Chicken Coop - Part 2

Chicken Coop Renovation - Part 2 
with lots of pictures!

old kitchen-et

…..After some back and forth between Benay’s engineer and our designer Rod Lambert, we finally agreed on the floor plan and structural details that would be submitted to the town’s building department for approval.


special tile in new kitchen

The goal was to create a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home out of the funky old coop while keeping as much of the original rustic character of the building intact. Although we had plans to work off of, they weren’t as detailed as most and we could see that it was going to be necessary to keep an open mind to possible changes and adaptations as the project progressed. Benay, who in fact prefers unique second hand building materials to new, is also a person who does her best designing when immersed in the process. Because of that, and the nature of renovating a structure of this kind, the plans never really stopped evolving. From the moment we drove the first nail, right up to the installation of the last salvaged light fixture, creative designing and on the fly decision making became the norm. Like an art project built by collaboration, it was necessary to stay flexible and not get too attached to any one idea. Not exactly a builders dream- but an interesting challenge.

Getting underway

The job before us was a daunting one, just how we’d accomplish everything that needed doing wasn’t completely clear. The obvious first step however was to remove all the junk and begin the dirty job of gutting the interior. Make shift wall partitions partially covered in drywall, funky old duct work, electrical lines --all of which had no doubt been lovingly installed by previous do-gooders, along with about 30 vintage multi-pane windows were unceremoniously stripped from the building. As was the falling down ceiling on the second floor, which was comprised of 3 inch diameter pine poles(later to become part of deck railing), haphazardly covered with random flat pieces of whatever- who ever -could get their hands on, this all supporting a dusty mix of insulation, bird nests and cobwebs; the entire mess was pitched out the now vacant windows to be sorted later on.

beam added to support 2nd floor flanked by origianl round joists

Removing the junk and cleaning the space helped to shed some light on what was looking like a reasonably good sized living space. An optimism of “Hey, maybe this won’t be so bad…”- filled the air. We could now more easily see and contemplate the larger issues we were facing. For starters the severely cracked concrete floor which amazingly sloped up to 4 inches in 2 different directions, Not to be out done by the upstairs exterior walls which bowed out in the middle as much as 6 inches- on each side of the building!

lots of windows included in living room

threaded 1" steel rod keeping up the roof

The badly outward leaning walls (two who’s 4x6 collar ties had come unattached long ago), were being held together by two strategically placed steel rods that impressively spanned the 20’ across the width of the second floor living space (at about forehead level). The rods (we eventually removed these too) were held in place (and thus kept the walls in and the roof up) by very large washers and nuts which had been threaded on to each end of each rod,- just below the low-ish roof line- (which as I mentioned) was around the height of my forehead. It wasn’t long before we had yellow caution tape wrapped around these steel bars, as they offered a nasty whack on the head if you weren’t paying close enough attention, or in my case wearing a baseball cap that impeded my view.

after the higher section was removed

Returning to the other major issue the building was suffering a severely cracked and sloping concrete floor, it is true the upstairs wooden floor was also sloping badly, but I am focusing here on the ground floor. In addition to this concrete problem, about ¼ of the solid floor surface (around 200 sq’) was for some unknown reason 3 inches higher than the rest. Since there wasn’t enough height under the second floor joists and beams to add the 2 inches of rigid insulation and the four inches of new concrete we planned for, as well as accommodate this weird higher section of floor while still meeting code on ceiling heights, the higher section of concrete had to be removed. Thankfully this chunk of difficult work was skillfully handled by two friends of Benay’s (and one jackhammer) over a long weekend. Great for us but more importantly it thrilled the plumber who now had to a place to route and hide his drain lines in what would become the new concrete floor.

