I’m thrilled to showcase the icehouse’s west facade with new double doors flanked with full-height side lites. What a transformation. With the west elevation doorway installed we’re approaching the point where reality resembles Tiho’s renderings.
Rendering for Icehouse Rehabilitation, West Elevation (Source: Tiho Dimitrov)
Remember that west elevation drawing Tiho created to help the team visualize where we were headed? The image below captures the same view, the partially fenestrated west facade, just prior to the day the west elevation doorway was installed.
Partially Fenestrated West Facade (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
I jumped the gun, announcing fenestration progress when we were still short of completion.
Aside from window and door trim, three out of four elevations — east (above), south, and north — are now exhibiting their close-to-final appearance. (Source: Fenestrated Facades)
One of the many workflow challenges we’ve navigated was delaying installation of the glass doors.
Only the west elevation (below) is still waiting on installation of the 1st floor double doors and flanking windows. And that’s on hold until flooring is complete. So, hopefully soon! (Source: Fenestrated Facades)
Once the double doors, flanked with windows, four glass apertures balancing the gable window above, are installed, this west-facing elevation will allow for a seamless interplay of interior and exterior living area. So long anticipated, these fenestrated facades are beginning to bridge the envisioned and the actual. (Source: Fenestrated Facades)
And here it is! West wall opening, doors being installed.
Installing West Elevation Doorway (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
With Peter overseeing, Matt (green shirt) and Supi (red shirt) secured and fine tuned the Marvin double door unit. In the photo below they appear to be celebrating their success. Actually, rather than a victory lap I think they’re troubleshooting to ensure the install was perfectly executed.
Installing West Elevation Doorway (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
And then came the glass slabs flanking the doors.
West Elevation Doorway (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Once trimmed, these four glass apertures will be mulled into a contiguous element that looks as handsome from without as within. Soon I promise to share the inside-out perspective!
More good news this morning: the icehouse coving is complete!
It looks so seamless, so simple now that the woodwork is joined, the discrete elements have coalesced, and the paint has dried. Integration. Cohesion. Hurrah!
Coving Complete (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Only a few months ago, this vision — more mirage than meaningful map forward — danced in my imagination. It was a problem to solve, actually a couple of problems, plus the possibility of an elegant if understated solution.
During my recent on-site meetings with the team I discussed a specific twist that needs resolving in order to move forward with coving construction (and tie-rod fabrication). There are ledgers along the north wall and south wall top plates that were installed in 2006 as part of our roof rebuild. All of the rafters land on these ledgers. The rebuilt roof is robust in part because of this interesting workaround, but it creates a 1-1/2” step near the top of the wall that introduces an impediment (or possibly a benefit) for coving construction. Basically, our construction plan (A402, detail 4) does not account for this plane discrepancy. I’m endeavoring to integrate the step structurally into the cove construction. Although this structural element creates an added challenge, I actually think that it might contribute to a pragmatic solution… [However, this] idea doesn’t (yet) integrate electrical, focusing just on structural and finish integration. (Source: Ciphering on Icehouse Coving)
The electrical uncertainty pertained to low voltage lighting that is being concealed above the north and south side coving, gently illuminating the vaulted ceiling and allowing for a shadow line above the coving. (See the coiled wire in the image below?) That installation comes next. Here’s hoping that the results match up with my hopes…
Coving Nearing Completion (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Pieces of the Puzzle
The snapshot directly above and the next one below, offer a glimpse into the carpentry process for fabricating the coving detail. Multiple constituent parts comprise this otherwise subtle, understated design element.
Like pieces of a three-dimensional puzzle finding their companions, the intricate borders, contours, and profiles fuse into a whole. With an ooold structure like this late 19th century icehouse, there’s another challenging. Few, if any, angles are true. Corners are infrequently 90°, walls bow and they’re rarely plumb. So scribing and fine-tuning are constant and critical. Measure, cut, fit, tune, refit, re-tune,…
Coving Nearing Completion (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
But, little by little, headway is made. And, as you can observe in the almost complete coving photo and the post-paint photo below, diverse puzzle pieces pull together and begin to merge. There’s a profoundly rewarding coalescence as heterogeneous components form a homogeneous ensemble. From pieces, emerge a whole.
Coving Nearing Completion (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Doubling Back…
Wait what?!?! How did we get here? What did I miss?
