It was a super Saturday for Rosslyn’s icehouse rehab. Several concurrent projects underway, but the most notable progress was the interior east elevation (in the loft) and the exterior west elevation. I’ll try to get out of the way and let the photos do the talking.
Icehouse West Elevation Clapboard Complete (Photo: Geo Davis)
The photo above is taken from the northwest of the barns, looking southwest toward the icehouse and carriage barn. Note that the clapboard installation is now complete on the west elevation of the icehouse. Congratulations to Supi and Calvin for crossing the west elevation and moving on to the east elevation.
West Elevation Clapboard Installation Complete (Photo: Geo Davis)
We’re still a couple of months shy of receiving our Marvin window delivery. It’s been a long, slow, process that started last August. But we’re more and more optimistic that we’ll be on target — or possibly even slightly ahead of schedule — when the windows arrive. For now you just have to imagine glass windows and doors and all of the polygons displaying ZIP System panels
Can you picture what does façade will look like early this summer? We can’t wait!
Loft East Elevation T&G Finished (Photo: Geo Davis)
The photograph above shows the east elevation inside the loft shortly after the tongue and groove nickel gap installation was complete. Matt started it yesterday, and he wrapped it up with Jarrett today.
Matt and Jarret Finished Loft Wall (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Hurrah! As of today we’ve begun installing tongue and groove nickel gap (aka “nickel gap” T&G) in the icehouse loft.
Installing tongue and groove nickel gap in the icehouse loft (Photo: Geo Davis)
Kudos to Matt Sayward for initiating tongue and groove nickel gap installation in the icehouse today. With Peter Vaiciulis guiding (and weeks’ worth of prepping, priming, and painting the paneling almost complete) we’ve launched a new chapter in our rehabilitation project. An exciting and long anticipated chapter because it marks the metaphorical skinning in of the preparatory work — sooo much structural and mechanical accomplishment — underpinning the transformation of Rosslyn’s late 1800s icehouse into a 21st century work+play hub.
Tongue and Groove vs Shiplap
Why did we decide to install tongue and groove nickel gap paneling inside the icehouse instead of shiplap as originally envisioned?
Credit goes first and foremost to Eric Crowningshield whose team collaborated on many, many, many linear feet of shiplap during the ADK Oasis Lakeside renovation, a couple of years ago. He encouraged us to consider switching to tongue and groove instead. By milling the paneling with a nickel gap, the finished results are indistinguishable from shiplap but the installation process is improved (and I believe that the structural integrity is also superior.)
In many respects, Matt took the lead installing the paneling on that project as well, so it’s feels fitting to witness him inaugurating this new chapter today. and the results are handsome. I’m looking forward to another day’s progress tomorrow.
Brushed vs Rolled Finish
In related news, Pam salvaged, four cut-offs from Matt’s work to experiment with re-painting solutions to the problem I broached yesterday. One cutting was preserved, as-is with the dimpled (i.e. orange peel) finish resulting from roller nap. The other samples received three different applications: a third coat with stiff bristle brush, a fourth coat with stiff bristle brush, and a preliminary sanding followed by a third coat with stiff bristle brush.
Although my photo failed to capture the textural differences, applying two additional brushed coats of Benjamin Moore White Dove (OC-17) made a significant improvement. So once Matt finishes installing the tongue and groove nickel gap on the east wall of the loft, we will apply to additional coats. Hoping it will look great!
Snow Falling on Homecoming: January 25, 2023 (Photo: Geo Davis)
Today’s ferry ride from Charlotte to Essex — with snow falling on homecoming — tasted bittersweet if vaguely familiar. There was a wellspring of anticipation upon returning to inspect firsthand the team’s progress on the icehouse rehab, boathouse gangway, and some painting and tiling maintenance inside our home. There was also the poignant pique of a visit precipitated not by plan or passion but by infelicitous necessity.
The circumstances of my sojourn need no airing now since, perhaps, the “better part of valor is discretion“. So let’s skip the preamble and fast forward to the purely positive, right?
