Stress skin panels are light enough that these three men were able to cover this entire home by themselves without the aid of a crane.

And yet they were strong enough for this crew member to scamper up one of them with a handsaw to cut flush a peg that was still sticking out a bit.

Originally posted 2015-06-05 17:17:02.

Once the frame was complete we next covered the exterior with stress skin panels. I had these made differently than the standard type… these panels had wafer boards on both sides of the the foam core. I was not interested in having a nice painted drywall surface inside but rather wanted a wall surface where I could easily attach tools and cabinets.

Originally posted 2015-06-05 17:11:45.

The new shop begins to make her presence known in the center of my work lot. This is the area that for years I would store materials and pre-assemble log cabins.

Notice the old window units leaning against a stack of vintage logs in the foreground, ready to be reinstalled into the frame.

Originally posted 2015-06-05 15:14:27.

The timber frame began to take shape.

Notice again the wide hog-trough corners and angle bracing going down to the floor. I’ve yet to find a timber frame book that illustrates this method of vintage framing commonly found here in Virginia.

I reconfigured the old frame, bringing part of the second floor down to create more of a first floor and less of a second floor. A wood working shop has little need of an upper level. And should this shop ever be finished off into a finished home the new owners would also appreciate more first floor square footage.

Originally posted 2015-06-05 14:20:30.

One by one the timbers go together.

Thanks goodness for that skyhook that helps float in each member.

Originally posted 2015-06-05 14:00:39.

There is no finer roofing material to have on a house than slate that is mined out of Buckingham Virginia.

Period.

It is beautiful to look at and it lasts forever. And a roof that lasts forever, (longer even than copper), will one day eventually work out to have been the lowest cost roofing choice.

Actually, they say Buckingham slate has a life expectancy of 175 years, but I am here to say that I have salvaged it off of houses that old and the slate on those structures still rings true… just like a bell when you hit it with your knuckles.

This house had an addition off one of it’s sides. There was no salvageable materials within this 20th century section… but we did harvest it’s slate… by using these pieces, as replacements for missing and damaged slates on the main section of the house, we now had enough material to put a slate roof on the future wood-working shop.

Originally posted 2015-06-04 14:38:27.

That’s Zeke at the top of the ladder.

For many years he was part of the crew.

I don’t suppose many construction companies would allow a dog on site, and I understand that, but Zeke was more than a dog, he was an unpaid member of the team.

I did give him a treat occasionally though (when his owner wasn’t looking) (I think everybody else on the crew did too)

Originally posted 2015-06-04 14:21:50.

I once received a call from a man who had sold salvage rights to an old house that he had on his farm. The buyer of those rights had come in and extracted the highly-valued, easily-removed items including… the mantles, flooring, interior doors and locks, and the wainscoting… and then left the rest for the farmer to burn down.

I would say this is the case in half the calls I’ve gotten over the years. There is no shortage of individuals seeking to salvage for the sake of the easy materials and the quick money, and only a few who are interested in preserving the individual house and it’s history.

I would have loved to have rebuilt this old gal just like she was… but I didn’t have that option. But her frame, dating to the 1830’s was mighty fine, so I worked out a salvage purchase price for the abandoned shell and dug in, knowing that a client would soon appear wanting something just like this.

And none appeared.

So, I accepted this as destiny, that it was at long last, after many years, time to build my dream wood-working shop.

Originally posted 2015-06-04 13:50:28.

A peek inside.

Originally posted 2015-06-03 13:30:41.

I’ve really loved my job… all these years of witnessing old houses. From the louvered doors seen on this addition “out back”… to the special decorations often found like the spare tires that leaned up against the porch.

Originally posted 2015-06-03 13:25:48.