If you’re perplexed with my quasi communion-esque enthusiasm for carpentry-conjoining bits and pieces of wood into architectural poetry, I understand. I offer you my sincere condolences. My peculiar propensity to understand (and communicate) creative processes — and I’m speaking in sweeping, inclusive, and trade androgynous terms from gardening and landscaping to construction and cabinetry, writing and theatre to dance and song — in analogous and overlapping ways. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!
But let’s double back a beat or three in case the coving journey slipped past unexamined.
Structural integration for coving in the icehouse’s vaulted ceiling area is now complete… wrapping around the north, west, and south walls at the height where ceiling and the north/south walls meet… a new horizontal ledger has been installed and the “shelf” has been fastened underneath. (Source: Icehouse Coving Progress)
From unanticipated challenge to opportunity, from draftsman’s drawing to incongruous field conditions, a carpenter’s quiver need be equipped with *BOTH* skill and art. Fortunately our team is innovative and creative and persistent. Hurdles are chances to share ideas and collaborate on workarounds.
The next step will be to encase the 2x8s with trim (dimensional poplar) that will meet up with T&G nickel gap paneling on the ceiling and walls as shown above. Cove crown will be installed beneath the shelf, and an aluminum track will be installed in the corner of the shelf to secure LED strip lighting. (Source: Icehouse Coving Progress)
Now we’re ready for the strip lighting. Imagine the view below as it will appear once the cove on the right is gently backlit…
Coving Complete (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
With a flicker of fortune, I’ll be posting that update soon!
A couple of weeks ago I shared a “Flooring Sneak Peek” and four days ago I shared an update on the icehouse flooring focused on “Variable Width Floorboards”. Today I’m pleased to announce that the mixed species ash and elm flooring installation is complete. Eureka!
Many, many months into our homegrown, stump-to-floor journey, the first floor of the icehouse is complete.
You may recall that we decided to mix ash and elm for the icehouse flooring, showcasing a decade and a half worth of lumber that we had harvested, milled, seasoned, dimensioned, and finished on-site. (Source: Variable Width Floorboards)
And the result is simply sensational. Character-rich wood exhibiting a remarkable breadth and depth of color and pattern.
Note that these snapshots were taken shortly after installation was completed. Still ahead? Sanding and sealing. This still anticipated floor finishing will further enhance the natural grain and hues of the ash and elm.
For a change I’m actually at a loss for words. Such a slow, painstaking labor of love, from long ago felled timber to meticulously dimensioned and plained flooring… it’s been a quest!
I shared a “Flooring Sneak Peek” a couple weeks ago when the first two rows of ash and elm flooring had been installed. Now that our homegrown hardwood installation is advancing I’d like to share a few progress photos and explain the choice of variable width floorboards.
Variable Width Ash and Elm Flooring Installation (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Why Variable Width Flooring?
You may recall that we decided to mix ash and elm for the icehouse flooring, showcasing a decade and a half worth of lumber that we had harvested, milled, seasoned, dimensioned, and finished on-site. But I haven’t given much ink to the question of why we opted for variable width flooring instead of uniform sizing (as is the case with the beech flooring in the loft, the garapa paneling in the bathroom, and the T&G nickel gap cladding the rest of the interior walls.)
Installing Variable Width Flooring in Icehouse Vestibule (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
In the photo above the mixed species floorboards, randomly interspersed ash and elm, are clearly different widths. We decided on 4”, 6”, and 8” widths for several reasons. Mixing planks of different widths
contributes an authentic barn appearance (large planks more common in 1800s when icehouse was built)
suggests a more rustic atmosphere
varies visual pattern from the consistent geometry of paneled walls and loft floors
draws attention to the character-rich wood that is a focal point of our rehab story
permitted us to include luxuriously wide floorboards, maximize breadth of widths, and minimize waste
Although we incorporated a bookmatched threshold to visually delineate the vestibule from the main room, the flooring courses have been sized and aligned on both sides of the threshold, visually unifying the floor.
The east-west orientation of the flooring is both practical (perpendicular to the direction of the floor joists) and aesthetically appealing, contributing to the visual flow from entrance-to-entrance, emphasizing the visual axis, and inviting one’s focus toward exterior views beyond the largely glass west wall.
It’s worth noting that significant attention is being given to sequencing the variable width flooring to ensure a harmonious and attractive progression from board-to-board, allowing the color and character variations to enhance the cohesive integration across entire floor.
I can’t wait to see the floor completely installed, sanded, and sealed soon!
