Number Ten: the bigger cabin

Work resumed on the interior here today and we are removing t he stair to configure it so a half bath can fit beneath it. No way did I want the only toilet in the house accessed thru my second floor bedroom. This house was literally rotting away before Willie Farrell (Celtic Log Homes) of Brevard, NC took over the project. Its sat 8" above the ground. A concrete patio and other 1970's 'improvements' such as a vestibule with its roof pitched don into the chinked wall had all turned into watery weapons against the structure. The patio in particular did a lot of damage when the gutters failed and hen rather than soakng into the round every drop of water off the roof got splashed against the wall. The sill logs sand the course above them were moist chestnut mush-- yes the entire structure is 14"-18" chestnut logs. Before we met Willie, we had actually explored selling the thing to companies that offer antique wood flooring: they offered an average of $15/board foot for the house. The only other serious contractor who looked at it had wanted to pull the whole thing down and re-erect it with new logs. now- this is a 1750 structure moved to the site in the 1930's and there's a patina to 18th century adze-cut logs that really cant be duplicated. Also, a tear down would have added many months and thousands of $ to this project. Farrel offered a brilliant solution: he when learned i wanted to take out the 6'9" ceiling upstairs and open that room up to the trusses- he hit upon the idea of jacking the house on cribbing, removing the rotten lower portion and building a block foundation with a fieldstone veneer; then move the floors UP inside the structure while the walls remain in place. His masons duplicated the look of the arts and crafts stone chimney perfectly and the plan has worked brilliantly. there's a proper 30" crawlspace now, with room for HVAC, sand the walls are dry.

I have a friend visiting who is one of those treasured house guests who love doing work around an old house and new garden, so i'm spending more time outside this week than in here blogging. If only he wasnt so allergic to poison ivy................