Let it Rain... and Snow...

Last weekend we endured torrential rains as we focused on clean up from our awesome demo work the prior week. Thanks to American Waste, everything that can possibly be recycled will be, which helps us to "green" the renovation process. While we were there, we did discover a few leaks (read: river) in the basement and determined we need to add gutters and work on the grading around the house to prevent major water issues in the future.

The poncho was little consolation
in the downpour!

A river runs through the house

Ben dug into a bit more demo to expose a corner wall and beam in the kitchen which will need to be re-constructed differently.

Crazy post/beam/wall combo

Before that, we'll be having an engineer take a look at all the load bearing walls to help us spec out what size beams we need.


It appears that this weekend, winter has officially arrived in northern Michigan. We're seeking referrals for someone to snowplow our drive in Northport, so feel free to comment below if you have a recommendation.

Luckily, after brutally cold winds and lots of blowing snow this weekend in Traverse City, the house in Northport was unscathed and had little snow on the ground. It's going to get harder and harder to motivate ourselves to get up there to work as the drifts begin to grow, I'm sure.

After some more demo (that story is going to get old eventually! I'd say we're only about 10% done) we were rewarded with a gorgeous sunset view which helps remind us why we're there:).

View from future dining room.

View from master bedroom.

Interior Demo

Well, we originally planned to build an addition (laundry room & garage) first. But, that plan was delayed a bit due to unexpected 40' setbacks. Our plans were about 5' too big. Back to the drawing board on that one...

So, we dug into stuff we can do...DEMO!

Ben tearing out living room ceiling.

Doing my part to tear out plaster on living room wall...
yep, it turns out that all the interior walls are stacked "planks" too!

This is the framing above the bay window and 2nd floor
exterior wall stacked up on top of this beam.

Entry way "before."

Here's the entry way now after removing the closet and an added wall,
removing all the paneling and plaster from the original wall on the left.
That wall will actually be removed soon though...

Elsie and I taking a break by the fire:)

Those Who Came Before

Throughout the time we've been planning for and working toward the renovation of the farm house, and a future farm on the property, we've wondered about those who came before us.

We knew it was originally a Garthe Homestead, and we're eager to talk more to our friend Chris Garthe about his family. Chris works at the Leelanau Conservation District.

We are fortunate to have two family members who are archivists. Our sister in law, Kim Purdy, is an architectural historian and did the original research on the construction method which pointed us toward the "plank house" terminology. Ben's third cousin, Allison Marion, also a Leelanau County resident, dug into the local history and found a lot of great information on the Garthes and the origins of this house. Ben and I were just thrilled to death when she sent these photos of the house at its finest! The photos weren't dated, but we're guessing they are from the early 1900s. The best information we've found so far tells us the house was built in 1883.

Now we're just sad that barn is gone!

These images came from the blog "Valentinos Mountain." There, the author shares, in Norwegian (thank goodness for Google translate!), a detailed account of the Garthes' story: 

What happened with Garthe family

Isaac worked both in the forest and farm servant of Edmund Taylor, and he bought 55 acres of land in 1873. He bought several times, and had finally 147 acres (600 goals).
He put up good buildings large and had a nice livestock. Besides, he had great and good potato crops for sale. He started the "creamery" (which made dairy butter), and he sold farm machinery.
Isaac married in September 1872 to Synnøve Øien (Minor Øien in Øksendal). She came in April of the same year. They had 9 children: Gertrude / Randi / Carl / Stanley / Shristine / John / Carl / Arndt / Anna / Laura - three died young.
The family lived in a log cabin before the big house was built.

Dordi Glærum Skuggevik | (Norway) 

Here's the view of the driveway, and those beautiful Maple trees today...

Each day that we spend working on the house and around the property, we discover a bit more about the past. How the land was used, how the house was built. As we put the pieces together, I'll share more here. And, we'll do our best to learn from those who came before us.

Let the Demolition Begin!

It's now the summer of 2013, and we felt like we had a handle (sort of) on our plans for the house, and how to deal with the unusual construction style, so it was time to get started.

