It all started with clearing the property and stripping down the house
to access the areas that needed structural corrections.
A few dumpsters later—okay, a lot of dumpsters later (we went through 10 dumpsters for a total of 80,440 lbs. of debris!)—we were on our way to rebuilding this home to the better-than-ever state that it’s now in.
The old roof had blackberry bushes growing on top of it, and with no real downspouts to kick water away from the home, it contributed to the wet moldy situation that we originally came across in this old cellar. We filled the usually-flooded cellar with a material called Geofoam. These blocks constitute nearly 2 cubic yards of volume per piece, and at less than half the cost of concrete they were a perfect remedy to raise the crawl space floor to above water level.
We tore out most of the interior framing, which included the floors, posts, beams, walls, and ceiling joists in many of the areas. We created a tricky temporary bracing method to keep the roof from collapsing down on us while the work was being completed inside. Load bearing footings had to be installed before the new floor joists and walls could be built on top—very tedious work!
The structural engineering required the existing roof framing to be reinforced, so the poorly-constructed skylights had to be removed. This was quick work during our roofing tear off and made the roof much more structurally sound.
The front wall had major cracking in the foundation, as rebar was not used when the house was originally built.
It had to be demoed and repoured with proper sized footings and reinforcement. The new front wall framing was then constructed for the front door and window configurations. Once the wall was built, our team could feel the momentum building: it was starting to feel like a “house” again, without the rot, failing foundation, and sinking floors and walls.
After some conversation with the homeowner, we decided to remove the kitchen and front living room ceiling joists to create a vaulted ceiling.
Our team had to install two large glu-lam beams (in one piece), over 30’ long and 14’ in the air for the ridge beam. Wrapping the beams with hemlock wood created a uniform look. With the help of a couple super lift jacks, some ingenuity, and brainstorming, we accomplished this feat and the house took another leap toward the finish line.
We installed new ceiling joists to accommodate the new electrical layout and energy codes. Due to this vault not having accessible attic space, it had to have spray foam insulation installed to reach the R-38 requirement per the county.
Our initial hope was that the original brick fireplace could remain in place.
But a level would prove otherwise: the chimney was leaning 2” out of plumb, towards the neighbors’ house, and we realized it just had to go! But it made way for a new custom brick fireplace, ready for wood or natural gas burning as it was set up for both options.
The front entry roof overframe was a major structural detail added to the house.
This was a unique build due to the use of the homeowner’s reclaimed wood posts from an old barn in South Hill, WA. These 8”x8” timbers were previously soaked in creosote and could still withstand the outdoor elements, making them perfect for this aspect of the build.
After pouring a footing, the posts and beams went up and provided a good platform on which to build our new overframe. The existing roof in most areas remained and, with 80 years of character, provided some challenges to plane it in with our new framing. Our team had a couple of great framers available to meet the task and tied the new overframe in nicely.
Stamped concrete is a messy process, but the eye-catching results and unique textures are well worth it.
We installed a beautiful Ashlar slate stamped concrete finish, with a dark gray integral color (mixed in the truck at the cement facility) and charcoal antique release powder (to prevent the stamps from sticking to the surface). Applying a Smith’s water based stain to darken it up even more gave it added continuity with the new asphalt driveway, windows, gutters, and downspouts.
Interior Details
