Noah Bradley, Author at Handmade Houses with Noah Bradley

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29 06, 2019

Adding a built-up roof

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:11:06+00:00

And then, we started putting the mountainside cabin back together, with the goal of making her better than she ever was.

First up, was our desire to re-use those precious pole rafters that had held up the old roof system for many decades (see my prior posting for a photo of them).

How those skinny poles had ever supported a roof is beyond me. I could easily have seen how the next heavy snow load on top of that roof would have brought the roof crashing in. What a tragedy it would have been for old St Nick the next time he had visited there.

A few of these ancient pole rafters had gone bad over the years so we decided to use the pole rafters from the front porch as replacements. When it came time to rebuild this porch roof we would go into the woods and gather new poles, just like the original builders did. Only, we carried chainsaws.

I miss my dear grandmother. Born in 1900 she used to tell me of how when she was a child she used to ride into Richmond with her father, sitting on the back of his horse drawn wagon, heading to the big city in order to sell his vegetables and on the way home how he would get paid to clean out stalls. When he got home, he would apply this “waste product” to his garden for better crops the following year.

I wondered, with all that my grandmother had seen change in the world during the course of her life, what she felt was the greatest invention of them all. I was so surprised to hear her say “the chainsaw… men used to have to work so hard for so little wood”.

I think of her every-single-time I pick up my chainsaw.

I do get sidetracked don’t I?… sorry about that… back to the roof…

To strengthen the roof we added another layer of new framing members… (these would not be seen once we finished). This new layer would provide an area for insulation and create an exposed painted paneling ceiling in the bedroom loft… that would help brighten that room, and “showcase” the antique rafters.

It’s a process that we have used over and over, always with amazing results. A warmer cabin, a stronger cabin, a more attractive cabin. Win, win, win.

Originally posted 2015-03-03 17:15:05.

Adding a built-up roofNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:11:06+00:00

29 06, 2019

Always get a building permit

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:11:05+00:00

The first step in restoring an old log cabin is to remove everything that you don’t want.

I know that sounds far too simple. But the truth is that most people are baffled as to just where to begin on a project like this. It all just seems so overwhelming. I’ve seen men just stand there with their mouths hanging open.

Actually, there is another step that one needs to take first.. before the work begins… and that is a story to be shared…

You see, it was requested of me to not get a permit for this cabin. We were after all “just fixing it up”. We weren’t adding any square footage. There was no plumbing, no wiring, no septic work. “Just a tune up”. There was a concern expressed about drawing attention to the cabin, no one wanted to make vandals or thieves aware of this little cabin.

The cabin was located three miles from anything a sane person would consider a road.

The access “road” to this cabin was extremely narrow, with sheer cliff drop-offs at the edge, and riddled with pot holes that would swallow the average car. (I once stopped on the way to work to pick up a section of the leaf spring from my pickup truck that fell off.)

I had one young man quit because of that road. He was riding down the mountain as a passenger in a very small car with another member of the crew who was… “very large”. The road was covered with snow and they slid within an inch of going over the edge. He told me that he had a vision of dieing that day with Charlie laying on top of him inside of a cheap Ford Fiesta… “I’ll never fully recover from that image” he said.

Anyway, somehow the County Building Inspector found out about the cabin being restored and came looking for it. He parked uphill from the cabin, about a quarter of a mile. You see, the last leg of the road was downhill and I guess he was concerned that he might not be able to get back out.

And so he walked down to the cabin where my crew was working.

But, as he was walking it became apparent that he had failed to engage the parking brake on his new county truck… which came down the hill after him until it found a tree capable of stopping it.

I wasn’t on site. Thank goodness.

My crew was most helpful and managed to winch the inspectors truck back up on the road and luckily it was not so damaged that he couldn’t make it back to his office. He left message with my crew that I was to come see him at my “earliest possible convenience”.

I still remember that day, arriving in the county parking lot, walking past a truck which had it’s front in caved in, wondering if my career was over, or if I would be removed from the project, or if I was going to be hit with all kinds of fines, or lectured to by an angry soul, or perhaps be held financially responsible for the damage to his truck.

After sitting in the waiting area for a few minutes as other members of the staff would point at me and whisper things I was invited back to “the office”. I swear I felt like I was going back to the Principal’s Office. I hoped there wasn’t a paddle hanging on the wall.

I could tell the inspector, who sat quietly on the other side of the desk, was enjoying this moment as I tried to explain and apologize.

But the man surprised me.

Unlike most government officials that I have encountered over the years he had a kind spirit. He was a retired builder himself and he really appreciated my work. He also admired my men who helped him out that day. And, he was truly grateful that an old cabin in the county was being saved and not destroyed.