It’s time for an icehouse window installation update. I’m pleased to announce fenestrated facades on all four sides!
Fenestrated East Facade (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Aside from window and door trim, three out of four elevations — east (above), south, and north — are now exhibiting their close-to-final appearance. Pretty exciting. Trimming in the jambs will pull it all together, but for now these snapshots offer a pretty good glimpse.
To refresh your memory, this is a notable threshold because we inverted the typical sequence (install windows and doors first, then install cladding). In other words, our atypical workflow pushed out potential hiccups to the eleventh hour…
We flip-flopped windows/doors and siding. That’s right, in order to maintain an ambitious timetable… [we installed] exterior and interior cladding prior to installing the windows. This involved some unintuitive workarounds, reverse engineering an otherwise routine process. So… “windowing” the icehouse has been a unique challenge. (Source: Windowing)
Fortunately, as you can see in the photos, no significant hiccups so far. Only the west elevation (below) is still waiting on installation of the 1st floor double doors and flanking windows. And that’s on hold until flooring is complete. So, hopefully soon!
Partially Fenestrated West Facade (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Aside from fun alliteration, fenestrated facades are an aesthetic and functional leap forward, a *GIANT* leap toward our icehouse rehab finish line. Before I explain, let’s take a quick look at the word, “fenestrated”.
So fenestrated facades are elevations with apertures — door(s) and/or window(s) — that transform the porosity and transparency of the domain.
Fenestrated North Facade (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
By strategically introducing apertures and maximizing transparency in this small structure we’re endeavoring to dilate the living experience beyond the finite building envelope, to challenge the confines of walls and roof, and when possible and esthetically judicious, to improve porosity with abundant new fenestration, dynamic interior-exterior interplay, subtle but impactful landscaping changes (including a new deck) that will work in concert to amplify the breathability of the interior and temptingly invite insiders outside. (Source: Gable End Window in West Elevation)
The fenestrated facades of Rosslyn’s icehouse define a new aesthetic chapter when viewed from without, evolving not only the looks of this historic building over the last 16–17 years, but also delineating this rehabilitated structure from them way it looked for well over a century. From within, it’s still a little premature to evaluate whether or not we’ve accomplished the lofty goals I listed above. But we can begin to appreciate the dramatic increase in natural light, illuminating the interior of the icehouse.
Loft Fenestration (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Natural light and views. The window in the photograph above will look over Rosslyn front lawns, the back of our home, Lake Champlain, and slender slivers of the Green Mountains. My desk will be positioned below this window, so morning will invite the rising sun into my loft study, shimmering across the lake, illuminating my work.
In the photograph below the west gable end window will allow afternoon sunlight to flow into the interior, brightening the main room and loft.
West Gable Fenestration (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Once the double doors flanked with windows, four glass apertures balancing the gable window above, are installed, this west-facing elevation will allow for a seamless interplay of interior and exterior living area. So long anticipated, these fenestrated facades are beginning to bridge the envisioned and the actual. Within weeks I’ll know if we’ve realized the lofty ambition of transforming this small, dark, confined environment into a more ample, permeable, and voluminous experience.
Just over a week ago I posted a prologue to today’s garapa paneled bathroom update. I apologize if it felt a little half baked.
For just a little longer, I’ll keep you in suspense before I share photos of the now completed garapa installation. Remember, anticipation is half the pleasure! (Source: Garapa Paneled Bathroom, Pt. 1)
I wasn’t teasing out the update for the sake of suspense. I promise. And today’s post will hopefully offer some recompense for your patience. But there was a lot — a LOT — to pack into a single post, so I felt it more reasonable to subdivide it into a couple of installments.
I’m dividing this… update into two posts to fairly review and showcase a project that has taken the better part of a year from beginning to finish… (Source: Garapa Paneled Bathroom, Pt. 1)
Besides, I was about to head into the Gila Wilderness when Eric Crowningshield gave me the good news, and I simply couldn’t squeeze it all in before going off-line adventuring for a week sans connectivity, computer, etc.
But now it’s time to celebrate completion of the icehouse bathroom’s garapa paneling, to showcase the photos, and to sing praises for the carpenter behind this monumental accomplishment.