The cold, blustery ferry ride. The on-again, off-again frenzies of flurries pointillistic-pixelating the watery panorama, the approach to Essex, the desaturated vision of Rosslyn’s boathouse, the almost empty ferry queue, and the entirely empty roadway home.
Hhhmmm… Still shy of the purely positive, but hold tight. It’s coming.
Snow Falling on Cedar Shingles: January 16, 2014 (Photo: Geo Davis)
Snow Falling on Cedar Shingles
That blue-gray veiled waterfront snapshot dates from a post I shared on January 16, 2014. Just over nine years ago. And the title, “Snow Falling on Cedar Shingles“, remanifested in muddled facsimile (snow falling on hemlocks…) as I pulled in the driveway, observing the row of new evergreens planted along the norther edge of the front yard last spring/summer. (Which reminds me, I’ve still not posted those updates. Best get on with it before the one-year anniversary!)
The photo bears a close similarity with today, and this drift of words struck me as uncanny, sort of the mirrored reflection of my sentiments upon arriving today.
A parting glimpse of the boathouse blurred beyond veil of soggy snowflakes. Southwestern sirens are calling me away — by ferry, airplane and rental jalopy — so I leave the homestead in the able care of my bride and my dog for a few days. I’m willing deep drifts of powdery snow upon my return! (Source: Snow Falling on Cedar Shingles)
And this, fair reader, is where the positive uptick begins.
Another whirlwind visit, but rather than a whirlwind away in Santa Fe, it was to be a whirlwind in Essex. I took note of that. Just shy of a decade; a not-so-subtle shift. And then there was that twin allusion to the recently re-roofed icehouse, long since silver-foxed, and to David Guterson’s novel which had moved me then but has slowly vanished like the ferry’s wake resolving back into the surface of the lake. And that transformation from cedars, actually American arborvitae (known locally as “cedars” or “white cedars”) to hemlocks resonated as well.
Snow Falling on Hemlocks
Remembering the micropoem with macropotence. Superpowers.
There was no crow today to catalyze my “change of mood”. There were birds at the bird feeders beside the deck and beneath the leafless gingko tree. And several mallards retrieving fallen birdseed from the snow beneath the feeders. And the new row of hemlocks, similar to the old row of hemlocks on the other side of the property, looked green black beneath their frosted cloaks. But it wasn’t the songbirds, the mallards, or the hemlocks that “saved some part / Of a day I had rued.”
Snow Falling on Homecoming: January 25, 2023 (Photo: Geo Davis)
Snow Falling on the Icehouse
It was gathering with Tony and Peter and Steve inside the icehouse, taking in the awesome transformation from dirt floored shell of a utility building to micro mansion. A soaring one-room wonderland with a loft that thrills the 10-year old still overmuch alive in me. A barn loft with a handsome, homey stair rather than a ladder. A stout rebuild with an airy energy. An icehouse warm against the frosty afternoon despite the fact that no heat was running. A small scale sanctuary for writing and reading and creating the day away.
After meeting with the members of the team on hand I wandered, cold, and snow capping my hat and shoulders around and around, studying sightlines, editing hardscape and landscape plans, evolving furniture plans. After several months away, inspecting and and guiding and absorbing the progress from a digital distance that distorts the approximately 2,000 miles of reality jam-packed between me and the actual timbers and window openings and stair landing that have risen in the empty volume I left behind in September. Virtual reality is not reality. But walking and touching and rapping my knuckles and eyeballing alignments and sitting in a folding chair exactly where my desk chair will be several months from now,…
Snow Falling on Homecoming
This is the uptick. Where I felt tormented and conflicted in recent days, even as the ferry glided across the chilly lake, I now feel swollen with optimism. And underpinning the optimism is profound pride and gratitude for the work that has been completed and to the team who made this possible. Thank you Hroth, Pam, Tony, Eric, Matt, Brandon, Ben, Justin, Jarrett, Bob, Phil, Zack, David, Steve, Kevin, and everyone else I’m inadvertently overlooking. Your hard work and perseverance have begun to transform a vision into a building — an environment for creativity and productivity and entertainment — worthy of the handsome heritage that this historic property deserves. Susan and I are profoundly grateful to you all.
