The Meade Hall

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Chipping away at the stone.

The rain delay yesterday was an opportunity for CB to continue work on the cabinets. The goal today to start on the doors and I need to pickup some veneer tape for the shelves.

I need to give a nod to CB for his next level scavenging ability. The barn wood came from an old abandoned property that was being razed somewhere out in the county. He pulled the salvageable boards out of a pile of debris just ahead of the loader/dump team sent there to dispose of it. I guess it was an old salt box style farm house with a larger barn and one or two smaller outbuildings and spring house. So, 100+ yr old hand cut stone, a timber framed barn and a life time of memories are now residing in the land fill.

I’m on my second cup this AM and I’m probably waxing nostalgic over an old weather beaten board but, you just can’t run down to the big ticket store and buy a piece of history like that.

Anyway….

There’s going to be a flurry of activity in the next few days. I’m duty bound to make an appearance in FL sometime on or around the 1st of May. The month of May is generally a very good month here in lower Babylon for outdoor projects and I have a few on the punch list I’d like to finish up before the sweltering season arrives. So, if I can have the bathroom “buttoned up” before I head south I’ll feel somewhat appeased..😁

You know it’s construction season when the “Neihbor’s” start getting restless.


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@WarDamnEagle


More on the story ref: The barn.

I thought you would appreciate this considering your “Cook Shed” project. The dozer operator tasked with the demo, had already turned the structure into a life size game of pickup sticks before CB arrived to pick through the carcass. He salvaged what he could (safely) and managed to rescue a small section of the timber framed barn. It’s now enjoying a second life as a piece of living art in Ohio.

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@WarDamnEagle

You’ll probably recognize these as well. Full disclosure, the mallet is a reproduction made from persimmon that was cut from the “Meade Hall tract”. The other pieces were handed down to CB from his father, a lifelong carpenter from the old school, who started as a journeyman after serving in the US Navy during WWII.

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The doors.

Working up the door frames. Solid maple. Nice open mortise and tenon joints. Routing for the door inserts. Shortly after the routing pic was taken, the router had a circuit board malfunction, so a jig was built and the hand router was used to finish the job. Door frames pre sanding. Cabinets w/the veneer tape added. It’s moving forward….Just slowly. 😁

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It's a shame they tore down a timber frame building with those original mortise and tenon joints. Of course I say that without having any insight into the overall condition before demo. Seems like someone would have taken that apart though just to get the timbers and/or the entire frame.
 
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WarDamnEagle said:
It's a shame they tore down a timber frame building with those original mortise and tenon joints. Of course I saw without having any insight into the overall condition before demo. Seems like someone would have taken that apart though just to get the timbers and/or the entire frame.
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Yes sir, 100% agree. From my understanding, the property was purchased by the County. That explains the disregard for preserving the wood/timber frame.

Something else that caught my eye was the grain pattern. I’m not a “tree-ologist” by trade or training but, that looks like Chestnut to me. If it is, it would be pre-blight wood (Thank you Robert Fortune 🙄) harvested before the blight began in circa 1904-ish.

I’m not 100% certain and would default to a more educated opinion.
 
I know pine from oak from beech or hickory but that's about the limit of my tree-ology as well. Not sure we have much Chestnut this far south. And if we do I wouldn't know it if I saw it.
 
WarDamnEagle said:
I know pine from oak from beech or hickory but that's about the limit of my tree-ology as well. Not sure we have much Chestnut this far south. And if we do I wouldn't know it if I saw it.
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Almost no chestnut around here but a small stand was discovered near Warm Springs, GA in 2006. Not sure of current status.

www.nbcnews.com

Rare American chestnut trees discovered

A stand of American chestnut trees that somehow escaped a blight that killed off nearly all their kind in the early 1900s has been discovered in Georgia.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
 
Making sawdust…

Going through the boards IOT find the best candidates for the door panels. Trying to find material that is at least “close” in thickness is the key to success. We separated boards into the “Too thick, too thin and that’ll work piles”. Even with our scientific approach and selection criteria, 100yr old boards, like cats and Ms Revenge, have their own particular ideas about cooperating with a plan and you can’t rush them if you want satisfactory results..😁.

Fracture patterns in the wood from the bull dozer disassembly, bows/warps and some limited bug infestation, all had an effect on the selection. I’m hoping to keep as much character as possible during this process, but in the end, the planner will have the final say. Regardless, it’s 100+ yr old wood gaining a second life in the Meade Hall.

Some of the boards that didn’t make the final cut 👈🏻🤣, may end up may adorning a wall or two in the bathroom.

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I’ve really been enjoying this thread! Stuff like this just hits different. There’s something about that old growth, hand-worked timber you can’t fake. All those years, all that history and now it gets a second life. I’ve got a small version of that in my house. When we had our our kitchen remodeled, we worked in a 100+ year old beam as the hood beam over the range. It’s hands down my favorite part of the whole project. Every crack, knot, and scar just feels like it earned its place. I always find myself thinking about the guys who originally built with that wood. Stacking chinked timbers, doing it all by hand, probably never imagining that piece would still be around well over a century later. There’s just a level of grit and craftsmanship there that’s hard to replicate today.