Eric Crowningshield Installing Garapa Paneling in Icehouse Bathroom (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Garapa Paneling the Bathroom
Upcycling Rosslyn’s deconstructed garapa decking into interior paneling has occupied many members of the icehouse rehab team for months. It’s been a challenge. Every. Single. Step. From demo’ing the old deck (while painstakingly deconstructing, selecting, and grading the most reusable and aesthetically pleasing garapa) to troubleshooting, iterating, and finally re-fabricating the decrepit, timeworn decking into elegant interior finish material, this upcycling endeavor has been an epic quest. And the exacting preparation demanded even more exacting installation.
Garapa Paneling Progress in Icehouse Bathroom (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Today we celebrate Eric’s conscientious carpentry and dogged determination, shepherding the garapa paneling to its exquisite completion! (It’s worth noting that Matt Sayward assisted in the early stages of installation, but Eric soon took ownership of the project to ensure 100% consistency.)
Garapa Paneling Progress in Icehouse Bathroom (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
The following excerpts and photos offer an interesting perspective as Eric worked through installation of the garapa paneling.
Garapa Paneling Progress in Icehouse Bathroom (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
It should go a little quicker now with the breaks in the runs [and] not needing to lineup 4 miters in one location. Nothing about this is easy but my gosh probably one of the most rewarding project thus far… — Eric Crowningshield
Garapa Paneling Progress in Icehouse Bathroom (Photo: Eric Crowningshield)
On the left side of this door it is 3-1/8” from the inside of the door jam to the tile. Do we not put garapa and run a 3” trim around the jam leaving a 1/8” reveal? On the other side we only have about 2”, so I’m guessing it may look odd with wider trim on the left and top. — Eric Crowningshield
The best way to handle the garapa around the door is difficult to determine from afar. My suggestion is that you and Peter look at it together and come up with the best solution. We have some asymmetry to deal with. Tricky. — Geo Davis
I’m going to put horizontal pieces on the left side before trim because the trim on the other side is around 1 3/4” so I think it would look better keeping the same size around the door. — Eric Crowningshield
Garapa Paneling Progress in Icehouse Bathroom (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
I went down tonight for a few hours and ripped some [garapa] down to the same width so the last 4 rows will be the same. Otherwise we were going to end up with a 1” or so piece around the ceiling. I put another row of that up so only 3 rows left. — Eric Crowningshield
How much did you have to takeoff of each of the boards for the last four courses? Or, better question, how different will they be from the rest of the words? — Geo Davis
About 3/8 of an inch. The boards I put up throughout the whole wall ranged from 4” down to 3-5/8” and a few at 3-1/2”. I had 13” left so I was doing 3-1/4” for the last 4 rows. — Eric Crowningshield
Garapa Paneling Progress in Icehouse Bathroom (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
It is completed!!! I love saying that. — Eric Crowningshield
Superb! Congratulations, Erik. It really looks amazing. I hope you’re proud of the results. I know this has been an almost endless process from demoing the deck to installing the paneling, but a worthwhile adventure. Well done. Is everything wrapped up around the door as well? — Geo Davis
No, we are going to adjust the casing so it is the same size trim on each side. Yes, super excited about it and everything it means to you and the story behind it all! — Eric Crowningshield
Garapa Paneling Progress in Icehouse Bathroom (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Bravo, Eric Crowningshield, for completing installation of the glorious garapa paneling in the icehouse bathroom. What a tour de force! It’s hard to believe that this is the same decking your team deconstructed from Rosslyn’s deck a year ago. Many months of brainstorming, experimenting, re-milling, oiling, and installing later this masterpiece is born. Hurrah! — Geo Davis
Garapa Paneled Bathroom (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
It was a task for sure, but the end result more than makes it worth the struggles. It is a must see in person although the pictures capture how amazing it looks, [though] it’s even more impressive in person! — Eric Crowningshield
Garapa Paneled Bathroom (Photo: Eric Crowningshield)
I forgot to tell you. I found one board with plugs still in it, so if you look close it is about midway up the wall between the utility and niche. A couple small ones in the niche as well. I thought that would be pretty cool to help tell the story about it being old decking. Wish I found more. — Eric Crowningshield
Garapa Paneled Bathroom (Photo: Eric Crowningshield)
Thanks for letting me know. I will hunt for them next time I’m back. Although you should’ve left it to see if I noticed! — Geo Davis
Garapa Paneled Bathroom (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
This subtle upcycling/repurposing souvenir isn’t quite discernible in the photo above, but it thrills me. Can’t wait to inspect in person!