Matt and Supi Trim Icehouse, West Elevation (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Today I’m pleased to post a quick update on the icehouse trim and clapboard installation. Temperate conditions are proving a bonus to this exciting progress. In the photo above Matt and Supi are wrapping up with the new trim so that the Benjamin Obdyke Slicker and clapboard can be installed.
The unique, vertically-channeled, three-dimensional matrix of Slicker® Classic provides a continuous space for drainage and drying, a thermal break and pressure equalization—eliminating the threat of trapped moisture. (Source: Slicker® Classic Rainscreen – Benjamin Obdyke)
This is a new product for us, and I’m optimistic that it will benefit the longevity of the cedar siding, which we ordered pre-primed and which we’re painting with two coats of paint (in the “paint shop” storage container) prior to installation.
Installing Trim, Slicker, and Temporary Window Grounds on Icehouse (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
In the second photo you get a glimpse of the Slicker installation, an unfortunate color contribution rendering the temporarily green (ZIP System) building even more of an eyesore until the clapboard siding conceals it. Insect screen has been integrated into our installation to ensure that our insect neighbors look elsewhere for comfy accomodations.
Tony Installing Clapboard on Icehouse (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Clapboard (and slicker) in this next photo are progressing up the southern elevation. It’s a pretty dramatic transformation after looking at the glowing green icehouse, a notably incongruous focal point especially when surrounded by snow. We’re focusing on the southern and northern elevations first since they’ll allow for quick progress and fewer challenges.
Calvin, Tony, and Matt Install Clapboard on Icehouse, North Elevation (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Once Calvin and Tony are super comfortable with the icehouse siding installation given this slightly tricky historic rehabilitation (angles, etc. are never quite true) they will tackle clapboard installation on the gable ends. With the hustle and experience of Tony and Calvin — plus oversight from Peter, Pam, and Eric — this next step will advance smoothly. And soon enough we’ll be able to celebrate a handsome exterior.
Calvin and Tony Install Clapboard on Icehouse, North Elevation (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Eric, Matt, Jarrett, Supi and Peter will continue installing trim boards throughout the rest of the week/weekend (and temporary window “grounds” that will be replaced when the windows and doors arrive) so that the gable ends are ready for clapboard. Stay tuned for updates.
Hroth finishes ZIP System installation on east elevation (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
As it turns out, the snow-blizzard-cum-bomb-cyclone that hepped up meteorologists and newscasters, snarled traffic across the country, and added a decidedly wintery twist to the Christmas holiday for many across the country impacted us two totally opposite ways, one good, the other bad. Ever the optimist, I’ll launch with the glorious news: the icehouse rehabilitation is now officially weathered in. The ZIP System installation is complete, ensuring a weatherproof envelop around the months of winter work ahead. Hurrah!
The icehouse‘s original 2-ply T&G sheathing is now 100% encases in structural insulated panels, and all of the seams are taped. The ZIP System insulated panels appear to have served us well, and just in the nick of time. Although the worst of the weather, fortunately spared us.
The winter storm became a bomb cyclone on Friday as it tore through some of the country’s major cities… Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and New York are seeing wind gusts higher than 45 to 55 miles an hour, among other hazardous conditions. Buffalo was the hardest hit Friday, with wind gusts of up to 70 mph, said Greg Carbin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Buffalo was ground zero, and “that’s where true blizzard conditions have been seen,” he said. (Source: Bomb Cyclone Strikes Major Cities as Temperatures Plunge
Although winds and snows fortunately were not a problem at Rosslyn, we did receive a lot of rain, rain, rain. But just barely completed ZIP System installation ensured that the icehouse was spared the damaging effects of driving rain, flooding, etc. Phew.
