Folks often ask what our home looks like. I will include a few photos on this page.
This view is the front with the dining room and kitchen wing to the left, master bedroom to the right.
The flowers were in decline sice it was getting close to "Frost" time. this is a view of the North side of our home. It is 112 feet from the front to the back wall of the shop. The main part of the living space is 28 feet wide and 60 feet long. Great room is 24 feet by 28 feet.
We live on a quiet street with only a small amount of traffic except for joggers, strollers, and bike riders of all descriptions. Any of you that may have a Gazebo know that it is difficult to get anything done in the yard etc. because sitting here is soooo- addictive.
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My wife is quite proud of her kitchen and so am I since I built it. The only plywood is in one or two panels that weren't really practical to build of solid oak. The doors, drawer fronts, stiles, etc. are Glued-Up red oak. All of the shelves are on ball-bearing drawer guides with full extension. Lazy Susans in the corner to the right of the sink, both uppers and lower. The counter top over the cabinet at the Snack Bar is of a full 2" Solid Hard Maple and is 6' long and 28" wide. The top is Glued-Up of 1" strips and we clean and seal with a mixture of Parafin and vegetable oil heated very carefully as it has a very low flash point, about every 4 to 6 months depending on how many meals and Pies are prepared on it. When these tops get very dirty they need to be cleaned with damp salt rubbed with a soft cloth and then re-oiled.
The remainder of the counter tops are a Heather Green color laminate and we installed a Stainless Steel 3 compartment sink with disposal. A small section of counter to the left of the Fridge is Maple also, very handy.
Our cabinets are fastened to a frame wall that we built inside the log wall because I didn't want to slot the backs in the cabinets so the settling of the walls wouldn't tear them up and it is a lot easier to install all the wiring and plumbing.
The cabinets over the Island with the Curve built into them are suspended from the framing in the kitchen soffit. Everything in the home that is on the second level is allowed to move with the logs settling and drying out. The second level is resting on 13 screw jacks inside the log walls. I let the jacks down about 3/16" at a time and in two years have let them dowm about 1". The home will stabilize after about 5 or 6 years and the jacks will only have to be changed if we have extreme change in weather patterns.
I built the dining room table and chairs. We can seat 10 people comfortably and on occasion 12.
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The fireplace and chimney rises 23 feet from the floor to the peak of the Great Room Ceiling. We used a Heatilator Insert. There is 15 ton of stone and we handled it 3 times before laying into place. I stretched nylon masonry line from each corner on the floor to a point on the ceiling decking. I used a plumb bob to locate my corners. As I laid each coarse of stone I sighted across the two vertical string lines to line-up the stone so that it would be plumb and straight from floor to ceiling. The "Flue" is double wall stainless steel and protrudes through the masonry on the roof. I have a clay flue liner fitted into the stainless steel so that I don't have "Di-similar" materials touching causing lots of problems with freezing and thawing. Also the metal liner isn't showing through the top of the chimney. The mantel piece is a timber of White Pine measuring 6" x 10" and is 9' long. The fireplace measures a little over 8' x 4' at the base and above the mantel it is 42" x 8'. The hearth is of 1" thick black slate.
The stairway is built of white pine with southern yellow pine structural members. The steps are covered in a cranberry color carpet.
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The colors give you an idea of the cozy feeling you get in a log home. I liked the picture with the subdued light.
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HOW COULD I POSSIBLY LEAVE THIS BEAUTIFUL CREATURE OUT OF "OUR HOME" PICTURES? This is "Lady". We raised collies for a number of years and always had them on the farm when at home, just never have gotten over having one.
Lady died almost 9 years ago. We replaced her with "Bessie".
THE BARNES AND NOBLE BOOKSTORE
GENERAL INFORMATION AMD SKETCHES
Links to Favorite Sites
APPLE VALLEY PHOTOS (Photos for everyone. Digital downloads and prints.)
LITTLE PATCH FARM (Boer Goats)
HAND CARVED WOODEN GRIPS for Smith and Wesson hand guns