Garapa Paneled Bathroom (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
I look forward to sharing more photographs of the icehouse bathroom as it approaches completion. It’s so close… Until then, I’d like to express my profound gratitude to Eric for transforming this vision into reality. What an extraordinary accomplishment!
Eureka! After many months of brainstorming, experimentation, painstakingly protracted preparation, troubleshooting, oiling, and meticulous installation, the garapa paneling in Rosslyn’s icehouse bathroom is complete. What a remarkable journey it’s been, and the final results are breathtaking.
Wayne Oiling Deck in 2009 (Photo: Geo Davis)
Garapa Backstory
Our garapa backstory has its beginning waaayyy back when we built the original garapa deck on the west side of Rosslyn’s ell.
Let’s start by rewinding the timeline to 2008-9. Building the new deck and installing garapa decking was the proverbial caboose in a virtually endless train of construction that started in the summer of 2006. (Source: Garapa Decking 2008-2009)
A touch melodramatic, but the metaphor was (and is) 100% appropriate. It was nothing short of triumphant to finally complete the deck, a real and symbolic final frontier between construction site and comfortable home. It was a much anticipated extension of our indoor living space, a convenient way to access three entrances to the home, and a private exterior zone to dine and relax and entertain.
Carley & Bentley on Old Deck (Photo: Geo Davis)
Fast forward a couple of years, and the triumph began to tarnish.
Long story short, the original deck failed. Not the garapa decking which performed admirably year-after-year. But the substructure.
[…]
Rather than dwelling on the achilles heal that lamentably undermined the integrity of three critical substructures — Rosslyn’s house deck, boathouse gangway, and waterfront stairs — I’ll just say that all three experienced premature decay and rot of the structural lumber…
[…]
Because the substructures began rotting virtually immediately after construction, we spent a decade and a half chasing the problem, scabbing in new lumber, etc. But within the last few years the failure was beginning to outpace our ability to provide bandaids and we scheduled replacement. (Source: Deck Rebuild)
Carley Overseeing Demo of Old Deck (Photo: Geo Davis)
Eric Crowningshield’s team deconstructed much of the deck during the late spring of 2022. When Hroth Ottosen and David McCabe joined them at the beginning of the summer they determined that it was necessary to fully replace rather than repair the existing deck.
Old Deck Demolition (Photo: Geo Davis)
The deconstructed garapa was separated from the structural demolition debris, the highest grade (ergo most salvageable) material was graded, and the best preserved and most character-rich garapa was stored for repurposing in the icehouse rehab project. Then began a lengthy, painstaking upcycling journey.
We’ve been upcycling garapa decking from Rosslyn’s 2008-9 deck that we salvaged and laid aside this past summer. Spanning half a year so far — from deconstructing and culling reusable material midsummer to multiple experiments determining optimal dimensions for adaptive reuse as bathroom paneling — we’re now scaling up production and the results are impressive. (Source: Upcycling Garapa Decking)
By “multiple experiments” I mean empirically evaluating the most aesthetically pleasing, most practical, most installable, and most structurally durable form for the Garapa decking-turned-paneling. Yes, that’s a lot of *mosts* to undertake, but it’s not even the full scope of the challenge.
In addition to devising a perfect product, we needed to coordinate an upcycling process that could be undertaken successfully on site. No loading, trucking, unloading, offsite milling and finishing, reloading, trucking, unloading, storing, etc. It might have been more affordable, and it certainly would’ve been less time consuming, to outsource this project. But that would’ve shifted several variables:
Increasing carbon inputs would have been inconsistent with our reuse objectives.
Transferring oversight to a third party would have reduced our design supervision (while necessitating excess production to ensure sufficient quality during installation.)
Undertaking the upcycling process at Rosslyn allowed for agility and flexibility during the fabrication process, enabling the team to repeatedly test samples in the icehouse, catching small details that might otherwise have been discovered too late, making small alterations, etc.
And despite the inevitable strain (as well as the potential for setbacks) that crept into the equation by committing to on-site fabrication, tackling this challenge in house ensured maximum creative control, significant learning opportunities, rewarding problem solving scenarios, a personalized sense of ownership for those who participated in this project, and a heightened sense of accomplishment upon completion.
In short, upcycling our old garapa deck into the paneling that now distinguishes our icehouse bathroom was a vital, integral component of this adaptive reuse adventure. It was important to me that our team of makers and re-makers have the opportunity to invest themselves fully in this rehabilitation project, that each individual who verily toiled and trusted our vision experience a profound pride of ownership and accomplishment, and that the hyperlocal DNA of this two century old property be honored by favoring ingenuity and endurance over convenience.
