These antique oak logs have been notched by us creating a dovetailed corner with approximately 4 to 6 inch chinking spaces. The chinking is recessed at the top to ensure that rain does not seep into the chinking once it has come down the surface of the log. And notice how the siding is so meticulously inset into the log wall to create an attractive and weatherproof connection.
Originally posted 2014-12-16 15:19:44.
When we build we always try to build so that when we finish the cabin it looks as if it has always been there. So, when people look confused and ask us if it really is a new home we take that as the ultimate compliment.
Originally posted 2014-12-16 15:00:18.
One of the finest post and beam frames I ever had the privilege of putting up. Salvaged from a late 1700’s/early 1800’s home this frame will soon serve as incredible kitchen off of a vintage log cabin.
Originally posted 2014-12-16 14:29:24.
Our area offers many parcels of land with scenic views, either pastoral or mountain. I’ve been blessed over the years to spend my working days building houses in locations with views that many people take vacations in order to visit something similar. I have found though that there is something more important and satisfying than a view of distant mountains and that is one of private water access, it is also much harder to find. Our Moriah project has a spring, a strong year round stream, a quarter mile of frontage on the North Fork of the Rivanna River and a view of the Advance Mills waterfall from the front porch… and yes there are mountain views here too!
Originally posted 2014-12-15 19:21:37.
We use a lot of stone in our projects. We find that quality stone work can add so much to the beauty of home. Most of the stone that we use has been salvaged from previous structures for a variety of reasons; from the fact that early structures were built using the first and thus best pickings that were available, to the hand workmanship of previous craftsmen who originally shaped these stones, to the aged patina from decades of exposure to the elements. The stones pictured here were salvaged from a old stone bridge in Pennsylvania. Each was hand shaped, some measuring up to nine feet in length. We used them all on our Moriah project to build the chimneys and landscaping elements.
Originally posted 2014-12-14 18:55:46.
There is something wonderful when brick and stone come together.
Originally posted 2014-12-13 14:48:12.
Here are a few photos showing some of the details of Moriah… the first is of the kitchen which is flooded with the morning light, the next one is of the porch off to the left of the main entry door (a very inviting space), then there is the top of the staircase where antique heart pine flooring comes into contact with one of the massive hemlock beams that were salvaged from an antique cotton mill, and then there is the dining room made from an early 1800’s log cabin complete with a fireplace.
Originally posted 2014-12-11 15:57:58.
Blue Mountain Builders was founded in 1988, with the goal of specializing in the building of new homes using antique materials… mostly log cabins, barns, farmhouses etc, with a few unique specimens thrown in here and there such as a mill, or a silo, or perhaps a stone retreat tucked gently into a hillside.
We’ve also done our share of historic restorations: some from the more famous homes in the area, but many that George Washington never slept in. Our focus has always been on pre 1850’s homes, we found out early on that there was little salvage value in homes built after that period. That position was abandoned when I received a call that Moriah was about to be destroyed. The caller inquired if I would be interested in salvaging any material from within her… flooring, trim etc.
Mariah was built in the late 1970’s by a very special lady, Bepee Lewis. I never had the privilege of meeting her, but the reputation of her charm was well known in the Free Union area and beyond. Her home sat on a hilltop with panoramic views of the surrounding western Albemarle countryside. The house was a legend as a well, the first of its kind in the area, a new home built using antique materials, and so it always had a special place in my heart.
The house was designed to fit the landscape, to blend in well. She was not a crass trophy of wealth, but a statement of… well… taste. The house was sided with painted cedar, a cedar shake roof, and over 3,000 square feet of wrap around porches. The interior woodwork, and the doors and windows were all handmade by Blasé Gaston, one of area’s finest woodworkers. The house was designed by Jay Dagliesh, his firm is world renowned… among its many projects was the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. The abundance of salvaged materials was supplied by Willie Drake, of Mountain Lumber including 14 inch wide heartpine and hemlock flooring, massive ceiling beams which were salvaged from a Cotton Mill in the Valley, and a dining room and a guest bedroom created by reusing a 200 year old hewn oak log cabin.
I had fallen in love with this home when I first saw her in the early 1980’s and was shocked in 2004 when I received the call that the home had been bought for the hilltop that Mariah sat on, and that the new owners had a different vision for the property, which led to the decision to destroy the home. I was offered the rights to salvage the historic materials out of her… but before I could stop myself, I counter offered with the proposal to take the entire home.
It took me several months to take the home down and put it into storage in an abandoned chicken coop factory. There she remained for the next year or so while I searched for a potential buyer who would have me put it up for them, or on my own to find just the right piece of land in which I could put it up on in what was then a strong housing market.
In 2005 I found just that property… 12 acres with a quarter mile river frontage on the North Fork of the Rivanna River with a view of the waterfalls as it comes over the old mill dam in Advance Mills. The restoration process took me twice as long and cost twice as much as I originally projected, which is par for the course in the world of restoration (as I have learned over the years), some part of which was due to unexpected surprises, but the majority of which was due to changes and add-ons to make the project “all it could be”.
Changes such as upgraded chimneys… I found a source of incredible stone, all salvaged from a stone bridge in Pennsylvania. The interior layout of the rooms… which was very much 1970’s had to go, no more sunken rooms!. The kitchen now has new custom cabinetry and leather finished granite countertops built by an Amish family out of Lancaster Pennsylvania. There is travertine tile throughout the kitchen and baths giving the house even more warmth and character. The porches are all floored in Ipe, an exotic wood that will never decay, over 3,000 square feet of it.
The house has been featured in several publications, including the book, Early American Country homes by Tim Tanner, and Plow and Hearth regularly uses the home to photograph their offerings that are featured in their seasonal catalogs.