Framing the place

insulation and pex for radiant heat -ready for concrete

big windows just about everywhere

The engineering called for all new lumber to be sistered to the existing framing throughout the building, (with the exception of the rustic log-like joists that supported the second floor which would be allowed to stand on their own but with new lvl beams under them). This new framing had to be painstakingly cut and installed one piece at a time in order to fit in with what already existed. Level and plumb this building was far from, but by setting aside our levels and going with a more “intuitive” approach to it all, it wasn’t long before we adjusted to the process and had the new walls, window openings and roof rafters mostly framed up. The overall goal with the new framing was to create a structure that could carry the various building loads, accept drywall and other new finish surfaces, be properly insulated, as well as allow for a compliment of new energy efficient windows and doors that needed to fit perfectly within a the strange 2 - layer exterior wall. We were in effect building an entirely new house inside the shell of the old structure and the two needed to get along.

yes wider at the top!

Note: It was decided early on that attempting to straighten the existing exterior walls and remove the sag in the roof was not going to be part of the job. Our focus was on stabilizing and strengthening the shape that existed before us albeit an odd one.

Without a doubt the framing work was the trickiest part of the job. Since the exterior walls leaned outward, and the new sistered walls were pretty plumb, the window and door jams became an interesting place where the width of the frames at the base were in some cases 2 or 3 inches narrower than the width at the top! (see photos) If this was tricky for us framers to work out, it was a bit of a nightmare the dry-wallers- and they cursed us for it. The finished look was something like the inside of an adobe boat.

7 ft long stain glass in bathroom

rebar balasters with painted wood staircase (by rod)

Throughout the process, Benay (who regularly expressed appreciativeness at our creative solutions and use of materials) had on-hand, or brought in special items that she requested we incorporate in to the house. Examples include; a massive 12 foot long, hand carved post from Afghanistan, this was fitted as a major support between the first and second floor - the 3’ off cut part becoming the newel post at the top of the stairs, as well as numerous vintage glass light fixtures gathered over the years, wood salvaged from another barn on the property, and a number of stain-glass windows that Benay really wanted to have installed, even though from a builders perspective, we had pretty much run out of spaces to put them.

railing made from hand hewn coller ties

I have to say, that this project would not have been possible were it not for the willingness of the local code enforcer to go along with a few of the more “unusual choices” in materials and installations. With today’s codes being what they are, there are certainly limitations on how far one is allowed to let their creativity roam when building new. I know for certain that many of the details in Benay’s coop would simply not have been possible in other jurisdictions. I suppose the fact that everything we were doing was improving this building helped the issue.

Finishing the home

If rebuilding the structural bones of the house was the most challenging part of this job, then creating and installing the interior trim and doing the final details was the most satisfying.

one of many salvaged glass light fixture

As we neared completion of the project, the interior of the home was day-by-day becoming a uniquely beautiful and cozy space, and I dare say more level and plumb than the homeowner had expected. A customed dark stained concrete, radiantly heated floor gave the space a warm feel. Hundred year old salvaged pine flooring became new generous window sills. Rounded window returns added a clean look to the walls and the upstairs rooms along with the bright natural finished tongue and groove pine flooring installed there. The master bedroom was graced with lovely wood French doors that lead to a modest and unique south facing deck the railing of which was topped with the re-used 4x6 collar ties! The Bathrooms received a re-used claw foot tub and custom tiled shower respectively and the entire place was finished in an assortment of other recycled wood, metal and tile finishes -- including rebar balusters.

hand carved from afganastan

Our client  

one on several salvaged old windows...

Although this project was difficult compared to others, the owner/client was anything but. Her attitude was always positive, appreciative and supportive. As sometimes happens on projects of this type, where creativity and collaboration between the client and our team is such a driving force, a touch of sadness accompanies the completion of the project. On our last day on site, as we wrapped up a few final trim details, and loaded up our tools,

Benay and kerrie

thick walls meant lots of insulation!

Benay said that although it was wonderful to see the project completed, she would in fact “really miss working with us, and was sad to see us go, It was great fun working on this together… I consider you all friends”. For our part, a client like Benay is very rare indeed, she had the vision to imagine and courage to commit to making this funky old barn a lovely home. She definitely pushed our boundaries a bit on imagining what was possible there. We appreciated the opportunity to have done this interesting work with her and breathe new life into the old Chicken coop in the process.

Cheers Benay! We hope that you enjoy the space “we created” for many years to come.

On behalf  the team,

Kerrie, Rod, Otto and Eric.

Rob Champion

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.