layer of limestone sediment was created. Visit the Valley and dig anywhere you want through it’s rich soil and within a few feet you will find a floor of limestone.

One thing incredible thing about limestone… it “shapes” wonderfully. With enough focused effort large sugar cubes will come to anyone willing to swing a hammer and hold a chisel.

This
naturally occurring,
virtually unlimited,
easily malleable,
infinitely durable,
environmentally friendly,
low maintenance,
cost effective,
product, became the building material of choice.

Our ancestors chose to build not only for themselves but for the generations to come. In the Valley they chose to use limestone.

And we are thankful for that.

Originally posted 2015-03-07 17:58:18.

The many virtues of limestoneNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:43+00:00

29 06, 2019

The first impression of a stone home

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:42+00:00

There are few homes more alluring than a stone home. They draw us in with their overwhelming beauty. As I first caught a glimpse of this Strasburg home I was smitten.

This house is obviously perfect!

There can’t possibly be anything wrong with it!

Why would these new homeowners call this humble builder for help?

Oh, how beauty blinds us all.

Originally posted 2015-03-07 16:45:11.

The first impression of a stone homeNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:31:42+00:00