The Mill… part 1

Let me share with you this week the story of this Mill… now known as the Shenandoah Mill, formerly known as Custers Mill, and then as the Muddy Creek Mill.

Without my involvement this Mill would have been lost. The firm decision had been made for it’s destruction. It was up to me to find some way to preserve her.

Put yourself in my shoes, you have two months to move this building. Your resources are what you have in your wallet. What are you going to do?

Originally posted 2015-04-21 14:31:53.

I made a mistake years ago when I placed a ‘Help Wanted” ad in the local newspaper.

At the time I didn’t give it much thought… I needed another person to fill a vacancy on my crew.

I had spoken with a friend earlier in the day who was also an area builder. He told me of the difficult time that he was having finding help in the improving economy and that a recent ad that he had placed resulted in no responses.

This was a problem that I had not considered and I grew concerned the more I thought about it.

I looked at the paper to see his offering and this is what I found… “Wanted: Carpenter’s helper, must have three years experience, have all necessary tools and a truck. All candidates must submit to regular drug testing. We offer health insurance, a 401 retirement package, and two weeks paid vacation per year. “

My ad was different…

“Apprenticeship opportunity… our firm specializes in the restoration and construction of antique log cabins, timber frames, barns, and stone homes.

We work in scenic locations often with mountain or river views.

We are looking for just the right person to join our team… perhaps you are the right one?

Experience and tools are a real plus, but what we are really seeking is someone with a lot of enthusiasm,… someone who sees this offering as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We’d also like someone who has experienced some higher learning classes such as history, or art, or literature… to keep the jobsite conversations entertaining and enlightening.

We are just a small company so we don’t offer a lot of perks that the bigger firms can. But, we can offer you tremendous team camaraderie, work that you will enjoy going to every day, and, if you stay with us for a year or two, you will have the knowledge and skills to build a home of your own, from the foundation to the finish work.”

I called the ad in to the local newspaper and the young lady there offered me a special price if I ran the ad for a full week.

I accepted.

Five hours later I was back on the phone begging for her to retract the ad. At that point I had received over a hundred phone calls from people seeking the one position that I had available.

I even had several people offer to work for free.

And believe it or not, I had one person offer to pay me to work for me. Imagine that.

I had people with doctorate degrees. People that had traveled the world. Craftsmen who had worked at Colonial Williamsburg.

I ended up hiring the guy who showed up singing a Bob Dylan song… you can’t go wrong hiring someone that likes Dylan. lol

Originally posted 2015-04-20 16:16:42.

The Sugar Hollow house was coming together…

Originally posted 2015-04-16 14:32:50.

As each panel goes up on the house it’s hard to resist the urge to take a quick peak in the house to see the effect that is created.

This vintage timber frame is quickly converted from the look of an old barn into a dramatic home. It appears as if rooms, one-by-one, suddenly come into existence.

Homeowners are often blown away when they visit the site at the end of a day after we have been putting up these panels.

Originally posted 2015-04-16 14:25:22.

One by one by we covered the rebuilt Sugar Hollow timber frame with stress-skin panels.

The best way to describe these panels is by comparing them to ice cream sandwiches… the white center core is made of a high R-value foam, the inside layer is drywall which gives the interior a finished wall, and the exterior is some kind of laminated wood product which provides strength and a nailing surface for the upcoming siding.

There are builders who will build homes entirely out of stress skin panels. I haven’t tried that yet, but it does demonstrate the potential application of these products. So, by adding these panels to a home that is already strong we create a house that is two to three times the strength of any modern home.

I like everything about these panels except the fact that they “fatten up” old timber frames… adding nearly a foot and a half to the width of the house… but, if we want to see the antique timber frame on the inside, it’s a price that has to be paid.

Originally posted 2015-04-16 14:13:33.

We put a new roof on top of the antique timber-frame that we built in Sugar Hollow.

I have found that old roof systems often have their share of “issues”.

For one thing, there always seems to be a few rafters that are unusable… either rotten or broken due to rain getting in or perhaps a tree landing on the roof. So, it’s rare to have a complete set.

And, I have found that rafters are often “baked’. I guess having spent a couple centuries in an attic that that would be expected. They feel “dried out”, light as balsa wood, and their ability to hold a tight grip onto a nail has severely diminished.

I have always been impressed with the excessive over-build in old houses. The floor joists, bracing, and walls in these antique treasures are often two to three times the size that they need to be, but for some reason the rafters on old houses appear to be too small.

I once took down an old workshop that had 24 foot long rafters on it, that were only 2by4’s, with a low pitched roof, and it had a slate roof on it! Amazing… but it had stood for nearly a hundred years.

Maybe it’s just me, but I like knowing that I have a very strong roof. I’ve never used pre-made roof trusses, preferring to hand pick the individual rafters myself.

My clients have never had a roof problem, nor will their children, nor their grandchildren, nor their great-grandchildren. I guess you get my point… when you build… build it so that it will outlast you.

Originally posted 2015-04-15 12:05:03.

Here’s a great set of photos showing the real life process of setting a top plate…

The first one shows the challenge of aligning all the tenons of the posts as the plate is lowered into place.

The second image shows the foreman stepping in and pointing out the problem…

The then this photo reveals how man has been solving all his problems since creation… “just hit it with a hammer”… in this case a very big hammer…

Finally, pegs are driven into place, locking the building together for the centuries to come…

Originally posted 2015-04-13 14:45:41.

With the aid of a crane all the second floor joists floated down onto the frame.

As each was locked into place this home grew more and more stable… any sign of movement disappeared. She became “solid as a rock”.

I’m always torn with the use of a crane. For certain they require less physical effort on the individuals who build these homes. So, there is that.

But there is also something lost… for one thing… silence. A diesel engine runs constantly. Everything else is drowned out. There is no conversation, no sound of masons striking their chisels, no birds signing in the background.

And the focus of the work becomes the crane… it must be fed. Men become servants of the machine. All attention is given to getting the job done, there is no time for savoring the now… enjoying the moment… or seizing the day.

Originally posted 2015-04-13 14:29:44.

After the top plates were set on the front and back of the Sugar Hollow House, then we set the end plates…

Originally posted 2015-04-13 13:39:12.

The problem with the top plate not properly fitting is found.

My foreman points to the area that needs attention.

The top plate then slides into position and it is once again reunited with the home.

And, as an added bonus, I had taken one of the best photos of my career. 🙂

I am reminded of another “life lesson” in looking at this image… one that I have found works well throughout the construction of a house… whenever I encounter a problem rather than hover over it and try to figure it out… I find that I can often solve it by standing back and just take in the bigger picture, and then the solution is often revealed.

Originally posted 2015-04-12 15:38:09.