Weekend

Sara and Carl bought a house in Berlin, MA, in 2000,
and have been gradually renovating their barn. The barn was built
in 1890 and originally held four trolley cars
in the days when a street car ran from Hudson to Clinton,
through Berlin. When they bought the house, the barn
was in sad shape, but after a lot of work,
it has really improved.

A Clinton/Hudson street car.

Fall, 2000. The first day of renovation (lumber pile in front).
The first thing that needed to be done was to repair a broken beam
and straighten the building, which was badly racked.

Before, left side.

Before, back.
The back annex had collapsed and was pulling on the main frame.

We took off the back of the barn
using a chain attached to our pickup. It took quite a few tries
to pull out the posts. We were surprised
at how solid is was even though it had collapsed.

After cleaning up in the back, we reinforced the foundation
and reframed the back wall.

Inside, the bases of the posts had rotted
and needed to be replaced.

After straightening the barn as much as we could and strengthening
the supports, we were ready to re-roof. The old asphalt roof
leaked everywhere. We had a work weekend, and Carl's brother Bill
and cousin Dave came to help.

Spreading glue for the rubber roofing. Because the pitch
of the roof is so slight, we decided to use rubber roofing.

Carl was there too! He used his leaf blower
to clean off the roof before spreading more glue.

Rubber roofing complete!
Later, Chris Moorhead re-sided the vent for us.

Rebuilding the front. We stripped it down
and rebuilt it. Originally it had four doors (for the trolleys),
but we fixed the outer two, and rebuilt the others.
Later, we decided to use some old trolley windows
that had been left behind as a row of transoms
in the front to bring in more light.

We decided to put a decorative sun on the front.
Sara drew it, and Chris cut out the pieces with a jig saw.
He covered it with lead to protect it.

Carl did most of the shingling, but here Sara gets the credit!

In the fall, we installed windows,
most on the side facing the pond (shown here).

Here is the back with its new windows, and mostly enclosed...
we ran out of lumber that day. The central area (covered with plastic),
is now the greenhouse (see below), foundation poured.

Greenhouse framed!

Spring, 2007, Exterior of barn is complete with screen porch
off of greenhouse, and deck above. (A design we've built for several
clients in the past).

Inside the barn, our future office space is insulated
and ready for plaster.

Plastering. The original 4x14 beams of the barn frame
will be left exposed, and are covered in plastic to keep the plaster
off. You can see what a mess plastering creates! It's a very fun stage
in construction, because the framing finally gets concealed, and the
project really shows it's future potential.

Interior of greenhouse, stone dust floor (still needs foam, heat, soil & plants).

The office is complete: floors and final electrical done.
We chose fir flooring, because we like the deep reddish/blonde tones,
which have continued to deepen since we finished the floor in January 2008.

Greenhouse nearly complete with grey water system in place
and first plants in. See "Alternative
Septic System" for more greenhouse photos.

Carl moves his desk in, seven years after we began. We hadn't thought it
would take so long, but we have no regrets. Like most people, we had to balance time
and budget, and because we are doing construction all week long, we didn't push to get it done,
but worked in stages when the timing was right. Also, we initially had thought
we would be creating a rough barn office, but we expanded it to include the
grey water leaching project, and we added details to the office to make it a much more
beautiful space. We hope to see you here to plan your future project!

Thank you for visiting "Our Weekend Project."
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact us:

Warren Design Build
268 West Street
Berlin, MA 01503
Tel:/Fax (978) 838-0022

Email:carl@warrendesign.com

WARREN DESIGN BUILD Thank you for visiting "Our Weekend Project."
Sara and Carl bought a house in Berlin, MA, in 2000, and have been gradually renovating their barn. The barn was built in 1890 and originally held four trolley cars in the days when a street car ran from Hudson to Clinton, through Berlin. When they bought the house, the barn was in sad shape, but after a lot of work, it has really improved. A Clinton/Hudson street car. Fall, 2000. The first day of renovation (lumber pile in front). The first thing that needed to be done was to repair a broken beam and straighten the building, which was badly racked. Before, left side. Before, back. The back annex had collapsed and was pulling on the main frame. We took off the back of the barn using a chain attached to our pickup. It took quite a few tries to pull out the posts. We were surprised at how solid is was even though it had collapsed. After cleaning up in the back, we reinforced the foundation and reframed the back wall. Inside, the bases of the posts had rotted and needed to be replaced. After straightening the barn as much as we could and strengthening the supports, we were ready to re-roof. The old asphalt roof leaked everywhere. We had a work weekend, and Carl's brother Bill and cousin Dave came to help. Spreading glue for the rubber roofing. Because the pitch of the roof is so slight, we decided to use rubber roofing. Carl was there too! He used his leaf blower to clean off the roof before spreading more glue. Rubber roofing complete! Later, Chris Moorhead re-sided the vent for us. Rebuilding the front. We stripped it down and rebuilt it. Originally it had four doors (for the trolleys), but we fixed the outer two, and rebuilt the others. Later, we decided to use some old trolley windows that had been left behind as a row of transoms in the front to bring in more light. We decided to put a decorative sun on the front. Sara drew it, and Chris cut out the pieces with a jig saw. He covered it with lead to protect it. Carl did most of the shingling, but here Sara gets the credit! In the fall, we installed windows, most on the side facing the pond (shown here). Here is the back with its new windows, and mostly enclosed... we ran out of lumber that day. The central area (covered with plastic), is now the greenhouse (see below), foundation poured. Greenhouse framed! Spring, 2007, Exterior of barn is complete with screen porch off of greenhouse, and deck above. (A design we've built for several clients in the past). Inside the barn, our future office space is insulated and ready for plaster. Plastering. The original 4x14 beams of the barn frame will be left exposed, and are covered in plastic to keep the plaster off. You can see what a mess plastering creates! It's a very fun stage in construction, because the framing finally gets concealed, and the project really shows it's future potential. Interior of greenhouse, stone dust floor (still needs foam, heat, soil & plants). The office is complete: floors and final electrical done. We chose fir flooring, because we like the deep reddish/blonde tones, which have continued to deepen since we finished the floor in January 2008. Greenhouse nearly complete with grey water system in place and first plants in. See "Alternative Septic System" for more greenhouse photos. Carl moves his desk in, seven years after we began. We hadn't thought it would take so long, but we have no regrets. Like most people, we had to balance time and budget, and because we are doing construction all week long, we didn't push to get it done, but worked in stages when the timing was right. Also, we initially had thought we would be creating a rough barn office, but we expanded it to include the grey water leaching project, and we added details to the office to make it a much more beautiful space. We hope to see you here to plan your future project! Thank you for visiting "Our Weekend Project." If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact us: Warren Design Build 268 West Street Berlin, MA 01503 Tel:/Fax (978) 838-0022 Email:carl@warrendesign.com