Blog - Page 108 of 123 - Handmade Houses with Noah Bradley

Saving a silo… part 3

The first thing we did was to look the silo over thoroughly.

When we restore on an old building, or as in this case, when we take one down, we want to get to know the building first… to see how she how she was built, and to find out what condition she is in.

Here on this silo we spent a good bit of time inspecting the base of the silo. If we were to find a couple of bad courses on one side of this structure, it would be no different than taking a notch out of the base of tree… the whole thing could come crashing down at any moment.

And, riding one of these silos down to the ground, while working up on top, could ruin a person’s day.

We also spent some time pulling down all the vines that had grown up the structure… and there was plenty of them, as you can see in the photos. Vine growth can quickly lead to rot on wood structures.

We were pleased to find that these vines hadn’t created any damage. And, our base inspection concluded that everything was still solid and sound.

It was time to climb to the top and begin our work…

Originally posted 2015-05-03 18:38:41.

Saving a silo… part 3Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:14:57+00:00

Saving a silo… part 2

The silo was originally connected to a large dairy barn… both built about the same time, likely late 1920’s or somewhere in the 30’s.

The farmer would raise corn and then use a conveyor to fill the silo through the window opening in the roof. The corn would then be shoveled through one of five openings located on the barn side, to feed the milk cows throughout the year.

Corn went in one end of this structure… milk came out the other. Pretty cool huh? And there I thought milk came from the grocery store. 😉

This barn was ready to collapse at an moment. We did not salvage any material from it, and frankly, we were relieved that it did not fall while we were there salvaging this silo.

Originally posted 2015-05-03 15:35:29.

Saving a silo… part 2Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:14:56+00:00

Saving a silo… part 1

Here are a few photos taken the day we started our process of dismantling this silo.

She, and the barn she was connected to, were destined to be burned down. If we had not taken her down then, all that would be left of this structure today would be these photos.

The first thing I notice in looking at these photos is that she looks a bit shorter than the finished restored silo that we rebuilt… and that is because we added a stone base and a row of windows at the top.

I also see the remaining plaster that still adheres to the outside. The plaster remained intact on the inside but the outside has lost most of it’s finished surface. We contemplated building the silo back with this aged look, but in the end declined.

Even though the silo here looks shorter than the finished restored structure, she was still very intimidating to climb.

Originally posted 2015-05-03 15:15:35.

Saving a silo… part 1Noah Bradley2019-06-29T10:14:55+00:00

Saving a silo

A while back I shared with everyone the re-construction of an eleven-sided silo, and the process of building an “undecagon” stone base for it to rest on.

Well, I just found a packet of old photos that I took of the silo as she originally stood, and of our salvage operation of it. I think you will find it of interest (if not, just sort of tune me out for a couple of days ;).

I apologize that this is out of order… I feel a bit like George Lucas in that now I am releasing the prequel… lol. I promise there is no Jarr Jarr Binks characters.

So, to start, here are three of photos of the reconstruction to remind you of the finished product.

Originally posted 2015-05-03 14:15:07.

Saving a siloNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:14:54+00:00

An new/old cabin improves with age

One last look at this little cabin.

This photo was taken years after it’s construction. I think she has held up very well.

That’s one great thing about building structures with antique materials, and with a traditional design… they actually improve with age.

Originally posted 2015-05-02 16:09:58.

An new/old cabin improves with ageNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:14:53+00:00

Dating a barn door

I found an old barn door that fit just perfectly on this cabin.

It was a very old door, with a wooden lock, hand forged hinges, and two horizontal battens on the inside holding it together.

The quickest way to date a barn is to look at it’s doors.

If you see a “Z” pattern on the batten side of a door, she is a twentieth century barn. “Z” bracing did not exist in Virgina prior to the Civil War… at least not that I have ever seen.

Originally posted 2015-05-02 14:37:35.

Dating a barn doorNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:14:52+00:00

Chinking a log cabin

A corner of this log cabin… before… and after, it is chinked. I like both images… but, it always fascinates me how a stack of individual logs is visually transformed into a solid wall, all because of the application of a little cement.

Originally posted 2015-05-02 14:18:20.

Chinking a log cabinNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:14:51+00:00

Tips on chinking a log cabin

Here are a few close-up photos that illustrate our chinking prep work. We used old fenceboards for the window trim on this cabin (they were handy, free, and a perfect match to the logs) Take note of how much care and attention we gave to creating a perfect fit.

Window and door trim need to be installed before you chink. A person always chinks to the trim… not trims to the chink joint.

You will see fiberglass insulation behind the lathe wiring… this is an old photo… we now use spray-in foam.

On exterior chinking it is vital that the chinking be tucked back from the face of the log on top and flush with the log on the bottom… if you don’t do this you will allow water infiltration and rot out your logs.

Your goal is a perfectly smooth chink joint. You want your eye to go to the logs not your chinking. A sloppy chink job is not rustic… it is poor workmanship.

And don’t use plastic chinking… please.

Originally posted 2015-05-02 13:58:51.

Tips on chinking a log cabinNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:14:50+00:00

the Broad Axe vs. the Adze

Here are a few photos to look over…

The one above is of a greyed antique log that was nicely hewn with a broad axe more than a century ago.

The next photo is of a man today demonstrating how a hewn log was made with a broad axe. The major hunks have been removed by using a regular axe and then the broad axe is brought in to clean everything up nicely. Most men stand when using a broad axe.

The next photo shows an Eric Sloane drawing of the proper use of an adze which was to plane down, or make smooth, a timber that was previously hewn with an axe. It is very, very rare to find an old log cabin where someone has come in with an adze… that tool was generally saved for making the floor joists look refined. An adze is a hand plane on the end of long handle.

And the final photo, seen below, is of what you will find on many modern made cabins… where they took an adze, which is intended to make wood smooth, and instead used it to roughen the wood… creating lots of random scoop marks.

I can appreciate the desire to get rid of a rough sawn timber and to instill some handworkmanship onto the surface of a log… But I’ve found that the more people work with logs, the more they learn and practice log construction, the more they experience antique cabins… the more faux these adzed logs look…

It’s all in the details.

Remember those old commercials on tv where they had this device that would cut your hair after you hooked it up to your vacuum cleaner? A flowbee? It did the job, and to most folks it looked fine, but to those in the trade it irritated to no end… well, that’s what modern adzed logs are to old cabin guys.

Originally posted 2015-05-01 20:02:10.

the Broad Axe vs. the AdzeNoah Bradley2019-06-29T10:14:49+00:00

A hewn cabin… part 4

When it came time to put a roof on the cabin I went to our local sawmill and bought some pine timbers to create five pairs of heavy duty roof trusses.

Locally harvested and sawn wood is environmentally friendly and low in cost. And besides, I love going to the sawmill, any opportunity that I get you will find me in my truck and on the way there. It’s almost as much fun as visiting Disney World, but without the mouse ears. 🙂

We bolted these trusses together and pegged over the bolts. We also beat the sawn timbers with an adze to rough them up. Yes, I’ve done some things I’m not proud of… I’ve made mistakes… but I’ve learned from them… I’ve gotten better… and part of my sharing here on line is to help you not make the same ones.

Do not buy, or use, an adze… there, I said it.