From the outset several were intrigued with the potential for this salvaged lumber.
Hroth was an especially good sport, planing board after board and trimming the edges to determine what would work best. (Source: Upcycling Garapa Decking)
Upcycling Garapa (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
As the wear and tear of a decade and a half— heavy foot traffic, enthusiastic labrador retrievers, hardy North Country winters, group grilling and furniture dragging, wine spills and miscellaneous mementos from lots and lots of living — was gradually milled away, the garapa’s handsome heart began to re-emerge.
We have begun re-milling and re-planing garapa decking salvaged from Rosslyn’s summer 2022 deck rebuild. These sample boards are among the many weathered specimens carefully removed this spring and summer prior to rebuilding Rosslyn’s deck substructure and re-decking with new garapa. Hroth’s patient exploratory experimentation is the first phase in our effort to adaptively reuse this character-rich material in the icehouse. (Source: Upcycling Decking Debris)
At last, Hroth perfected the prototype. He then developed a process, a repeatable protocol, for which we could standardize the results primarily relying upon a tablesaw and bench planer. Then he taught Tony how to reproduce the same results in sufficient quantity to panel the still unframed icehouse bathroom.
Tony Upcycling Garapa Decking (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Tony is beavering away industriously… upcycling garapa decking into pristine planks for paneling.
[…]
It’s a slow and painstaking process that demands plenty of patience and focus, but… transforming debris into beautiful finish paneling will prove rewarding, for sure… Tony is even beginning to appreciate what magnificence he is bringing into existence. (Source: Upcycling Garapa Decking)
And so began a winter quest to reinvent debris as functional design-decor.
Time for a progress report on the garapa paneling that will soon embellish the icehouse bathroom. We started out gently easing the edges, but several iterations later we’ve settled on a full roundover. (Source: Garapa Roundover: Easing the Edge)
Months into this painstaking re-manufacturing process, several others had helped Tony from time to time, but there was no illusion. Tony had taken ownership of the garapa upcycling quest!
I joke with Tony that he’s investing lots of love into transforming this material. From debris to centerpiece… he’s literally been working and reworking [this upcycled garapa] since last September or October. That’s a LOT of love! (Source: Garapa Roundover: Easing the Edge)
By late winter Tony had finished planing (down to 9/16”) and dimensioning (down to 4”) the garapa decking. At almost a thousand linear feet we paused and reevaluated the quantity to be certain we would have sufficient usable material for the entire interior of the icehouse bathroom (walls, niche, and mechanical room door).
We revisited options for joining the paneling. To be fastened horizontally to the studs with concealed fasteners, joining the boards would be an important way to stabilize and visually address the gaps between boards. We considered tight lap joints and nickel gap lap joints, eventually settling on a nickel gap T&G type joint. But how best to accomplish this?
Peter’s solution for the ash and elm flooring seemed like our best option for the garapa paneling. We would create garapa splines that would fit into grooves in the sides of the paneling boards. If expansion and contraction (think visible gaps, between boards, etc.) weren’t an issue it might have been viable to just but the boards up against each other. But it’s a bathroom, so fluctuating humidity levels definitely needed to be factored into the equation. The splined joint would be a perfect solution.
And finally there was the question of edging. I wanted to ease the edges just enough to accentuate horizontal shadow lines (which stylistically echo the T&G nickel gap in the rest of interior) while deemphasizing dimensional disparity between boards. So a router joined the production protocol as Tony uniformly finished the visible edges of the paneling.
Garapa Edge Profiles v2.0 (Photo: Geo Davis)
And then there was the final step, oiling the garapa. As often, we turned to Bioshield Hard Oil for a hand rubbed, ecologically responsible finish. Eric’s team tackled the oiling, and the photo above gives you a preview of the garapa, edged and oiled. This was the final sample that we greenlighted before installation began.
And, for just a little longer, I’ll keep you in suspense before I share photos of the now completed garapa installation. Remember, anticipation is half the pleasure!
Installation of Garapa Paneling
I’ve dividing this monumental update into two posts to fairly review and showcase a project that has taken the better part of a year from beginning to finish. Thanks for your patience. I promise you that the photos you’ll witness soon, the finished bathroom paneling, will be worth the wait.
