The Ruth Cabin

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I once met a wonderful family who lived in “the Metro world”. They had recently purchased a scenic piece of rural land which was a two hour drive from their busy lives.

They dreamed of building a small little cabin on the property… one that they could use on weekends and for vacations.

They envisioned that when the day came to retire that they would sell their city home and use those funds to add onto this little cabin.

Their plan worked.

I designed and built that little dream cabin for them and a few years later they called me back to turn that cabin into an incredible home. One of my absolute favorites.

Next up, let me share that story with you.

Originally posted 2015-05-24 14:29:15.

The Ruth Cabin2019-06-29T10:16:11+00:00

Lost

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Here’s an example of a cabin that was in as bad of a condition as could be, and still be standing.

I bought this cabin off of a farmer who was concerned that the falling structure was going to injure (or worse) some of his cattle.

I saw no value, or use, for the badly decayed cabin, but I knew I could use the stone on an upcoming project.

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I had a young man stop by when I was looking the cabin over, who really wanted the logs to salvage to create antique lumber out of it. He offered me money for the rights to the logs, which I declined after telling him that I didn’t see any potential for anything worthwhile in the structure for him to cut, but if he still wanted to try, the logs were his for the effort.

He came in shortly after that and carefully took down the logs, hauled them to his home-place where he had one of those portable sawmills and cut all those logs up.

He later told me that he thought he got enough salvageable wood out of that pile to pay for his gas.

In this business we learn more from our failures than we do from our successes.

Originally posted 2015-05-23 16:14:28.

Lost2019-06-29T10:16:10+00:00

Ten out of Ten

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This is an example of ecstasy to a salvager. A cabin this nice doesn’t come around often enough.

I’m not certain of the story of this cabin, I just dropped in when I saw the work going on during one my drives around.

I wish it had been mine to work with. She was a honey.

Originally posted 2015-05-23 14:06:20.

Ten out of Ten2019-06-29T10:16:09+00:00

Tidewater home

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I do love the homes from the Tidewater area of Virginia and North Carolina.

This photo was a “drive-by shooting”. I never did get around to tracking down it’s owner and seeing if I could peek inside.

I’ve heard the area in between the chimneys is for the oven… can any of you Tidewaterings confirm? or set me straight?

Originally posted 2015-05-23 13:33:01.

Tidewater home2019-06-29T10:16:08+00:00

The backside of chimneys

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Masons never put out the effort to make the backsides of their chimney’s attractive. lol I have never seen the hidden side of a chimney to be as nice as the front. One day I’m going to be surprised… maybe.

Originally posted 2015-05-22 15:27:18.

The backside of chimneys2019-06-29T10:16:07+00:00

Dormers on a tall house

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I think it would be nice to come home to a red house.

That’s quite an addition to the backside isn’t it?

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Originally posted 2015-05-22 14:55:33.

Dormers on a tall house2019-06-29T10:16:05+00:00

America could use more of these

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I know this is going to be hard for some to believe, but, at one time, things were made here in America.

Originally posted 2015-05-21 21:52:13.

America could use more of these2019-06-29T10:16:04+00:00

An old log home

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Perfection.

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It is possible to build a home that improves the landscape, imagine that.  In a world where man seems to create one eyesore after another, he once improved the world with his efforts.

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There is a log home buried underneath this siding.

Originally posted 2015-05-21 14:02:10.

An old log home2019-06-29T10:16:03+00:00

An old plantation home

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This house stood in the middle of cornfield… with not a single tree in sight. Her yard was not much more than dusty Virginia red clay. And that same clay served as the cement between the foundation and chimney stones.

The house was so tall… I guess because of the ten foot ceilings on both floors, which sat upon an elevated English basement. Or maybe it just appeared tall as it was the only thing taller than the corn.

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All that remained of this old home, other than the masonry, was the framing, siding, and metal roof. Everything else had long ago been removed. “Stolen” the land owner told me.

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I’ve never seen a more parched structure.
She had baked in that field for a couple hundred years.
Her wood was almost brittle to the touch. It would practically crumble in my hand.

Old houses each have their own character don’t they?

Originally posted 2015-05-20 23:33:29.

An old plantation home2019-06-29T10:16:02+00:00
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