Sue recently asked a question with regard to chinking and exposed logs in a bathroom.

Hi there,

I just discovered your Bearfort website and want to thank you for the interesting reading and the recipe and process for chinking.

I want to ask your advice regarding my old farmhouse. Unless you went to the attic, you wouldn’t know that it is an original hand hewn log house since it is covered with brick and clapboard externally. I am not certain of the exact date of construction, but the PA deed goes back to 1810.

My dilemma comes with the need to replace plaster walls due their extreme deterioration. I have salvaged plaster in all the public rooms but then we come to the current downstairs bathroom which the previous owner “remuddled” in the 1970’s. Log home magazines never seem to dwell on bathroom interiors.

Read more about this bathroom project

It is always exciting to hear from readers of Bearfort Lodge.

Not too long ago I heard from the Ryans who had left a comment on a previous post– [Just purchased and starting to renovate an 1830's log "dog-trot" farm house. Can't tell you how much your articles on log restoration and chinking have helped us. We don't feel quite so overwhelmed now. Thanks.]

I contacted them to thank them for their comment, express my excitement over their project and offer further chinking information should they need it. I learned that they had purchased what they thought was a standard construction 1830s farmhouse with the desire to restore. It was when they started to dig in that they learned what they actually had was a log home….

Below is the email and photos -

Read more about the Ryans' hand hewn home

I have been working on two different projects. One here a the lodge - and the other at the farm.

Recently I have been spending quite a bit of time working on the restoration of Carley Brook Farm, an 1820s farmhouse and farm.

Read more about the announcement

Back a while ago I had discovered old knob and tube wiring in the farm house.

When I had opened up the kitchen ceiling to access the source of a leak I revealed the ancient wiring. It looked like it was in pretty good shape - soft and supple after all those years. I rhetorically asked “do I really have to replace it? - Cant I just repair the ceiling and cover it up as if I never had seen it? After all it looked like it was in pretty good condition.”

Comments soon followed that post….. (replace replace replace) each comment echoing the next.

What a job. Replacing the knob and tube is not a pleasurable task by any means but it is a necessary one.

Read more on knob and tube replacement

I have been busy busy busy - Have been in the process of ripping out old knob and tube wiring and rewiring - a tedious job. The old knob and tube throughout the house was divided simply by two circuits. One for lights and one for sockets. YIKES.

The kitchen rewiring is complete as well as all the sockets in that room. The second floor rewiring has been completed and by the weekend I will have finished rewiring the rest of the house.

more about removal of the wiring

I’ve been out at the farm again working on fixing plaster. I did get quite a bit accomplished. All the fiber ceiling tiles that were put up sometime in the 70s and the furring strips were completely removed and taken out to the burn pile. I lit them up and stood back and enjoyed the flames - it was a nice way to end their horrific existence.

The exterior of the farm house currently has vinyl siding which I plan to remove this spring. Before doing so I decided I should open up a section of the wall - through the plaster to find out whether I should try to insulate from the inside or do some sort of blow fill from the outside. If insulating from the inside I had to decide whether or not to keep the plaster on the exterior walls or completely remove it, insulate and then replace with drywall.

read more about the plaster progress

At some point in the past the plaster ceilings had been covered over by fiber tiles. I believe that the previous owner, instead of fixing imperfections (cracks and of the like) decided to just tile over them.

The ceiling in the main parlor and stairwell had furring strips nailed up and then the tiles. I have carefully removed the furring strips and the tiles and exposed the ceiling.

Exposing the original ceiling revealed a few things - most good. The ceiling apart from a few cracks here and there is in very good shape - very solid- fixing the cracks using plaster washers and a skim coat will fix that. There were only two spots where the plaster was loose and was removed and lucky for me its right where I have to go to replace the old nob and tube electrical. Patching that area will be an easy task after the electrical has been run with new wire.

Read more about the plaster ceilings

I had a major discovery in the attic at the farmhouse. I had been in the attic before but didn’t pay much attention to the pile of additional insulation in the corner. There under the pile was a window, the gable window. It measure 4 1/4 feet tall by almost three feet wide. The round window is about 18 inches in diameter.

For a long time, when looking at the house, I had suspected that there had, at one time, been a window in the gable and perhaps hidden beneath the vinyl siding that the previous owner installed. In time the vinyl siding will be removed to expose the original clapboard.

Upon my discovery I shot down to the local plumbing supply that bears the same name of the original owner of the farm. I explained what I found to the gentleman and he became quite excited about it.

Read more about the farmhouse

Trying to incorporate some video into the site here - and first up is a walk through of the house at Carley Brook Farm

It has been raining steady now here at Carley Brook Farm for the past week. My attention to fixing these plaster walls and ceilings keeps diverting to the poor shape of the roof on this old farmhouse. I know the roof needs replacing. Luckily it is not leaking however, the asphalt shingles are well beyond their lifespan and blatantly displaying the tell tale signs: Splitting and cracking ends; curled, warped and buckled edges; and the more than occasional piece of dried up shingle on the ground after a mildly stiff wind. YIKES!

The roof has been measured and materials calculated. The roof will be replaced with a standing seam - tin roof of deep forest green. I think it will look sharp and is appropriate for the style of house.

Read more about coming roof repairs