Cougar Construction News
Where Chris is now:
For over the past six months, Chris has been very busy
working as a sub-contractor in New Hampshire. He has been part of
many projects while he has been there, including restoration of
some very old carrier pigeon structures.
The main project has been a huge riding arena which measures 200
feet long by 100 feet wide!!! Unfortunately, because of owner privacy,
we cannot include pictures here; but I can tell you, Chris has stated
that he has learned a lot while working there, and has really enjoyed
it.
Where Chris has been:
In between intervals of the New Hampshire job, Chris has squeezed
in some smaller local projects.
Baptist Street Project
Pictured below is a barn that he removed from property in Upper
Graniteville, VT. He actually fit in this barn just before the New
Hampshire project. This barn took Chris (working alone) about five
days to dismantle and remove.
Pictured here is the front of the barn with a small milk
house attached on the right. Chris wanted to take on this
barn because of the age of the structure, and because most
of the materials after removal can be salvaged and reused.
Click
to enlarge
Interior view of the roof facing the rear side of barn.
The beam that is running horizontally was of particular
interest to Chris due to it's length and the fact that it's
a hand-hewn beam. It measured between 30-40 feet long, and
beams that are long in length are highly desirable for future
barn renovations. (Yellow arrows show beams that were salvaged
for reuse.)
Click
to enlarge
View of inside right of barn.
This entire wall of the barn was salvageable, which is what
Chris loves to find.
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Side view of barn (front is on the right). Due to lack
of roof maintenance/care, the wind had blown some loose
mtal from the roof, which caused a hole and severe damage
from exposure to the elements. This lack of care tends to
deteriorate the wood over time. In the case of this particular
barn, the structure itself cannot be saved. Fortunately,
much of the materials can, and will be used for renovating
other barns or houses.
Click
to enlarge
Interior view showing left side of barn. The yellow arrow
shows a beam that is called a gunstock post. You can recognize
a gunstock post by the fact that it is narrower at the bottom
and increases in width towards the top of the post (like
the gunstock on a rifle. . . hence the name). These were
commonly used in the 1700's until the mid-1800's. Gunstock
posts were eventually replaced by the more common 8-inch
by 8-inch square posts, most likely because of the simplicity
of their mortis and tendon joints.
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Belyea Project
This customer originally had a flat roof above the front porch.
Due to this roof being flat, water
would not drain properly. This eventually caused wood damage and
leaks. Unfortunately, we do not have a "Before" picture,
which we always love to have (I apologize). Below are the "After"
pictures, and as you can see, Chris designed a roof that would solve
the customer's problems.
Side view of new roof. This roof took Chris about a day
and a half to complete (including removal of the old roof).
Chris used plywood for the roof itself, then applied asphalt
shingles to complete it. The customer was very happy with
Chris' work, and actually had him stay on to repair some
window trim and also fix some water-damaged sophets.
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Front view of new porch roof. The previous wood was rotten
due to water damage. The entire ceiling had to be replaced,
along with the trim. Both columns were saved, due to the
fact they are actually made of metal. Chris decided on
a simple peak design because it would shed water properly.
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