My family moved into the home in 2008 and we have greatly enjoyed the home, but the kids have all left the nest now and we feel it’s time to let someone else experience this incredible home, and so she is “up for sale”.
Originally posted 2014-12-10 19:19:24.
Here at Handmade Houses we have now completed the creation of our new Log Cabin Academy! A twelve-hour long online course on how you can best achieve your dream log home! We take great pride in how well this course turned out, and are greatly pleased with the overwhelmingly positive response from all those who have joined in!
If you would like to learn more about this exiting new program please visit our LOG CABIN ACADEMY PAGE!
So, what’s next? Where do we go from here?
THE STONE HOUSE ACADEMY!!! Regardless of whether you build a stone home, a log cabin, a timber-frame, a cottage, or a farmhouse… well-laid, attractive, stonework will exponentially improve the beauty and value of your home. Stonework is a craft that anyone can do… and perfect for the owner-builder! Nowhere else can you find training like you will here! Online classes begin September 15, 2017. Don’t miss out on the premier offering of this opportunity where you will gain lifetime online access!
Make sure that you are signed up to receive our weekly newsletter for updates, bonus content, and early registration discounts!
Designing, and building, one’s own home is unbelievably rewarding… in so many ways.
People have been building their own homes since time began… some, still do! (we hope that you will be one of them!)
It’s only in the last generation or two that this wonderful life experience has become rare and completely handed over to architects and contractors. Houses have certainly grown larger and more complex during this time period (as have mortgages) but does anyone believe that the quality of home construction has improved?… or that the designs of most new homes are now more attractive?
But, can anyone really build a house?
Most professional contractors today acquired their home-building skills by simply “doing it”. There is no “Bachelor of Building Degree” that can be obtained. All builders, at one time in their lives, built their first house, having never done it before. And, the fact is that very few architects have ever built… well… anything. So, if your next home will be your first building experience, then you are in good company, and certainly not the only one. We encourage you to be bold… you will succeed!
Obviously, this site is not about building junk houses… it’s about Handmade Houses… homes where, to some degree, future homeowners are involved in their home’s design and construction and true craftsmanship is the goal. We further define a handmade house through the guidelines found in the “The Twelve Keys” (make sure and check this video out).
One of the “Twelve Keys” to a Handmade House is that there should be some degree of homeowner involvement in order to achieve the perfect home… even if that involvement is limited to the “discovery” of one’s own dream home… by “discovery” we mean… the act of finding the design and the features that “fit” who you are. We can help you discover that special place… the home you so long to have, but be forewarned, we will also encourage you to reach for the stars. We have seen it time and time again that the more involved in the design and construction of a home a person is, the more that home becomes a lifelong treasure to it’s future owner, and, as a side benefit, the price tag of the home drops, sometimes… significantly.
Our focus here on this site, and with the courses we offer, is to help you achieve your dream Handmade House, a home that combines the best features of new construction, alternative construction, and historical construction. We know of no other source where one can go to find an experienced builder who has “tried it all, picked the best, and left the rest”. Someone who will provide you with the pros and cons of every option and support you in your selection.
We invite you to begin your Handmade House journey by first visiting “Start Here!” where you will learn all about this website and discover all the free resources we have to offer. (You may notice that there are no annoying pop-up ads to bother you… we want your visit here to be pleasurable).
From this starting point, you can learn more about this site’s founder by venturing on to “Who is Noah Bradley?” Noah has been building handmade houses for several decades and he is now sharing his trade secrets, as well as his vast knowledge and expertise here on this site. His focused goal is to help you discover and achieve the handmade home of your dreams!
Of course, you have our permission to blaze your own path on this site and just leap into the 1,000+ image archives… many of these images have accompanying tips, secrets, and insights, all shared by Noah himself to help you discover your dream home!
We’d like you to stay a while, sip on your favorite beverage, enjoy the scenery, and start imaging that future home of yours! We hope that you’ll come back again, and again, in the future as we continually add more content! And please, don’t hesitate to comment or send us a note!
We’d also like to invite you to join our email membership group in order to keep you better informed on the latest happenings here at Handmade Houses, and so that we can help you gain greater inspiration and motivation as you travel down the path towards your own handmade home. Simply follow the red arrow on the right side of this page to become a member. And please, have no worries, we hate spam just as much as you do and we promise never to do that to one of our friends.
You might notice that there are some MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS going on here at Handmade Houses!
Our new weekly video series has begun!… Handmade House TV! Make sure and check it out!
And, oh yeah!… Don’t forget the BEST free video that Noah has ever produced… “The Twelve Keys to Discovering Your Handmade House”… is now posted. You don’t want to miss this one!
Originally posted 2016-10-22 18:55:42.
I don’t normally link to another site but I thought you all might enjoy this insightful article on McMansions… which also touches a lot on the sad situation of most current home construction with such great quotes as…
“when big building corporations such as Toll Brothers and Pulte Homes, consistently push the “More House for Your Money!” angle, it’s a safe bet that corners are being cut somewhere.”
and…
“building materials are a good primary indicator as to whether or not a house was built cheaply. Houses built from brick, stone, wood, or real stucco are generally more reliable than those built with cheap trendy materials commonly marketed as being “no-maintenance.” (All houses require maintenance. Sorry to burst your [housing] bubble!) ”
and…
“The thing about good design, is that it’s well-thought out – it shows that care has been put into the details and quality of what is being designed. If builders skimp so much on the external design (literally how a house looks) of a home, it’s usually indicative of other problems”
and…
“Because we started treating our houses as disposable during the mortgage booms of the 1980s, 90s and 2000s, we ended up with houses built to last not even 25 years.”
Originally posted 2016-10-21 16:54:22.