He handed me a form to fill out for a renovation permit and said the fee would be forty five dollars. Whew.

In the years after, that man I became friends. I always made sure and got a permit, and he was always so complimentary of my work. I was greatly saddened the day that he retired.

Originally posted 2015-03-02 18:13:14.

Always get a building permitNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:11:05+00:00

29 06, 2019

Log cabins age well

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:11:04+00:00

This is first view I had of the mountainside cabin as I approached her.

This is the back of the cabin.

The well-worn addition off of this side was at one time the families kitchen.

I’m standing about where the spring is located that supplied the cabin with fresh water.

Before bottled water, heck, before running water, having a spring nearby was a handy thing to have.

I still clearly remember this moment. I stood there in awe of this place. I spent the next few months restoring this cabin, and I think I did a great job of doing it… but sometimes, when I look at this photo, I think that perhaps she was more attractive as she was. (I’m weird in that way)

I don’t believe many would disagree with me that log cabins age well. I wonder if the same will be said in the future about the vinyl homes of today.

Noah

Originally posted 2015-03-02 16:41:40.

Log cabins age wellNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:11:04+00:00

29 06, 2019

The first step in restoring a log cabin is carefully looking it over

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:11:03+00:00

The cabin’s owner told me that I was the eighth person that he had brought in to see if the cabin could be restored.

All of the previous builders had told him that the best thing that he could do would be to bulldoze the place and put up a new cabin.

I told him that it was the prettiest cabin that I had ever seen.

And, it was.

And, he hired me.

Now don’t misunderstand me, the cabin had “issues”, no doubt.

I had never seen a chimney in worse shape. For some unknown reason the bottom of the chimney had experienced tremendous aging… a loss of mortar, a loss of stone, even an erosion of some of the stones… to the point I was concerned that the chimney could fall at any moment.

And the front porch… well, let’s just say that I’ve seen more inviting places to savor the day. My wife, seen in the photo, just walked on by.

But the logs, they were beautiful. Large poplar logs… one of my favorite species. All in great shape. If you have really nice logs you have the potential for a really nice home.

This cabin restoration was going to be a treat.

Originally posted 2015-03-02 16:36:56.

The first step in restoring a log cabin is carefully looking it overNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:11:03+00:00

29 06, 2019

Humble beginnings

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:11:02+00:00

I started my company, Blue Mountain Builders, in the Fall of 1988.

By that time I had more than ten years of experience building and restoring homes for other people and other firms. (If you want to hear my whole story visit my blog and click the link “Who is Noah Bradley?”)

But running your own company is a whole different animal.

I slapped a sign on the side of my truck, bought some business cards, and made a lot of phone calls. I had no work, no savings, and three children under the age of five (one was a newborn). And, old man winter was coming soon.

Even though I had no paying job, I worked hard the first couple of weeks, setting up a workshop in an old building out back of our rental home. And, I made three sets of sawhorses for the “work that was to come”. I still have one of those sets, well worn, but usable.

It really helps when you have a wife who has unshakable faith in you, it will get you through those periods of doubt.

Two weeks later I received a call from someone asking if I would build them a drive-through tractor shed. Not quite a fulfilling of my dream job but I believe I smiled every moment while I was putting that little building up. This company was going to succeed.

Two years later I would build a log cabin that would be placed on the cover of Country Living magazine… and, at the same time… I would restore another cabin… a sweet little thing… hidden in the woods.

Originally posted 2015-03-02 15:15:37.

Humble beginningsNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:11:02+00:00

29 06, 2019

Log home in Strasburg

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:11:01+00:00

No, I did not restore this log home.

Yes, it is so gorgeous that I wish I could claim that I had restored it.

Hat tip to the folks in Strasburg that have cared for this cabin!

Once a Civil War battleground, Strasburg, Virginia, has a fine collection of old houses spanning three centuries. See more of them here: http://bit.ly/XTBlRk

Originally posted 2015-03-01 22:01:19.

