Rustlers and Vagrants

[rusty]

I never could figure out why they made church roofs so steep.All the old churches around here are .
I did see a old church that was round.Asked a man who lived near by why it was built that way and he said so the devil couldn't hide i the corners.Sorry just had to throw that out there.

 

[Angus Cowman]

we have a beautiful carthage stone chimney that was built around the turn of the century by a swedish immigrant and it is still standing and intact in one of our hayfields
It would look beautiful in a home but we can't bear to have it torn down
A few years ago a man that builds lodge style homes offered us sevral thousand $ for it but we just couldn't let it go

that old craftmanship is marvelous

 

[Jogeephus]

Joe, it looks like the roof is in decent shape, you know? as long as the roof is good buildings will last. I like the idea of salvage, they just can't duplicate those old buildings the hand workmanship. I think I would consider rebuilding that house. :nod: Maybe next Winter. :wave:

I had a relative who is extremely wealthy and owns several companies which are on a global scale. This person was impressed with an old house/mortuary/house of ill repute we fixed up some years ago and wanted us to do the same to this one. Person offered to pay half of the cost of fixing the house up for historical reasons. After much encouragement and prodding I even went so far as to get a contractor to give me an estimate on the costs. As before, the costs are staggering cause you have to do everything twice and working with the old brittle heartpine is tedious to say the least. Contractor had what he thought was a good business deal for me. He suggested that he double his quote and the rich relative would be none the wiser and I'd get the work done for free. Following pics illustrates my poor bizzness principles and why you will never see me in Washington.

Here is the front porch. You can see the breezeway that runs straight through the house.

This is another breezeway which is located in about the middle of the house. The kitchen and breakfast room is located to the right. All rooms are seperated by open air.

This, I think is the pantry. From this view you can see all the way to the front porch and get a feel for the layout of the house. The open porch here is located on the east side of the house. In the summer the wide front porch seems to cool the air and draws it down the breezeway and comes out on the porch. On a hot day its almost like having a fan on your back.

This is a heart pine door. I'm thinking of salvaging these for sure. Planed, this is some beautiful wood.

The foundation is made out of wooden blocks and 2x4's set right on the ground. No termites can touch pure heartwood.

This is a picture of the outside rafters. I was wrong earlier, the inside rafters aren't pulwood sticks like I remembered that is another house. This one is rough cut full 2x4's over 20 feet long. If you look close, the rafters are smooth as a planed board you can buy today. This is completely different from what's inside so they had to hand plane the exterior 2 feet if for no other reason but for looks.

 

[mnmtranching]

Interesting stuff. That heart wood is something else.
I can see it will take me a few Winters to have her ship shape. :help:

 

[john250]

That foundation would last 2 yrs around here. Thanks for posting that.
It is really a shame what it costs to keep old buildings. I tore one old house down because it was beyond my means to modernize.
I keep hearing there is a lucrative market for the old lumber. People resaw it into flooring and mantles and such. If the market is out there, I sure haven't found the "lucrative" part.

 

[Jogeephus]

That foundation would last 2 yrs around here. Thanks for posting that.
It is really a shame what it costs to keep old buildings. I tore one old house down because it was beyond my means to modernize.
I keep hearing there is a lucrative market for the old lumber. People resaw it into flooring and mantles and such. If the market is out there, I sure haven't found the "lucrative" part.

I bet it would last just as long there as here. We have lots of termites here. They simply cannot take the resin in fatlighter. Basically, it will not rot.

 

[rusty]

Also if you notice the way they are cut is to shed water.I would definatily keep the doors beautiful.I can't tell by pics but is the ceilng tounge and groove?They sure knew how to build to last.

 

[Jogeephus]

Can't say for sure but all the walls are. The walls are made out of 1/2 inch boards sawn from a variety of woods. They are tongue and groove and planed on just one side. Extremely hard to pull off the wall without busting them but they are beautiful if you run them through the planer a couple of times to knock the smudge off.