Chicken Coop- Part 1

a little scary to be honest

One day this past fall I received a referral from a previous client. A call came in just before lunch, while my team and I were in the midst of finishing a $300,000 home in an exclusive neighborhood in Ithaca. The conversation was brief and to the point. The woman on the other end of the line explained how she wanted to convert an old chicken coop into her retirement home. “Really?” I thought. She had heard we were skilled, creative, and easy to work with, but more importantly affordable. She was hoping we would consider building for her on this unique project.

what we started with...

I liked the upbeat voice on the other end of the phone, and found her positive and appreciative comments encouraging. The coop in question was just 10 minutes from the place I was standing and the notion of converting a barn structure into a home sounded intriguing. I agreed to stop over the next day at lunchtime to have a look. But I told her I couldn’t promise anything because we had a pretty full schedule already.

new staircase and original joists

The next day I pulled my truck into the driveway and past the main house, where I found myself facing a typical looking, slightly leaning, run down barn. It was sagging seriously in the middle. The siding was comprised of roofing shingles that had been painted red. The entirety of the building’s windows were quaint, vintage, multi-paned old things with peeling white paint. And there were lots of them (apparently chickens need lots of light to make lots of eggs). In its favor, the little building did seem to have a complete roof on it.

Benay, the artsy and optimistic owner of the property met me on the gravel driveway with a smile. Together, we walked around some muddy areas of recent excavation, to the opening one might call a door. Upon entering, my grey haired guide joyously launched in to an elaborate vision of how this broken down barn would someday look as her future home. I stood amazed by the huge discrepancy between what she was saying and what I was seeing. Now, I have worked on some fixer uppers in my day, but this place was beyond anything I had thought anyone of sound mind would ever consider to be fix up able. Benay was undeterred by the current state of the place, and she continued to describe the inspired details of her future home.

gorgeous kitchen we created

Okay, I thought, maybe we could do this if this place was tucked away in a sunny California backwoods where codes weren’t enforced, where winter doesn’t exist, and plumbing could remain mostly outdoors. Or maybe if you were still in your early twenties, living a vagabond lifestyle and had little or no money, you wouldn’t mind the roughness of it all.

But we were not in California, nor was Benay any of these things. She was a professional woman who came to Ithaca from the metropolitan NYC area. She had lived in an upscale Hudson valley region. And she currently resided in the very comfortable farm house I passed along the drive in. Yet somehow she saw this old out building and saw an opportunity. It was clear she had vision, she was able to easily see past the complete mess that lay before us both. I was truly in awe as she continued with the tour.

old stairwell

The 40’ by 20’ two story coop was built on a stone foundation. It was made from hand hewn beams and poles, from which most of the bark had been stripped. It had long since stopped being a chicken coop, but there were bird nests and droppings from wild animals all over. At some time in the past, some enterprising folks had called it home, and there were a few moderns artifacts around; the remains of an old funky kitchen in one corner; basic wiring for lights and outlets had been run from post to post throughout the building; a few colored lights bulbs in a few broken ceramic sockets; parts of a drum set, a few old couches, carpet pieces and some old cords were in the open center. At one end of the building there was a very steep and scary staircase to the upper level that reminded me of the horror film the The Birds, the part where the characters go into the attic to check for intruders and find all the birds there waiting to peck their eyes out.

In the 20 minutes we were looking at the space, despite Benay’s pleasant and hopeful attitude, I had an extremely hard time not saying “I’m sorry, but are you out of your mind. This is impossible.” Instead I asked her if maybe building something new, energy efficient, easy to heat, and comfortable might be a better option for her. She explained her numerous reasons for not taking that route; a desire to keep the character of the property unchanged; a successful experience doing something similar earlier in her life; and she just preferred to work with old and funky over new. She was in it for the creative experience of restoration as much as anything else. I remained mostly quiet trying to keep an open mind and take it all in.

As I made my way to leave, I said I would talk it over with my team, but I had a feeling I already knew what my partners would say.

I told Kerrie about Benay and the coop the next day. She surprised me by saying she was intrigued. I suggested we go by the place for a look together, but warned her about what we were going to see. It would be a huge undertaking I told her. She suggested that something different might be nice for a change, that maybe a break from building new fancy homes would be welcomed. I had to agree.

After meeting Benay and seeing the place, Kerrie was on board. On my second visit to the building I was able to better see the possible project through the mess. We agreed to take it on and within a couple of weeks began the dirty job of stripping the building down to it shell.