Really cool seeing you giving a new lease on life for that old wood! Appreciate you sharing it.

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MAR FJ40 said:
I’ve really been enjoying this thread! Stuff like this just hits different. There’s something about that old growth, hand-worked timber you can’t fake. All those years, all that history and now it gets a second life. I’ve got a small version of that in my house. When we had our our kitchen remodeled, we worked in a 100+ year old beam as the hood beam over the range. It’s hands down my favorite part of the whole project. Every crack, knot, and scar just feels like it earned its place. I always find myself thinking about the guys who originally built with that wood. Stacking chinked timbers, doing it all by hand, probably never imagining that piece would still be around well over a century later. There’s just a level of grit and craftsmanship there that’s hard to replicate today.

Really cool seeing you giving a new lease on life for that old wood! Appreciate you sharing it.

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Thank you very much.

Well done on the range beam!!! Beautifully executed. That is a very unique use of the beam. Imagine the conversation you could have if that piece of wood could talk. That’s an heirloom quality piece of history.
 
Well $#!t…There, glad I got that off my chest.

Fought the pressure test all morning. The first leaks were traced to the galvanized / brass interface. Easy fix, I’ll pick up some 3” x 1/2” brass at the big ticket store. The most troublesome and insanely maddening piece occurred at the PEX/shark bite/T fittings.

During the planning phase I bought four T-fittings. All four had issues. Changed the PEX line, good square cuts, no weird angles just would not hold air…The telltale bubbles mocked me for the better part of two hours today. Not my first go round with PEX so I can’t blame a novice application. Going to roll with bad luck, bad batch and a bad morning as my initial deflection.

I guess a 1st attempt failure is better than pulling out a wall to find a leak at some future inopportune time.

Took solace on the mower as I plotted my return trip to the big ticket store for replacements.

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Yesterday was not a total bust.

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Found the culprit…🙄

Three hours and a partial rebuild later. Turns out it was the gauge. Serenity now.

Good news is, I’ve memorized every joint and section, the lines are cut laser square and I’ve enough spare parts to start my own hardware store. Gonna put those in a plastic container and slip them on the “I made need those someday” shelf right next to my box of 8-tracks.

Two hours and it’s rock solid at 50+ psi.

Shark bites are GTG @ 200psi - PEX is rated to about 500psi. If I see 25lbs of liquid pressure out of the cistern I’ll be doing war hoops by the camp fire. Well, maybe I’d do that regardless but, I’d be plenty happy…😁

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Last train to Clarksville…

Rain delay is forecast for Wednesday. Improvise, overcome and adapt. Pre-stage event: Everything is loaded and the movement plan is ready to execute. Probably looking like Thursday as the sweet spot. The Tundra is in for a recall (back up camera) on Friday. If Thursday doesn’t pan out everything will remain tucked away in place for the Month of May.

Can’t ignore the tugging on the leash any longer. The house Frau and dictator for life has made it clear that my presence is required and her life just isn’t the same unless I come to Florida and do yard work..😎 So I’m taking a break and headed south. I’ll be FL bound Sunday early AM to spend some time in the sun.

My agenda: Fish-shoot-sun-repeat. House Frau agenda: Landscaping-foot massages-dinner out-repeat.

Blinding flash of the obvious here. The bathroom won’t be buttoned up until I get back. I might be able to coerce, cajole or coax CB or OCB to step in and take charge. I do have a summer punch list that I’ve discussed with the crew. Just need to see how things play out.

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Then came the rain.


I had a late start today and didn’t get out in the county until 11:30AM. Stopped at the “Holler Doller” in route for plastic storage containers. $124 later I’m out the door as the proud new owner of a complete storage tub ensemble.

The goal today was to clear the counter space and at least (in theory) organize the remaining hardware, hand tools, assorted nuts-nails and fasteners, paint supplies, electrical supplies, blades, bits, screws, nails, etc etc etc etc etc. For the most part I’m mission complete. Still sorting and cross sorting things into manageable categories.

Looking like rain again tonight and into the AM so the command decision is to leave the cabinets in dry storage until I return to the Land of Nod.

Not sure what I’m going to do with the counter top. It’s a handmade piece we threw together 8-9 years ago under the guise it would remain a bar top. The current plan to reconfigure the kitchen changes that. I thought about an epoxy application and keeping it as the sink area. Or, it may end up in the laundry room…TBD

About that rain…Going to call it the first “Toad Strangler” of the season. Came on slowly then turned to solid sheets of precip.

Telling you all this, to say this…It was a symphony of sound on the metal roof. I wanted to light a fire and take a nap. Instead I planted myself in the rocking chair and had a moment…😉

Back out on the hill in the AM for some cleaning, labeling and storing. Probably be my last day on the hill until June.

Bar top.
View from the rocking chair.

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Wouldn't that Baby Bear look good in the Hall.
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Chungas Revenge said:
Good looking unit! Did you just pick it up or is it down for spring maintenance?


Edit: When spotting a “40 series” owner look for the signs...😉

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I saved it from the recycle center a few years ago from an old scientist at work. He just wanted it to go to somewhere that might be able to use it.

I should build a shack in the woods.....
 
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