29 06, 2019

A Writer’s Cabin

2019-06-29T11:18:48+00:00

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I once had a well known writer ask me to build her “a little primitive shed where I can get away from the main house to collect my thoughts and do a little writing”.

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And this is what I built.

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And she loved it.

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And we all lived happily ever after.

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And no, I cannot tell you who she is. lol

One final thought of the day…

I am so thankful that so many unique individuals have come into my life, each wanting me to build them something special to meet their dreams. I’ve built barns, timber frames, silos, log cabins, stone homes, mills, and yes, sheds and outhouses. From two thousand dollars… to two million dollars.

All my projects share a common theme. They were all built to last a century or more, and they were all designed to look “as if they had always been there”.

Thanks to all for coming along.

Originally posted 2015-03-09 15:44:07.

A Writer’s Cabin2019-06-29T11:18:48+00:00
29 06, 2019

The Ruth house… part 8

2019-06-29T10:36:56+00:00

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This house was under a great deal of stress from all the years of sagging and settling that she had experienced. As we removed the siding we would occasionally step back as sounds of snapping, popping, and groaning came from her.

Without a doubt she was the most vocal old home that I had ever experienced.

It was not until after we had finished building the clients home, nearly a year later, that I ever showed these photos to the them. I was afraid that they would think me mad to have used such a structure to build them a new home.

Originally posted 2015-05-28 14:27:28.

The Ruth house… part 82019-06-29T10:36:56+00:00
29 06, 2019

The Ruth house… part 7

2019-06-29T10:36:55+00:00

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Every timber, every single piece of flooring, that you see in this photo, was created by men more than two hundred years ago, using nothing but hand tools to convert trees into what you see here. They harvested wood from forests that had never seen an axe, nor a saw, and from those primal woods these men chose the best of those trees to create this house.

Even the nails holding the flooring in place were handmade, by a blacksmith, one at a time.

All this wonderful material and craftsmanship… so abused and unappreciated… was about to live again, in all it’s deserved splendor.

Originally posted 2015-05-28 14:04:42.

The Ruth house… part 72019-06-29T10:36:55+00:00
29 06, 2019

The Ruth house… part 6

2019-06-29T10:36:54+00:00

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But where many would see nothing but mess, I witnessed wonder when I walked into the remains of this house. I did my best to keep my excitement to myself, but I had found the timber frame that I wanted… one of the finest that I had ever seen.

Originally posted 2015-05-28 13:48:26.

The Ruth house… part 62019-06-29T10:36:54+00:00
29 06, 2019

The Ruth house… part 5

2019-06-29T10:36:53+00:00

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It was not love at first sight.

My mission was to find a very nice antique house frame that I could use to build the addition off of the little log cabin.

Two-hundred year old house-frames are much, much harder to find that old log homes.

I had driven for two hours on a hot summer day, with no a/c in my truck, to find this “gem of a house”.

I debated for a moment or two on whether I should even bother getting out of the truck to look the house over… but, I wanted out of that truck, and there was something about this house that told me that there was.. “potential”.

* (Always remember… “potential” is the most dangerous word that there is in my profession).

The man who owned this house told me that this was half of the original home on this large farm, and that twenty years prior he had pulled the roof off of that large house and then he cut the house in half, and then he pulled the two severed sections to different parts of his farm to be used for hay storage.

He had put a flat metal roof over each section to keep them somewhat dry.

The other half of the house didn’t fair as well as this half, so he eventually dozed and burned it. And that’s what was eventually planned for this half too. Unless, I wanted to make him an offer.

BTW… this photo is not photo-shopped … the house really did sag that much.

Originally posted 2015-05-28 13:38:55.

The Ruth house… part 52019-06-29T10:36:53+00:00
29 06, 2019

Tidewater home

2019-06-29T10:36:28+00:00

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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 home2019-06-29T10:36:28+00:00
29 06, 2019

Dormers on a tall house

2019-06-29T10:36:25+00:00

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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 house2019-06-29T10:36:25+00:00
29 06, 2019

America could use more of these

2019-06-29T10:36:24+00:00

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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 these2019-06-29T10:36:24+00:00
29 06, 2019

An old plantation home

2019-06-29T10:36:22+00:00

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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 home2019-06-29T10:36:22+00:00
29 06, 2019

How to salvage an old house

2019-06-29T10:36:19+00:00

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Near the highway and unloved this late 1700’s home was purchased by someone out of the area and they hired me to document this house, carefully take her down, and then ship the house to where someone else would put her back up.

I never heard any follow up reports, nor did I ever see any finished photos, but from the efforts the owner put into it this house in the beginning stages of her salvage, I choose to believe that she once again stands as proud as she did the day she was new.

Originally posted 2015-05-20 13:07:49.

How to salvage an old house2019-06-29T10:36:19+00:00
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