At the outset of Rosslyn’s icehouse rehab, I envisioned posting weekly summaries, highlighting the team’s accomplishments in 7-day installments. Noble vision. Ignoble follow through. Among the many overlooked episodes, one especially significant accomplishment stands out: building interior structure for the loft, bathroom, mechanical room, etc. So today, months after construction was completed, I offer you an icehouse framing flashback.
Much belated but nevertheless heartfelt thanks to Pam, Hroth, Matt, and Justin for transforming Tiho’s interior plans into the skeleton around and upon which the reimagined icehouse will take shape. It’s slightly surreal to reflect back from the finish phase. Mere months ago the rudiments were still taking shape. The internal volumes and flow were being defined. The former utility building purpose built to preserve ice cut from Lake Champlain was beginning to resemble the newly relevant work+play space now coming into focus. Adaptive reuse was perhaps no more clearly articulated than this interstitial moment when a voluminous interior was being reconfigured into distinct zones serving distinct functions. Hurrah!
It’s a little premature to start celebrating the soon-to-be-completed hardwood flooring in the icehouse. With only the first two rows installed (and a third in the works), a superstitious soul might delay an update in the interest of humility (or outwitting fate). But it’s been so many months in the planning and preparation that I’ve decided to offer you a flooring sneak peek. After all, it looks too spectacular to keep it a secret!
Flooring Sneak Peek (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Do you remember my post about acclimating the ash and elm flooring in the icehouse loft? Well, with plenty of time for the homegrown flooring to acclimate and a rapidly diminishing timeline, Peter guided the transition to flooring as Eric put the finishing touches on the garapa paneling in the bathroom. (Glorious garapa bathroom update tomorrow.)
In the photograph above, you can see the dramatic intersection of new flooring with the bookmatched threshold (beneath the columns.) The flooring courses will be perfectly aligned in the vestibule and in the main room ensuring continuity with a dramatic interstitial transition at the ash “heart” abstraction formed from the mirrored grain (concealed with rosin paper in this photograph) of the bookmatched planks.
Variable Width Flooring (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
We opted for variable width flooring, and we’re intermingling ash and elm. All of this lumber was harvested, milled, seasoned, dimensioned, and finished on-site. In fact, some of this wood was felled almost 15 years ago, so this has been a slooow evolving rehab! So slow, in fact, that until about a year ago, we’d begrudgingly come to accept that the icehouse rehab might never happen. So, finally witnessing progress, even a few boards, is momentous and deeply rewarding.
I will follow up soonish with a more detailed look at how we’re joining the floorboards and a few other details that will make more sense once we’re a little bit deeper into this project. But, suffice to say, we haven’t taken the easy (or quick) way out! But I’m confident that the rewards are around the corner.
Remember our upside down, inside out window installation plan? Repeated delays during the window ordering process combined with a looong, slooow fabrication and delivery schedule compelled us to invert the standard installation sequence. Instead of installing windows and doors first, then siding the exterior and interior, and then trimming everything in, we flip-flopped windows/doors and siding. That’s right, in order to maintain an ambitious timetable, we’ve executed an exterior and interior cladding prior to installing the windows. his involved some unintuitive workarounds, reverse engineering an otherwise routine process. So, yes, “windowing” the icehouse has been a unique challenge.
Supi Windowing the Icehouse (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
And yet this nimble team of problem solvers have have managed to make it work. And, I might add, much of the windowing work has fallen to Supi who has been stretching to simultaneously succeed on diverse, often disjointed projects (also heading up stone hardscape team in charge of an ambitious stone masonry design for the west and northwest of the icehouse deck.)
So today I tip my cap to this perennially willing, hardworking, and understated member of the team. Supi, you’ve been a benison beyond compare. A Jeroboam of gratitude! Whether designing, shaping, and mentoring stone masonry; workhorsing a concrete pour; rebuilding the boathouse gangway; or windowing the icehouse; we couldn’t have made it this far with out you.
Child’s play, you say? Legos are a perfect proof of concept when it comes to children’s instinct to construct and then deconstruct, reuse instead of demolish.
