Old homes and structures.

[kybishop]

Renovating old stone house/family home.

Much interest on here in old historic homes and structures?

I will be renovating the home I grew up in and plan to keep pictures and such on what all we do.

The home is made of limestone and was built around 1810-1812. Shaker influence with 2 1/2 foot thick walls.

Back in the 70's we added an addition with kitchen and baths and a couple of lofts. The addition is the same architecture with redwood weather board siding. Three fireplaces and a place for a wood stove in the original stone part. A wood stove for heat in the newer part. However it does have a newer more efficient furnace in the addition. An old fuel oil furnace in the cellar which will be removed somehow. It is massive.

It has cedar wood shingles that we put on about 35 years ago. Under a layer of tar sheathing, plywood and thick foam insulation it still has the original cedar wood shingles. That is one of the first things we are going to be working on replacing. Trying to decide if we are going back with the wood shingles or standing seam metal. Would like to go back with the wood shingles, we will see what works out.

We are going to be using mostly wood milled from the farm, fallen trees of Poplar and Cherry. Some cedar and pine will be used as well. Most of the materials are in the house just waiting for the time to be installed.

Mostly cleaning out at this stage.

Plans are to use salvaged materials and wood from the farm. The addition was built with salvaged beams and rafters. Also plan to go with Geo-thermal and hopefully solar if and when we can afford it.

My father and step mother were living in it but downsized to a smaller cottage on the farm. Construction on the addition came to a halt in the mid early 80's when my mom got sick. She had cancer that took her life at age 45, I was 15.

I want to finish the dream that they started and hope to do it within a couple years. It is a big task and quite overwhelming at times.

The home is located on the Kentucky river just north of Frankfort Kentucky about 15 minutes to town.

I can post pictures for those interested in the work being done. It will be slow for now as we are still cleaning it all out.

KB

 

[SunTzuMD]

Sounds cool - heading toward some renovations on our place from the 70s. Solar thermal, spray foam, etc.

 

[kybishop]

I need to do the spray foam as well. The crawl space was getting a lot of moisture from the fiberglass bat that we used above the foundation walls. I just got through cleaning out the whole crawl of all the insulation and debris.

Plan to let it dry a bit then go back with the spray foam on the foundation walls and just above them. Need to keep some heat in the crawl for the pipes so won't insulate the floor.

One of the first tasks in addition to the roof will be to jack up one corner where the addition meets the old stone house. Some termite damage and will be replacing all that.

The couple years goal is a lofty one and not for the complete renovation. Mainly hope to finish the addition first as it has the kitchen and baths. Then move into it and sell our home in town. Then complete the old stone part.

 

[batcon]

Good luck on your project, sounds like a cool place. Sorry to hear about your mom.

 

[kybishop]

Thanks. Looking forward to getting going on this.

That was 26 years ago that my mom past away. Sure changed things in my life. I feel and see her all around that old place though, a lot of what keeps me motivated.

Plus, my dad is 71 and both he an my step mom have diabetes. I need to be out there close so I can better take care of the farm and them.

I will post pictures soon of the house and some of the work.

Again, the thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Joe_E]

Definately sounds like an awesome old homestead. Would love to see pics of it and the progress.

 

[Ebag333]

Absolutely take pics. Thought my house was old (1914), not too many left standing that are 1800 era!

It has cedar wood shingles that we put on about 35 years ago. Under a layer of tar sheathing, plywood and thick foam insulation it still has the original cedar wood shingles. That is one of the first things we are going to be working on replacing. Trying to decide if we are going back with the wood shingles or standing seam metal. Would like to go back with the wood shingles, we will see what works out.

Ditch the wood shingles. They are pretty, but extremely dangerous as the older they get the higher a fire danger they are. Plus once they catch, they will go up like a torch.

They are also a huge weight burden. We have wood shingles on our roof under more modern comp, the weight was causing our rafters to bow so they had to strengthen them. We also have them in a band on the side of our house, relatively small area so not as much of a concern, but those will be replaced by concrete some day.

You can go with concrete shingles, not really lighter but completely inert and will actually increase the resistance of your home to fire.

As a plus, you can often sell old wood shingles for a couple bucks a shingle. They are popular in craft projects.

Plan to let it dry a bit then go back with the spray foam on the foundation walls and just above them. Need to keep some heat in the crawl for the pipes so won't insulate the floor.

I would insulate the floor. You have about 10% heat loss from the floor. It's not a huge cost savings, but is more about comfort as you won't have a cold surface sucking heat out of your feet in the winter.