We had also finally sold the home that we had owned for the past seven years which had taken all of Ben's energy to remodel and get ready to sell! Phew--it was a successful sale! Now we can focus on this project:)

Note the "Vulture Shack" on the right side of the houseThe home had attached to it a small building we called the "Vulture Shack."

It was full of varmints (I have to use that word at least once!) and vultures were regularly spotted perched on top. At first we thought maybe we could move it across the driveway and use it as a workshop or small barn. That is, until Ben's dad took a look at it and started laughing at the idea. He was right, the vertical timbers were rotted through, there was no foundation, and no possible way it would survive a move. It wasn't possible to salvage much of it at all.

So, we dove in to the demolition. All the while, wondering what this building had been used for... migrant farm labor was my guess. However, as Ben and his dad began to tear into it, they began to wonder if in fact it was the original house! They were right. Once they pulled the structure down, they could see where the main house had actually been added on to this shack (See photo). The rotten "foundation" was made of original hand-hewn timbers laid flat on the ground.

We saved what we could and stood in awe of the people who put it all together...

The logs laying out front were the original foundation.
Hoping to use them for furniture or a mantel or something:)

This awesome Frigidaire was inside!

My dad came up with his truck and trailer to help us get the Frigidaire
loaded up. We've had the old paint removed and it looks great!

Where do we begin?

The roof, the walls, the plants, oh my!

We truly didn't know where to begin... I'm still not sure we do, two years later!

Pretty quickly after we bought the place, Ben went up for a day to wage war against the incredibly healthy population of Autumn Olive on the property. He made a nice dent, but I think it's still winning.

Over the winter, we sought out an architect who could help us re-imagine the place. We found Scott Lankford at http://www.lankforddesigngroup.com/. Scott had restored a historic home himself, and I think he's just crazy enough to think this project is cool!

As we got closer to the finish line with design plans, we also connected with Max Strickland who is working with us to make the house as energy efficient as possible. http://www.stricklandewing.com/ Stay tuned for more on that effort.

What neither Scott nor Max could have imagined, is that the house is not your typical...anything! In fact, we're still not quite sure what to call it. Some have described it as a "plank house." Maybe a "slab house." Or perhaps "lincoln log" construction. This makes remodeling a challenge. To what degree, we still don't know!

The house is constructed of horizontal planks about 2" thick by 4" wide stacked one on top of the other with mortar in the middle. We have learned that this was often done by those in the lumber industry where lumber was free or very cheap. In our house, each piece has spacer blocks between with old square nails holding each piece in place. I just cannot imagine the incredible amount of labor this project would have required! Apparently there are a few houses in downtown Traverse City that may be similar that were built by employees of Perry Hannah's - a lumberman in the early days of Traverse City.

Really!? Northport?

Northport!?  Really?

We get that a lot when we tell people we bought an old farm in Northport, MI. It's about 30 miles north of Traverse City, and will require about a 45 minute commute to and from work. For anyone in a major metro area, that's nothing, but around here, you may as well live on the moon.

When we start to describe the place, though, most people start to understand.

While the commute isn't ideal, it's the worst part about the location. And, for the worst part, it's not too bad. Our commute follows West Grand Traverse Bay all the way into Traverse City, or take another route and pass scenic vineyards, horse farms, and rolling hills along the way.

Our 18 acre farm is nestled in the middle of the northern tip of the Leelanau Peninsula about one mile to downtown Northport, and the Bay in one direction and about 1.5 miles to Lake Michigan and beautiful Peterson Park in the other direction.

We really didn't plan to move to Northport until we found this place. Vacant for several years, the house still has a magical quality and really good energy. As we'd drive up to look at the property, I'd think "they're right...this is crazy."... then we'd sit in the front yard watching our daughter frolic in the grass and the dogs run through the fields and we'd say, "we love it here!"

Immediately after we saw it the first time, we thought we had lost it to another offer. A month or so later, that deal had fallen through, so we put in an offer. The seller countered. We drove up again, sat in the yard, and after much deliberation (and a Facebook opinion poll!) we accepted their counter offer. That was October 2011.

And thus begins our journey in bringing back to life this magical old place - the old Garthe Farmstead in sleepy Northport, MI.