Children intuitively understand adaptive reuse:
Legos teach reuse at a young age. You build, take apart and rebuild using the same pieces. You wouldn’t throw away your Legos would you? So why throw away your home’s valuable materials? (reusenetwork.org)
This quirky little video (published on Oct 30, 2009 by the Deconstruction & Reuse Network) is a clever reminder why we should practice more sustainable building and renovation. It’s not rocket science, folks. Reuse! The organization’s mission statement is:
We’re an environmental and humanitarian public benefit corporation, promoting and empowering deconstruction practices and the reuse of quality building materials 501(c)(3). (Source: Deconstruction & Reuse Network)
Too bad they’re in California! I wonder, is their an equivalent deconstruction, salvage, reconstruction, repurposing and/or reuse organization in our area? All tips welcome.
Rosslyn & Reuse
In the early months of Rosslyn’s historic rehabilitation, adaptive reuse was not only environmentally responsible (think green renovation and green building) and architecturally responsible (think preservation of historic heritage), it was also a sentimental inevitability. We inherited such a vast array of architectural salvage from the previous owners — installed and in-use in all four buildings, but also stored away in the carriage barn. Such treasures! We couldn’t even identify everything (mysterious artifacts surface all the time), but we suspected that some day, one day many of these items would serve us (and Rosslyn) well.
One of the items that we removed from the previous owner’s woodshed was a pair of Greek Revivalcolumns. They’re stored away in the carriage barn, hibernating, awaiting a creative reuse. Stay tuned for their next chapter. And, though most passersby are unaware, the flagpole mounted atop Rosslyn’s boathouse was once a sailboat mast!
Reuse is Child’s Play: digital watercolor derived from a video still (Image: Geo Davis)
Legos & DIY
In addition to the handy look at deconstruction and reuse, I also like the video above because it uses Legos. Legos! So accessible, and for many of us, so familiar. This ubiquitous children’s toy is one of our first introductions to the DIY way of thinking, subtly exposing youngsters to the idea of making, encouraging experimentation (and occasional failure) as well as reminding us then when it’s all said and done we can just deconstruct our creation back into its pieces in order to make something new. This ethos guides so much of Susan and my interest in and aptitude for what we call “greenovation” (responsible remodeling). We were both “Do it myself” kids, and now we’re a couple of “Do it myself” adults (who still feel like kids!)
We’ve bookended our concrete work for the icehouse rehab with last autumn’s foundation and slab and concluding with a concrete slab finale for the hot tub and the mini split. And I am going to let the photos. Tell the story since today’s post is best narrated with a photo essay. But first we celebrate the remarkable ability and agility of this team. I am repeatedly impressed with the breadth of skills, the depth of energy, and the capacity to adapt to perennially evolving circumstances.
Despite the end, timely hospitalization of Peter, the lead on this project, just as these two slabs floated to the top of our calendar, Supi, Calvin, Tony, and Pam took the baton and ran with it. With no time to lose, and a concrete truck on the way they adapted and delivered perfection. As so often, I am proud, proud, proud!
Hot Tub Concrete Slab
For the sake of streamlining this post, I am going to divide today’s work into two separate photo essays. This first will showcase the more ambitious of the two slabs, which is integrated into the icehouse deck, and will support the hot tub.
Concrete Truck Arrives (Photo: R.P. Murphy)Supi and Calvin Pull Concrete for Hot Tub Slab (Photo: R.P. Murphy)Supi, Calvin, and Tony Pull Concrete for Hot Tub Slab (Photo: R.P. Murphy)Supi and Calvin Level Hot Tub Slab as Tony Pulls Concrete (Photo: R.P. Murphy)Supi Screeds Hot Tub Slab (Photo: R.P. Murphy)Supi Floating and Edging Hot Tub Slab (Photo: R.P. Murphy)Hot tub Slab Slab Cured and Stripped (Photo: R.P. Murphy)Hot tub Slab Slab Cured and Stripped (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
That slab is ready for a hot tub. Thank you also to Brandon who installed the electrical prior to the concrete pour. Almost time to launch!
Mini Split Concrete Slab
The smaller, but no less essential slab is actually an extension of the one already supporting our generator. It will be the home of a condenser/compressor for the new mini split in the icehouse.
Tony Fills Concrete Form for Mini Split Slab (Photo: R.P. Murphy)Leveling Concrete for Mini Split Slab (Photo: R.P. Murphy)Pam Leveling Concrete for Mini Split Slab (Photo: Tony Foster)Mini Split Slab Swept and Edged (Photo: R.P. Murphy)Mini Split Slab Cured and Stripped (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Thank you, Pam, Tony, Supi, and Calvin. You all surprise and impress us again and again. Congratulations and thank you.