White Hawk is growing

White Hawk Ecovillage has a fairly new blog called White Hawk Talk up and running.  Because Rob, Kerrie and Rod are doing much of the building work out there, stop by their blog for more pictures of the work and insights on how the village is growing, changing, and shaping up.  

Here are Rob and Kerrie beginning work on the radiant heat concrete flooring at the newest White Hawk house.

Praise for Rod!

Here's something we would like to share about our design experience with Rod:

We'd been thinking that before retirement catches up with us we ought to build an energy star home, single story, less than 1,000 square feet, on a radiant slab, with a metal roof and natural wood siding. But it wasn't clear how we would get from this general idea to a set of permit-ready drawings. We browsed lots of pre-cooked plans for small-footprint modulars, log kits and SIPs homes that might be adapted to our very modest budget, but we didn't find what we were looking for. Then we discovered the website of Creative Constructions. We really liked what we saw there, and what we later heard at an introductory meeting. So we decided to take the next step, and see if Rod Lambert could help us turn our ideas into a buildable plan. Rod visited our site, talked with us about the project, looked at our sketches, and posed a lot of well organized questions. More exchanges followed, and in time he produced a schematic that addressed our needs and wishes very sensibly. In fact, it was such a great little plan that we turned directly to refining the details. That was quite a lot more work, actually, and for a number of weeks sketches were flying back and forth at wireless network speed. Throughout the process Rod welcomed our participation, made it easy to share ideas and questions, and provided just the right amount of guidance. The end result was a permit-ready plan that we were very pleased with. But the real confirmation of Rod's expertise came later, as our new home began to take physical shape and we could walk around inside it, feeling the rightness and coherence of all the ideas and choices that went into the plan. Sweet!

Pat Lia and Geo Kloppel

an addition for Aunty in ithaca

This fall we had the privilege of designing and buildng an attached mother-in-law unit for some great clients on the south side of Ithaca.

The work started with an intese bit of demolition requiring a large U-haul moving truck to remove the debris-2 trips in fact. Once the house was prepped for the new addition.. no small task we began the creative process of attaching new to old. After a few days we were framed in and things were looking up! For a number of reasons, additions can be more difficult than straight up new construction. Site access is often one of those reasons.

This project had next to impossible site access. Fortunately arrangements were made with the exceedingly friendly neighbors to allow us to use their adjoining backyard to bring in a skid loader for the drilling of he foundation holes. These neighbors were in fact more excited about the addition it seemed than the client was! Maybe you had to be there....

Anyway, the limited access made for a lot of carrying marterials the 30 yards or so around from the front of the house and of course the aproximately 6000 lbs of debris out. Oye Veh!

Even so, building is for the most part enjoyable work. But what i enjoyed most about this project, was how much it meant to the family we were doing it for. They told us each day how much they appreciated our efforts and how pleased they were that the addition was fianlly being built. You see, the family was struggeling to continue to share their living space with a well meaning great aunt who had come to live with them a couple years earlier. They loved the relative, they just couldn't take the accompanying lack of privacy much longer. They had considered building an addition a year before, but felt that it would be too expensive for there budget. Much to their delight, our estimate came in around 25% under what they had previously been quoted. Their desire to stay in their home by "adding on" for the aunty was now possible and quickly becoming a reality! The simple but nicley appointed independant apartment was completed with hardwood and tile floors, a full kitchen and bath, and simple pine trim throughout. Aunty just loves it!

The home owner writes "As soon as the project started, they moved so efficiently and professionally. We were pleasantly surprised at how much they could get done in a short period of time. Further, as they got closer to finishing, we saw that not only was this going to be done in a timely fashion, but also the work was clearly of the highest quality.

as I sit and write this brief note, my aunt is comfortable in her new independent apartment, close but not too close, and my wife and daughter are playing cheerfully with the privacy that we dreamed of. We couldn't be happier!!!"

to each building... his or her own

Over the past few months we at Creative Constructions have been involved in 4 distinctly different building projects.  Each of them designed by our partner Rod Lambert and each addressing a family's unique housing needs.  As we approach completion on three of these projects and I have a few days off for the Thanksgiving holiday, I return to the keyboard to update you on my building life and consider the reasons for our work.

Among the needs we have helped to fulfill in recent months is an addition to house an endless pool.  This will allow a child with a debilitating physical disease to enjoy weightlessness and receive physical therapy that will hopefully legthen and add mobility to his life. 

