Noah Bradley, Author at Handmade Houses with Noah Bradley

29 06, 2019

A salvaged staircase

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:56+00:00

I cannot say that this is the best staircase that I have ever built… I have been fortunate to have built so many fine ones over the years… from the rustic to the refined.

But, I can say that I have never built a better one than this one. I wish my photos could do her justice. She nearly brings a tear to my eye.

She is not a grand staircase… Scarlett O’Hara never walked down these to greet Wret Butler. There is no elaborate ornamentation in her railings and spindles. There is no elaborate curves or flares. Simple, but elegant, is how I describe her.

This staircase was lovingly salvaged from the house in Franklin, Va and was reworked by us to configure to Western View’s layout. The workmanship from the craftsman who originally built her remains, along with the patina and wear created by all the families who gently lived in the home over the course of a century and a half.

The railing is extremely smooth to the touch and the wainscoting adds just so much her appeal. The little door under the stairs is the finishing touch… cute as can be… a natural draw to every child.

Originally posted 2015-02-28 17:38:37.

A salvaged staircaseNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:56+00:00

29 06, 2019

Floor vents

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:55+00:00

The lowly floor vent.

So, often overlooked in even the finest homes and restorations.

At the end of a construction project most homeowners just want to be done with the construction process, no more decision making, and “looking for other options”, thank you very much.

The budget has been blown and the house is weeks, or months, behind schedule. The heating/air conditioning subcontractor only knows of the standard grills that he puts in every home and looks confused when you comment that his cheap louvers look terrible slapped onto vintage flooring.

The urge is nearly overwhelming to just “get her done”. But I have found that when I return to homes that I have built that it is finishing touches like this that my eye is attracted to, and that my soul gets the greatest satisfaction from, that I finished the race well.

So, I make sure and give this finishing touch thought well ahead of time.

There are manufacturers of finer grills out there… but they still look a bit too “manufactured” for my taste. Although, I have gone this route when all else failed.

I like to either custom make them myself out of scrap lumber from the flooring. Or seek out alternatives at salvage yards. These metal grates all came from an old decorative oil stove that I bought and disassembled.

I was pleased… but maybe I just obsess about details too much. What do you think?

Originally posted 2015-02-28 16:24:11.

Floor ventsNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:55+00:00

29 06, 2019

The perfect bathroom

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:54+00:00

Now, this is how a bathroom should be.

The soapstone floors are heated with radiant heat so that they are always warm to the touch. Happy feet always make a person smile.

There is of course a shower (not seen) but no motorized, over-sized jacuzzi.

And, there is one fine, oh-so-comfortable, clawfoot bathtub. A clawfoot tub is more than a cleaning instrument… It is a destination… a meditation./relaxation device… an escape from reality.

Never buy a tub by looking at them… get in them! Try them on! Buy for comfort.

I sized the water heater in this house so that there would never be a shortage of hot water when a little more would be needed. One can spend the day in this room. Or not. But you should have the option, if that is your choice.

The wainscoting on the walls gives the bath a nice country feel… and the box under the window?… that is a laundry shoot that drops old clothes directly into a basket in the laundry room below.

This bath is a great example of understated luxury. I like that. I’m not impressed with baths that are the size of bedrooms, I’m not impressed with gold faucets, triple sinks, or showers designed for six people at a time. A bath, just like every other room should be a place that a homeowner wants to spend time in… it should be comfortable, not something to impress the neighbors.

Originally posted 2015-02-28 15:58:47.

The perfect bathroomNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:54+00:00

29 06, 2019

A log cabin without a fireplace is like a canoe without a paddle

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:53+00:00

‘There is an old saying… If you want to travel… become a travel agent. If you want to drive a nice car… become a car salesman. If you want to own a nice home… become a builder. And, if you want to travel, and own a nice car, and own a nice home… become a lawyer. So, maybe I should have pursued the legal profession… My truck has 450,000 miles on it. And, I so would have liked to have gone somewhere warm during this miserable February that we have had here in Virginia. But, thanks to being a builder, I did have a warm fireplace to enjoy.

Originally posted 2015-02-27 21:16:25.

A log cabin without a fireplace is like a canoe without a paddleNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:53+00:00

29 06, 2019

A summer beam is installed

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:52+00:00

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.

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.

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.

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

A summer beam is installedNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:52+00:00

29 06, 2019

Life at the top of a chimney

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:51+00:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 chimneyNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:51+00:00

29 06, 2019

Teamwork in design and construction

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:50+00:00

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.

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.

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

Teamwork in design and constructionNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:50+00:00

29 06, 2019

Building a timber frame garage

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:49+00:00

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.

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!

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 garageNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:49+00:00

29 06, 2019

A garage is built

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:48+00:00

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

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.

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 builtNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:48+00:00

29 06, 2019

A hidden surprise when salvaging a house

Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:47+00:00

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.

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.

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 houseNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:10:47+00:00

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