We are moving to the farm. !. Yes, you have been deceived over the last 3 months. Due to work related issues we have been living in NE Minneapolis and driving home to Elm Glen Farm on the weekends. I was laid off (for better or worse) during the coldest months of the winter. Minneapolis carpentry in the winter is a practice for fools and masochists. I try to be neither...
Circumstances have allowed us to make the move to live full time at Elm Glen and the timing couldn't be better. Spring is coming, time to start seeds, get the chicken tractor built and go full bore into renovating the old farmhouse.
We have been busy lately in the renovation department. The farmhosue at Elm Glen, where my mom, aunt, and uncle were raised; the place that I have known since (I imagine) the second or third day of my life is under going some major internal changes. Emily and I dug into the ceiling of the living room, with the intention of replacing old water damaged acoustic tiles with new sheetrock. The project turned into a major undertaking. (I am sure this portends the pattern of the every project we undertake on the old house). We ended up tearing out the tiles, insulation, and framing of the old flat ceiling that hung less than 7' high. I lofted the ceiling to match the external profile of the roofline- giving us nearly 9' on the high side and over 7' on the low side. I framed in for a skylight and ran wires for ceiling mounted lights. The little cave of a living room will now be a much more spacious living room. I insulated the roof with formaldehyde free fiberglass and expanded foam, mitigating thermal breaks to R40 (R38 is the reccomendation, locally).
The process gave me insight to the ontogeny of a Wisconsin farmhouse. The room was an addition. Based on the lumber in the walls (and the fact that my Grandma said it was there when they bought the house in the 50's) I am guessing the addition happened in the 40's. As I peeled back the panelling on the west side of the room, the old siding and framing for a front door and window looked me in the face. I dug deeper into the wall, my carpenter's curiousity insisted. The original house was "baloon framed" with red oak 2x4's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon_framing#Balloon_framing). My dad observed this and pointed out that the framing must have been done before the wood had dried. This is true. Anyone who has tried to drive a framing nail into a dry piece of oak will attest to the fact that you wouldn't want to build a house that way. Most modern homes are framed with SPF 2x material (Spruce, Pine, Fir mixed species). It is strong, easy to cut, nail into, and manipulate. Loss of trees and countinuous demand for long, durable material has led to the use of manufacted lumber, wooden I-joists, and timber-strand studs. These materials are strong, unnaturally straight, and make use of chipwood that would have previously been waste- however they contains massive amounts of adhesives with innumerable toxicities.
Back to Elm Gle, however. OAK FRAME WALLS. No wonder the house has withstood the years. My Grandma told me that when they originally bought it, the seller told them it was 100 years old, dating the original construction to Pre-civil war. I found a piece of 1912 newspaper in the wall.
Here are some photos. enjoy. more to come.