Around back our focus was building a stone foundation under the old log home where none ever existed… and in building a foundation for the future addition.

It’s a strange thing about masons and carpenters… Masons spend most of their life in contact with the Earth. And carpenters… well, they spend a great deal of their time on ladders, reaching for the heavens.

Having both trades work together on a house has always been a treat for me.

Originally posted 2015-06-11 13:55:58.

Our work now turns from removing the bad to the reconstruction of this log home. As you can see we have replaced a few of the rafters that had seen their better days and we are now focusing on prepping for the roof trim… the “soffit and fascia”.

Originally posted 2015-06-11 13:44:45.

The most important act a person can do in building a home is to hire the best people that they can find.

I’ve always had a crew full of young people who had a love of the craft in their heart, who were naturally hard working and motivated, with a head full of knowledge in various specialties, and each from diverse backgrounds.

I always made it a point to be there on-site every day to listen in on lunch time conversations and to witness the comradarie they all shared. I don’t know if they were aware or how treasured these moments were at the time… but I imagine as the years have gone by that each reflects back on this period with fondness.

I have always done my best to hire people that I would want as friends and to create a company that I would want to work for. I never aspired to be “the boss”. I’d rather have worked for someone else and let them handle the hassles of running a business and just let me “do the craft”. But, I never found a company like mine, so, I had to build one.

And, I did that by first hiring a few great guys.

Originally posted 2015-06-11 13:32:59.

The logs on this old house were filthy after spending decades behind the wood siding.

They would need a good bath with the help of a powerwasher.

The logs also showed a great deal of wear and aging from exposure to the weather over the course of many years. My best guess is that this cabin was originally built somewhere in the mid-1800’s her beautiful logs were seen by everyone that visited. Then, likely somewhere around the 1920’s, the back addition was added on and the entire house was covered with siding.

I would imagine that this house will now likely once again show off her logs to the world for a few decades and then, as she was before, be covered over with siding.

Originally posted 2015-06-10 14:21:59.

The back of the cabin was also in amazing condition.

I can say that I’ve rarely seen a cabin with less foundation underneath it. Luckily, there were plenty of native stone to be found in the surrounding area which we gathered and then put a full stone foundation underneath of her.

Notice the minimal framing found in the old addition off of the back as revealed in this photo. I’ve seen barns framed with more wood than this.. I would say that this was the poorest example of framing that I’ve ever seen in a home… They put up just enough wood to hold the siding into place, and no more.

Originally posted 2015-06-10 13:23:44.

We took the siding off the old gal and discovered that the logs were in very good condition…. but we also found a unique pattern of whitewash… one that I’ve never fully figured out… any ideas what is going on with these two sections of white logs?

Originally posted 2015-06-10 13:14:07.

There was a loving “presence” about this house.

Her design didn’t broadcast to the world “I have more money than you” but rather she whispered… “welcome home”.

Originally posted 2015-06-08 16:51:49.

I liked the look of the addition off of the back of the house. It was pleasing to the eye and really gave the impression that this was a huge home, and I suppose at the time that it was built, this was indeed, a grand home, likely filled with a large active family.

But this rough-sawn framed addition, upon closer inspection revealed a lot of problems and no redeeming materials, nor craftsmanship. It was clearly built by “the lowest bidder”. So sad.

The addition would need to be removed and a new improved back-section of the house added back.

Originally posted 2015-06-08 14:41:58.

Houses in this condition are rare today.

It seems that homes are either well maintained and improved as the years go by. Or they fall into disrepair and neglect, and then are trashed by renters before they are finally destroyed.

This home’s occupants though always cared for the house, seeing to it that it never leaked or went cold during the winter, but beyond that most basic level of care, no upgrades were ever made.

Originally posted 2015-06-08 14:29:23.

The bride was barefoot.

Way back in the 1980’s, when I was a carpenter, a dear friend of mine rented this old house which was located up a local holler here in the Piedmont region of Virginia. That friend eventually got married to a fine young lady in the back yard of this house and there I witnessed my first barefooted bride.

I remember little else about that wedding. I’ve attended so many over the years that they all tend to blur into one giant celebration. But for some reason there is something memorable about toes sticking out beyond that elegant dress.

It was about 20 years later that I received the call from the owner of this home that he wanted me to restore this home to her former glory for him to use as his primary residence. I had previously built his brother’s house and he was pleased with my work and his brother’s praise of the experience.

It’s funny how things work out in this life. There are so many “dots” in this life that one day connect, or so it seems.

Originally posted 2015-06-08 14:04:42.