I’ve been putting off blogging about the exterior of the Sixty-One Park Farmhouse because it was such an enormous job. It took me a few days to wrap my head around all that had been completed because it’s really a blur. I was looking back at photos from last March when demolition was still underway and we decided to take the aluminum siding off. Here’s what the farmhouse looked like when we first started:  

We started with demolition on the inside and then moved to the outside. At some point during the life of the farmhouse aluminum siding had been put on which was great for us because it preserved a lot of the original wood siding underneath. That wood being revealed is over 100 years old:

Brett always likes to point out to Sienna and I how the parts of every old house served a purpose. Even the wood was chosen for a specific reason (for strength, or ability to withstand the elements).  It is all these little details that we don’t think about today, and why the house has taken so long to put back together with no short cuts: 

When the storm windows were removed we realized that the original windows were still in place, with the old wavy glass. Sadly most of them would have had to be rebuilt so we decided to replace them but I saved them for a future project: 

The guys really tried to think as far out as possible so that they would not have to go back and do anything twice or do something out of order, which meant stopping work and refocusing when they ran into something that had to be done. Like on this particular morning, the old kitchen window (which is now the laundry room) became the first window to be replaced. It was a very early morning project as you can see from the headlamp Brett is wearing: 

Then the porch windows were replaced. We were able to keep siding that was under the porch or otherwise protected from the rain and sun, but other than that we decided to replace most of the other areas:

In the photo below Jaime and his dad were prepping for new siding. The new white boards are called “band boards” and they ground the house, drawing a distinct break between the foundation and the house itself. 

We actually had a local mill custom make all the replacement siding so it was the exact same size as the old and could be easily blended right back in.  Each piece received a coat of primer to the front and the back and then an initial coat of paint, just so it wouldn’t be left unfinished on the house for too long. It is tough to get good help these days…my chickens left tiny little feet marks across every single board more than once:

The old house was typical of most old houses in that it didn’t have any sheathing or waterproofing. It also didn’t have any insulation, so we found every little rot because when the inside of the siding got wet, it just dried out over the years. Modern codes and insulation requirements required us to add sheathing and waterproofing:

We have the best partners in the project, Jaime and his wife Jaime. Yes they have they exact same name! Jaime made these little wood stacking things so that dozens of boards could be painted at once. I call them “stacky thingies” but apparently they are called sticker stackers:

And voila, the new siding goes up:

 
Here’s Jaime using a “swing stick” or “story pole” to narrow up the siding so it matched when meeting above and below the window, just like the old-timers. Such a simple tool and I can think of all kinds of projects this would probably help with: quilting, tiling etc. And yes, he’s working by headlamp here, before the sun was even up. He and Brett saw almost 250 sunrises in 2017:

The siding actually took a long time because the guys only work in the mornings before work. They would get about a half a wall done per day.  They also work every Saturday. They are so incredibly committed, I don’t know how they do it.  Here’s a time lapse of one of the walls being worked on in September:

 

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Here’s Brett prepping one of the windows for installation before siding was fixed. I remember that day because he had to get rid of a hug hornets next early that morning in order to work up there:

By November the siding was done except for some small areas that still needed paint: 

Here’s the “before” photo again:

And the “after”:

And a beautiful morning sunrise: 

I have a lot more to catch you up on but it will be available as an Airbnb this coming summer so stay tuned! 

You can see more of the history and progress posts about the restoration of this 100+ year old farmhouse by clicking here. 

You can also follow along at the @Sixtyonepark Instagram account too! 

I’m way overdue for an update on the farmhouse renovation progress but I’ll split it into a few posts. Jaime and Brett have been working almost every morning before work since we purchased it in March. Most of March was filled with demolition,  April was the month of foundation work, and May and June were framing and flooring. Once July arrived most of the house structural work had been completed except for the porch. 

The porch still had its original planks, and the occasional hemlock post from 100 years ago, unfortunately they were dry rotted and had to be removed:

This gave us a chance to add new support under the house with a new block and brick wall. First, concrete forms were made and poured: 

Here are the guys building the new brick foundation, and this is the first time that either Brett or Jaime had laid brick, but they picked it up really quick:

Here’s a time lapse of some of the brick work: 

 

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Once the brick and block had set, they poured a new concrete/rebar cap of the porch to strengthen it and create a level surface for the new deck joists: 

The dirt under this old farmhouse was a time capsule. We found an old shoe, old bottles and more. I’m sure there is stuff farther down but I’m a very lazy metal detectorist. We are going to add our own time capsule somewhere that maybe someone else will find in 100 years.

Here’s the shoe we found….I love how many times it had been resoled:

Here is the porch from the front as the columns were going in. We used hollow square columns that won’t twist over time:

Brett, Rand (Jaime’s dad), and Jaime…these guys are hard workers!

 Another time lapse of the porch floor going in. I remember that it was so hot that day. I made a short appearance to refill their water. 

 

A post shared by Sixty-One Park (@sixtyonepark) on Jul 22, 2017 at 1:40pm PDT

We really try to re-use materials as much as possible even though it adds a lot more work. We salvaged this bead board from the inside of the house and used it on the porch ceiling. Many of the pieces even have “Vascal Williams, Bryson City, NC” written on the back from when arrived by train:

The new columns primed for paint:

I’m not sure what color we are going to paint the porch ceiling or floor yet. Still trying decide but I’m leaning towards some shade of Haint Blue and a gray floor. I kept a few pieces of the old porch, just for sentimental value. There are layers of green and blue paint showing the history of hues. One day not long ago as I swept the farmhouse floors I thought over and over: 100 years of footsteps across these planks. Soon after that someone told Brett, “I would have torn that house down.” It’s not the first time we’ve heard that. My reaction is, “I know you would have…and that’s why we had to buy it.” We bought the farmhouse with another family to restore and turn into a historic rental, a meaningful place for friends and family to gather. There’s so much history in it and we’ve already learned so much in the process. A new home can always be built but an old one can never be put back. I hope this old house stands for another 100 years with all its stories intact.

Click here to read all the back posts about the history and renovation of Sixty-one Park.