The photo essay below offers glimpse behind the scenes — Hroth, Matt, Pam, and Tony hustling to complete the ZIP System installation before the storm and before everyone headed off for Christmas vacation. And this brings me to the not-so-good news…
Hroth was planning to spend Christmas with his 91 year old father in California. Flights? Check. Packed? Check. All systems go? Check. But after driving 2 hours to the Albany International Airport on Thursday morning, he learned that his flights (and basically all incoming Southwest flights to Pasadena) had been preemptively canceled. After exploring options, Hroth accepted that he would be unable to celebrate Christmas with his family. He climbed back into his car and drove two hours back to Rosslyn.
Susan and I deeply lament Hroth’s unfortunate luck, especially because we’re well aware that departing earlier and postponing completion of the ZIP System installation would likely have permitted him to fly to California earlier. And so, we realize that prioritizing the weatherproof sheathing over vacation travel positively effected the icehouse rehab and adversely effected Hroth and his family. I am sincerely sorry.
Hroth begins ZIP System installation on east elevation (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
ZIP System Installation Photos
In the photo above Hroth is just starting out with ZIP System installation on the east facade. Note the newly installed flashing and custom copper drip edge that helps weatherproof the building’s cladding with accurate design integration templated from Rosslyn’s other historic buildings.
Fast forward to progress on the southside.
ZIP System installation on south elevation (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
The north and south facades were completely installed approximately two weeks (see “Zipping up the Icehouse” for a gallery and overview), so tackling the south and east elevations at once brings the project to completion. In the photo below Tony’s own weatherproofing gives a hint to how cold it was as the team raced the weather toward the finish line.
Tony and Hroth installing ZIP System insulated panels on east and south elevations of icehouse (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Panel-by-panel, Hroth and Tony zipped up the south and east elevations, knitting together the corners to ensure that the trim be be perfectly aligned and plumb.
ZIP System installation on south and east elevations (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Below, Hroth (foreground) and Tony (torso-less legs on ladder behind Hroth) finish nailing and taping the south facade Zip panels.
Hroth and Tony installing ZIP System insulated panels on east and west elevations of icehouse (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
With the south side complete it was time to load up the nailgun and finish up the east side. In addition to the slightly blurry action shot of Hroth rebooting for the final push, the photo below offers an intriguing look both inside and outside the icehouse, inviting contemplation of how this same perspective might look early this summer.
Hroth 2/3 complete with ZIP System installation on east elevation (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Once the panels are fully secured, it’s critical to seal all of the seams with ZIP tape to fully weatherproof the sheathing.
Tony tapes ZIP System panels on east elevation (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Tony is ensuring that the sealing tape properly laps upper-over-lower seams to ensure proper water shedding both during the build and into the future once the building is redlaw in clapboard.
Tony tapes ZIP System panels on east elevation (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Getting close, Tony!
Hroth fitting final ZIP System panels on east elevation (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
Hroth is scribing and installing the final triangular panels at the gable end on the east elevation. So close…
Hroth finishes ZIP System installation on east elevation (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
You can almost hear the Paslode nailer sinking those final nails through the paneling and into the icehouse’s street timbers.
Hroth puts the finishing touches on the ZIP System installation. All four elevations of icehouse are now weathered in! (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
I’ll wrap up this bittersweet installment with heartfelt thanks to the team for seeing this critical project through to completion to ensure that increasingly inclement weather (we are after winter solstice, after all) spares the icehouse AND similarly heartfelt regrets that Hroth has been stranded at Rosslyn, unable to join his family for the holiday.
That last photo above offers a fun glimpse from my future loft study, capturing Hroth as he concludes the ZIP System installation.
Zip-up Mashup
And, for good measure, a quick video commemorating this chapter.
Last Friday, I teased a recap of our recent deck rebuild — or more specifically an overview of installing garapa decking on the newly rebuilt deck — but then I proceeded to dive headlong into a 2008-9 decking-with-garapa flashback. Sometimes it’s helpful to discover the backstory before plunging into the present.
Here was my swaggering introduction (before getting lost down the rabbit hole…)
But you needn’t wait any longer. Patience is overrated, and the new deck “eye candy” is ready. Pictures aplenty coming your way shortly, but first a little backward glance to Rosslyn’s first garapa deck waaayyy back in 2008-2009. You see, this newly completed deck is a redo of the same deck and decking completed during our epic rehabilitation project a decade and a half ago.