Log home in StrasburgNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:11:01+00:00

29 06, 2019

To salvage, or not, that is the question

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:11:00+00:00

If I may, I’d like to explain my position on the salvage of old homes and barns.
I feel that if there is a chance that an old home will be restored and cared for that it should be left alone and respected. I have turned down the salvage opportunity on many such properties over the years. Some of those buildings still stand today in disrepair, some were salvaged by others, some were lost, but a few have been restored.
If however a vintage structure will soon be lost forever, or there is a danger of it injuring visitors, then I feel salvaging is a worthy and honorable thing to do. Salvaging is nothing new, there are whole villages in England that were built centuries before America was founded that were built out of salvaged materials from even earlier buildings. I have worked on log cabins built in the 1800’s that had logs in them from previous cabins built in the 1700’s.
My goal has always been to try and rebuild the home back somewhere else as close to the original as it can be. Most of the time this is not an option. The majority of structures that I have salvaged are either in a great state of disrepair, or other people have been in the home before I have arrived, and have already removed materials such as: the doors, the mantles, and even the flooring.
If putting a home back up as it was was is not an option. I will use each piece as it was intended… I install antique flooring back down as flooring… I don’t run it through a planer and make furniture out of it. I put beams back up as beams; I don’t saw them up to make flooring. I also do my best to document and photograph each home and pass this information on to the homeowners to keep the story of their new home intact.
Years ago I ended up with several homes that needed to be salvaged that coming summer. I came up with what I thought was a great idea. I would offer four paid summer positions to historic architectural students. They could join in on my team in salvaging these homes; and in the process gain some hands-on experience with the type of structures they were learning about in school, and also help me better document these pieces of history.
So, I called up the head of the local university’s historic architectural department (I live near Charlottesville Va), explained who I was, what I did, and what I’d like to do. She informed me that she felt that I was as low of a life form as could exist, and that she would do everything that she could “to protect her students” from me, and that she would rather see an old house burned down than come into the hands of someone like me.
I obviously abandoned my idea after that call… it was a shame, I really think there would have been plenty of benefits to all.
I later spoke with someone in her department who listened to all I had to say and at the end she said that I was rather convincing but that she felt that she had just had an encounter with the devil himself and wondered if she needed to take a shower.
Is there any wonder that builders have struggles with architects?

Originally posted 2015-03-01 21:02:53.

To salvage, or not, that is the questionNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:11:00+00:00

29 06, 2019

One of many reasons to salvage old buildings

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:59+00:00

Here is an old Virginia Tavern located in Albemarle County, Virginia.

It hurts me to think about her.

She was built sometime in the 1700’s and was rumored to have been visited by many of our nation’s founding fathers.

The local fire department burnt it to the ground… for practice.

The owner of the Tavern called me up to see if I wanted to buy it for salvage. I went over to see it and made him an offer. I told him that I would put it back up somewhere else in all her original splendor.

He called me up that night and said that he had originally offered it to the fire department for practice and that they had called him up after I came and had accepted his offer… and since he had offered it to them first, it was only fair that they get to burn it down.

I doubled my offer. I begged. I pleaded. I tried to reason. After being turned down repeatedly I asked if I could at least come in and remove the wainscoting and the doors? “No, the fire department needs it all to get the proper learning experience”.

Over the years I have been tearfully hugged and thanked for saving old structures destined to be lost. But on one occasion I was once verbally assaulted by the head of the local university historical architectural department telling me that she “would rather see a home burned than moved”… I never called her about this Tavern, but with regard to this historic treasure, she got her wish.

Originally posted 2015-03-01 16:32:36.

One of many reasons to salvage old buildingsNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:59+00:00

29 06, 2019

A new home that appears to be an old Virginia farmhouse

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:58+00:00

Four final parting shots of Western View…

Thanks to each and every one of you for allowing me to walk you through not only this house, but the construction of her.

You are the best.

I had a great time sharing, but I can’t help but feel like some old grandfather going slowly through the family photo album with all the grandchiildren rolling their collective eyes and wondering if the old man would ever finish. lol

Originally posted 2015-03-01 15:41:35.

A new home that appears to be an old Virginia farmhouseNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:58+00:00

29 06, 2019

A kitchen with a fireplace

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:57+00:00

Here’s the kitchen of Western View…

The cabinets were made by my crew using left-over pieces of vintage heart-pine and antique glass panes that we gathered from salvaged window sashes.

We even made a “wood refrigerator”… can you spot it?

The countertop and the flooring are all soapstone that was harvested locally down in Nelson County… the countertop is a rare grade of soapstone known as “black serpentine”.

The kitchen blends into the dining room and allows the cook to easily address any new guests entering through “the door that Walt Whitman once used”. Every new visitor always enters in amazement, full of questions, and anxious for a tour of the house.

Of course the real draw that pulls everyone to the kitchen is the cook and what she/he is cooking, but second to that is the cooking fireplace. Built at countertop height and often in use it opens a new/old dimension to cooking. My words cannot describe how much an open fire adds to the atmosphere of this room.

I believe that of all of the kitchens I ever built, that this one is my favorite.

Originally posted 2015-03-01 15:08:46.

A kitchen with a fireplaceNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:57+00:00

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