175 Year Old Spring House

[special-K]

Originally Posted by Lippyp

Nice, the stonework is a lot like my house in France. Did you use lime mortar to repoint it as thats almost certainly what it would have been back then, more flexible than using portland cement and it breathes.

I mixed lime and a colored cement mortar to retain some flex. I came up with this mix when re-chinking a log cabin years ago. I was in my early 20s and an old mason taught me his formula. I still know the folks where that work was done and it seems to be a good mix (30+ years now). I have used it at my home,too. This original mix actually had tiny river pebbles in it. That is one thing I was unable to duplicate. No hog or horse hair,just tiny round pebbles. I would have liked to duplicate that.

Originally Posted by 72lb4x4

Thanks for posting this. I lived in old, historic houses as a kid.

You're welcome. I grew up in old houses,too. My folks loved old houses and now I do. I live in a log house built by a freed slave in 1857. This place has a lot of soul. Heck,I like anything old I guess and probably as much for the "soul" factor as aesthetics. The house on this property is log,also. I just repaired the hearth in the main fireplace. Some bricks had come loose. When Dr. Meryman was in medical school in Washington,DC they fixed up and lived in a lock house on the C&O Canal along the Potomac River. That was before the Korean War because I know Doc went to Korea to treat frostbite. So,these folks love the old places,too. Doc was into the Model A and had some Ts,too. He worked on his own cars and tractors,as well as all building maintenance. He drove to work daily in his Model A Roadster w/rumble seat until '93. He had rigged up turn signals to make it a bit safer.
I'm almost done my current project there. I'll do a thread on that when I'm done. It's Doc's old repair shop that was falling to the ground. They had given up on it but I resurrected it. Nothing pretty,but still a useful building.

[bruceman1968]

Tim, That looks Great!! You do very nice work! It's nice to see the spring house get saved, and the red tin roof looks just right.

[special-K]

Thanks Bruce. Now if they'd let me do the house roof to match . The main roof is composition (asphalt shingle) and across the front and back are porches with red tin. The side away from the spring house is closed in and is a long kitchen/dining area. It could use some help,but will last long enough for her,I guess. I'm about done the "leaning shop of Ashton" project and will be doing repairs to the back porch floor facing the spring house. I've kind of become more than a repairman there. Paul,the groundskeeper comes on Sundays and the lady who cleans comes on Wednesdays. Also,every week or so a guy brings her fresh eggs. So,I kinda fill in the gaps so she doesn't feel so lonely and her daughters can relax a bit knowing there's someone looking in one her every day or so. As long as their budget allows,I'm all about it!

[kyull67]

Nice work! I'll have to start a thread for my 100yr old barn and farmhouse rehab to share.