So, without further ado, let’s look at the first iteration of Rosslyn’s garapa deck. (Source: Garapa Decking 2008-2009)
It was nostalgic to look backward at the original deck from inception through evolution through… failure. (Actually I didn’t include any of the documentation of the deck substructure’s gradual but premature decay. But I do have some unsettling photos squirreled away to review sometime. Maybe as a way to celebrate the longevity of the replacement deck.)
Today, instead of looking backward, it’s time to showcase this A+ rebuild, the handsome material we used, and the remarkable team that transformed a frustrating stutter-start (and a heady pipe dream) into a magnificent outdoor living space to make memories with family and friends.
Installing Garapa Decking… Again!
Before I plunge into the process (and handsome results!) of installing garapa decking on Rosslyn’s newly rebuilt deck during summer 2022, I’ll fill you in on the evolution of this project.
As you may already know, at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 Rosslyn’s deck looked picture perfect. In fact, it looked almost indistinguishable from the finished photos I’ll be sharing shortly in this post. That’s, of course, because the new deck is simply the old deck built again. Built better, because the substructure will not deteriorate prematurely like its TimberSIL predecessor.
The plan and timeline for Rosslyn’s replacement deck came into focus over a year ago.
During the summer of 2021 we allowed a carpenter to sweet talk us into entrusting him with… [three separate, historically sensitive, vitally important carpentry projects.] Although we initially informed him that our confidence was wavering given his subpar communication and organizational record during the planning and scheduling phase, we ignored our misgivings (and the warnings of many) and allowed him to persuade us that we had nothing to worry about. He planned to start by tackling the boathouse gangway and waterfront stairway in September/October, and then he’d move on to the house deck. We’d be so impressed, he assured us, that we’d then hire him to rehabilitate the icehouse. If only he built as well as he talked! (Source: Rosslyn Redux)
I’ve already covered in brief but painful details the calamitous unraveling of this 2021 plan, so I’ll sidestep the misery and fast-track to the good part. While our carpenter fiasco of the previous year might be summed up as a run-of-the-mill “crash and burn” story, this summer’s refreshing sequel was a quintessential “phoenix rising” story of mythic proportions.
And while there are so many “main characters” in this sequel that I can’t really credit one single protagonist — this was a truly inspiring group that coalesced into a collaborative, skilled, productive, respectful, creative, communicative team — it was Hroth Ottosen who served as the unmistakable catalyst. If I’m able, I’m hoping to eventually persuade Hroth to share his very personal decision to roadtrip east from Santa Fe, New Mexico to spearhead Rosslyn’s deck rebuild after the 2022 catastrophic wildfire season that ravaged the southwest. For now, I’ll say simply that Hroth reminds us that it is possible to emerge from calamitous circumstances braver, wiser, stronger, and freer than we were beforehand. I see an uncanny parallel between BOTH Rosslyn’s current rehab projects and the aforementioned 2021 fiasco AND Hroth’s decision to sojourn with us awhile on the Adirondack Coast. Like I’ve already suggested, a phoenix rising from the ashes!
Garapa v2.0 (aka Re-decking)
Time to dive in! I tried to post relatively current updates on the team’s progress during July, August, and September, so rather than getting in the way of the story, I’m embedding our Instagram posts that chronicle our step-by-step journey installing garapa decking (and sealing the boards to preserve and enhance their already breathtaking natural beauty.) I’ll add a few thoughts along the way, but for the most part a quick scroll through the images and videos will tell a purer and more visually satisfying story than my words.
The decision to deck with garapa back in 2008 rested on several considerations:
quality and endurance to outperform more conventional wood decking given the variable demands and extremes of our Adirondack Coast location, and
color and grain to complement late 18th, early 19th century architecture without appearing too contemporary and/or exotic.
We fell in love with garapa, and it handily ticked all three considerations.