Run pipe insulation on the pipes. That will keep them from freezing. If you're really worried about them, there are a couple products that have an electric heating element that you can wrap around the pipe to keep it warm(er).

 

[kybishop]

Some pictures.

Here is the old place.

We moved there in 1971, I was 3. The limestone section is the original part built around 1810-1812. We added the redwood sided part in the 1970's.

 

[kybishop]

A couple more.

 

[splitshot]

Very nice, looks like a prime candidate for "This 'Ol House".

Like to see what the front entry/porch looked like 'back in the day'. Or is that the rear? There are signs of first-level coverings on both sides.

 

[kybishop]

There was a porch on what we refer to as the front. It is the stone part with the exterior door in the center. It was a tacky porch with brick columns and concrete floor. It was added in the 1950's I believe.

The other on the back was a simple shed roof addition. It was a kitchen and bath and we removed that to add the larger addition.

It is hard to tell which is the front and back of the original but pretty sure the side where the porch was is it. This side is facing east and it is not oriented to the river as the front. The river is about 700 feet on the north side. It was a ferry stop for taking deliveries and receiving and sending goods. I saw an old time schedule for the steam boats and this house was on the schedule.

It was originally on 500 acres, on 50 acres now as my mother and father purchased it.

There were a couple of murders in relation to the house. One was the owner that was shot on the way to the stables. Shot by his wife's lover supposedly while the wife watched. I have read the accounts in the copies of the article. Story goes though he was drug up into the house. The blood stain kept coming back so they painted the floor. The floor is still painted in that room, we have not removed it.

Interesting and hard to explain things happened while growing up in this house, that is for sure.

 

[wob]

Cool project for sure. I hope you have deep pockets that you have no qualms about emptying...

My last house was built around a central fireplace that was constructed with limestone mortar that started crumbling. The previous owner cut the top part of the chimney off and roofed over it.

 

[kybishop]

It is a lot of work for sure but most all the materials to finish it are in the house. Mostly be labor and I hope to do a big portion of that. Biggest issue with doing the labor will be my time.

Most of the expense will be in the roof and HVAC if we go geo-thermal.

I do have pockets, how deep they are... well. I have a FZJ80 so I obviously enjoy throwing some money at old cool stuff. Not that I have a ton of it by any means.

I try to live simply and a bit beneath my means. I fortunately have a lot of great resources and have had the opportunity for great experience in this area. Worked construction and renovation through high school and college. Have an architectural degree and my father is an architect. Raised by hippies and close to the land and living simply with as little impact as possible has long been a big part of my life.

Re-use of materials and hands on experience and using local wood and salvaged materials, I hope to cut down a lot of the expense.

Now the Landcruiser experience and knowledge, that is completely different. I am relatively new to that and you guys here, I must say, among the best in forums on the web that I have been a part of.

 

[kybishop]

Crawl.

Pictures from where I cleaned out the crawl.

This is going in and before I cleaned it out. Removed all of the fiberglass bat from the sides and above the foundation wall.

Nasty job, glad it is done.

 

[kybishop]

After.

After I got it cleaned out.

 

[kybishop]

Friend

And a friend I found on my leg while crawling around down there.

Not seen often as a bit shy, not aggressive but a bad@$$ in the bug world. A wheeled assassin bug. Wheeled because of the gear looking cog on it's back.

Although it does not do it often it can leave a painful bite which can last for weeks. Can leave a scar too. I was very gentle with this guy as I definitely did not want to experience the bite.

Cool bugs though. Have seen two in the past couple of weeks.

I found a snake skin down there too so I was a bit jumpy with every pile of insulation I grabbed.

 

[Thornton]

Good luck on what sounds like a project you'll enjoy.

 

[JohnnyC]

Boy that is a great looking house...a dream home for me even...deal fell thru on 2 different homes i was looking to buy...one a 1740 home and another 1799...the wife really wanted the 1964 brick ranch...can you guess where we are living now

if you asked my wife what type of house I would want...she wouldnt hesitate to say...an old stone colonial

Love to see inside shots when you get the chance...great house...very enveous

 

[agomez]

Hire a structural engineer and have him evaluate the crawl space for proper venting and have him look at the structural wall system you have in place. It looks like you are getting water in the crawl space which could lead to some big issues down the road, I would make sure the perimeter of the house is properly graded to make sure any rain or snow melt is running off away from the building. I would invest in a good gutter system as well, it looks like you have a lot of water damage along the bottom of the new addition....2 cents.

 

[romegadave]

Contact the KY State Historic Preservation Office----there may be some incentives you don't know about. Shot in the dark but worth looking into considering the age of your home.