Another family who had an elderly Great Aunt move in with them a couple years back came to us in desperate need of more private space in their small home.  They asked us to build them an attached mother in law unit for the Great Aunt.  For under $38K if possible.  They of course love the relative but have been longing for an evening alone in their living room- for a long time now.  In just a couple of weeks they will have it as much as they want.

The third client, a young couple without kids (yet), were looking to build their unique version of an environmentally friendly dream home.  This home, on 60 acres with dramatic nature views, was to use -as much as sensibly possible- local materials, passive solar design and energy efficiency throughout. They were planning for no fossil fuels to be burned in the home by including a masonry stove and complete PV system.  They also planned to physically work on the project themselves and have done an amazing job in the process!

Another goal in the design of the dream home was to create a large and open enough space that it would feel comfortable and inviting to any and all friends and family that may wish to come and stay a while.  I believe they have succeeded. 

And even though they are a few weeks out on being done, they are enjoying T-giving with the family there as I write.

Currently we are getting started on a "retirement home" for a couple who built a cabin on the same land and have been living there for nearly 30 years.  Their new home- small by modern american standards (913 sq ft) will have all they will need to be comfortable on one radiantly heat floor.  It includes beautiful views of the local hills and will be built on a budget significantly under $100k.  Stay tuned for additional installments on this project.  It is just getting started.

I wonder what interesting new building needs you might you have for us?

rob

Scherer home progresses

Summer is in full swing, and lately I'm just too busy to post much. Even so, here are few pictures of the new home we're building for/with Dan and Lisa Scherer out near Trumansburg.

Dan in the basement with the first floor frame above him.

nailing down the sub floor

GO Lisa!

"SIP wall panels going up

pictures windows on the south side of the house

second floor going up -so far all work completed on solar power, notice PV panel trailer in foreground.

then there was the rain...and more rain...

but things have been getting done, although somtimes you need a rope and pulley to make it all work especially with 180 pound 38 foot trusses-yikes.

and sometimes you just need a break in the shade to think it over.

next week the red steel roofing!

nice folks to work with --Dan and Lisa!

Energy efficient home started near Ithaca!

Congratulations to the Dan and Lisa Scherer family! We broke ground on their beautiful new home (designed with Rod Lambert) out near Trumansburg on this beautiful sunny morning in May. Stay tuned for construction updates on this interesting passive solar home to be constructed with ICF foundation and SIP walls.

Thanks to Geroge Van Valen and crew and King Brothers in advance for doing great excavation and foundation work!

Bob and Denise's addition- part 2

With the addition finished, Denise writes this...

"We love our addition! We have already moved in. We love the light, the stained cement floors (great idea Rob!), the skylights, the high ceilings and the energy efficiency. I also like it that the house was built by a team of people that put a lot of heart into everything they do. Rob, Rod and Kerrie have great friendly energy and are eminently trustworthy. If we ever have another build project we would not hesitate to call them."

Bob and Denise's addition

Our current building project

is a home addition that will double the living space for a family living in a lovely cottage style home on the edge of Ithaca. Unique to this project are the ten foot SIP walls, a cathedral ceiling and a 28 x 12 foot loft space for overflow guest sleeping and much needed storage. As well, the new space has a radiantly heated concrete slab floor- (to be stained) and ample windows for enjoying the woodsy surroundings. The exterior will be finished with locally milled, pine board and bat siding to match the existing home.

Home owner Denise Thomas writes:
When our son was three months old we discovered that he had been born with Cerebral Palsy and would require extensive therapuetic services in our home. Up until then our home had been small (750 sq ft) but adequate for my husband and I. Now with a new son and therapists coming and going, we needed more space, and quick! After receiving several bids for an addition to our home, we chose Creative Constructions. Not only was their bid reasonable, but my husband and I genuinely liked the team. Rob and Rod were both very professional and yet laid back and friendly.
They were also willing to let my husband, who was a professional contactor, do as much or as little of the work as he wished. So far we are very pleased with the addition. Rod took our simple design and made it exactly what we wanted. The
team has used quality materials always with an eye to towards energy efficiency, which is fantastic.

Even when we have changed our minds or added

something new, the team's answer is always" we can do that!" We can hardly wait for it to be complete and to spread out into the newspace. Our son Byron is quite mobile now so we know he will love it too.

Check back for an update as the project gets completed!

rob

Backsplash and Patio

In summer 2008, Kerrie made this tile backsplash for a neighbor at Ecovillage of Ithaca.

And Creative Constructions built this patio for the same family's small, but sunny backyard.