We sourced the milled-to-order garapa decking lumber from Advantage Lumber (@advantagelumber), and I was impressed with both their customer service and sales support. Unfortunately delivery of the lumber as less impressive. Advantage Lumber arranged shipment of the substantial order via ABF Freight (@abftoday) and — as with the majority of the logistical partners with whom we’ve worked in the last few years — they overpromised and underdelivered. Despite clearly articulating our tight timeline and receiving assurances that we’d received our garapa decking in time, the new decking material arrived late due to “logistics delays”. Sound familiar?
Unloading Garapa Decking, July 2022 (Source: Susan Bacot-Davis)
Unloading Garapa Decking, July 2022 (Source: Susan Bacot-Davis)
On July 28, just shy of high noon on a scorchingly hot and humid day, we received our order. Perfect conditions for unloading. David wisely volunteered to inventory the lumber inside the shady truck, Tony tackled the task of unloading lengths of garapa from the truck and passing it down to the deck where Hroth and I hauled, sorted, and stacked the precious cargo.
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Unloaded, sorted, inventoried, and ready to become Rosslyn’s new deck floor, this garapa looks absolutely sumptuous after a midsummer rain. We were all a little gobsmacked with the sheer beauty of this lumber. Even an aesthetically astute bat (or three) dropped in to celebrate the honey hued hardwood.
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It took a couple of days for the team to find their groove, eager to balance forward motion with perfect execution to ensure that their workmanship matched the beauty of the material. Soon they were installing garapa decking from sunup to sundown, performing a mesmerizing choreography as efficient and beguiling as a ballet. (I better not let them read this or they may refuse to let me document their work ever again!)
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Although progress on this sort of deck is steady and incremental, my eagerness to complete the project sometimes overtook my patience. Why aren’t we further along yet?!?! But each day, reviewing the team’s accomplishments since morning afforded us all a daily opportunity to romance the stunningly beautiful deck taking shape. End-of-day reflection (revitalized with frosty libations) frequently ran to artistic and poetic reverie more than carpentry tropes and jokes. I kid you not, but again, don’t let the guys know I said that.
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Although that post above specifically called out Eric Crowningshield, this project brought out the best in everyone. If my photo / video recording were as nimble as I’d have liked, I would have posted a similar tribute to every single member of the team. I’ve already mentioned Hroth Ottosen above. You’ll be hearing plenty more about him in the weeks and months ahead because he’s such a vital asset. And, Pam Murphy, our friend and property / project manager extraordinaire, not only keeps our diverse projects sorted and successful, she is the most capable “air traffic controller” ever, juggling everyone and everything without letting anything tumble out of orbit.
These are a few of the most visible stars on this allstar team, but there are so many other: Susan’s cousin, David McCabe; our friend, Ed Conlin; electrician Brandon Dumas; jack-of-all-trades, Tony Foster; and Eric’s ever-reliable and hardworking team (Matt, Justin, Andrew, Jarrett, and Jason) Not only is the end product from this collaboration an understated masterpiece fit for the handsome home, but every day cooperation with this team was a pleasure and a privilege. We are profoundly grateful. (In fact, this is precisely why they’ve all teamed up for the icehouse rehabilitation project!)
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There are the predictable successes with a project like this, but there are also serendipitous triumphs. One among many is captured in that delicate image above.
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Once the last board is scribed and screw head is plugged, it’s time to oil the garapa decking. It’s at this point that everything comes together, and the results are far more glorious than the sum of the parts.
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As each garapa board is tenderly treated with oil, the drama and depth of the wood comes alive. Such beauty!
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There remain a few last details to conclude the project — a bit of landscaping here, a few painted trim details there — but the results are breathtaking. And this is never more evident than in the later afternoon when that mesmerizingly lush sunlight bathes the wood in amber and gold.
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And this, my friends, is the sun soaked conclusion of our summer (and autumn) 2022 Rosslyn re-decking adventure. Installing garapa decking isn’t an overnight victory lap, but the painstaking efforts will pamper us for years. Susan, Carley, and I extend our most sincere thanks to everyone who helped transform this dream into reality.
