Its truly amazing how a roof transforms a building! The original roof was simply tin over lathe. No insulation, no additional structure. When time, weather and human wear and tear left holes and damage to the original tin, it began to rust, nails started to pop, and the weather lifted entire sheets causing them to flap in the wind and eventually fall off entirely.
The new roof has the appropriate sheathing, roof wrap and a higher grade of tin. Its designed to last another 100 years (hopefully).
In addition to the patio, we had work being done on the interior. Our plan is to create a livable space as close to the original as we can make it given modern parameters (electricity, insulation, etc)
The original building appears to have been just the front portion of the house the the larger back piece was added to create a family living space. Interior walls were built of adobe, same as the exterior. It had a front room, a separated central kitchen, then a separated back room. To the side of this was a separated bedroom with a plumbed bathroom. We don’t know when the bathroom was added, we are guessing sometime after WWII.
The new floor plan is to have 2 bedrooms, the main has an attached bathroom in essentially the same place as the original. The second bedroom is much smaller. Between the 2nd bedroom and the kitchen is a 3/4 bath. The wall between the kitchen and the living room is being removed to create a great room. We also managed space for a laundry and utilities room.
Sometime it seems that the more we do, the more that needs to be done. We are still getting background stuff done before we can move onto the stuff that will really make this house come alive.
The patio needs stabilizing to help hold back nature. LOL. The plan was to dig up the dirt, create footings for the patio wall, improve the house footing where it meets the patio. Then its on to building the wall and pouring the cement for the patio.
Well – – – it turns out there was a brick patio under the dirt. Really cool, but it wasn’t worth saving. So, rather than pull it all out, lay out sand and gravel etc then pour the concrete, our masons suggested (and we went for it) to clean up the bricks then use them for the base of the new concrete patio. The bricks were solid but not very pretty so here we go.
There are two fireplaces in the Adobe. They are place back to back with one inside in the living room and the other outside on the patio. They share a chimney, divided into 2 air chambers, one for each fireplace.
I love both of these fireplaces. They are built of brick and have adobe from the mantle up. Both were in serious disrepair as you can see by my photos. I didn’t think we were going to be able to bring them back. Our masons were took it as a challenge and were able to restore the bricks of both. Take a look at what a fantastic job they did.
We will have the adobe covered with stucco. The interior fireplace will probably get a woodburning stove or insert. The exterior fireplace will get a fabricated insert that is open to the air. Both will have the chimney insert/lining brought to code so we don’t risk fire.
When we first acquired the property, the Adobe, AKA, the Commercial Building, was full of detritus that had built up over time, a couch, rugs, mattress, trash, and other items too many to list. The exterior was overgrown with trees and brush that had grown unchecked for years. The adobe, itself, was wearing down from time and weather and had a lot of graffiti inscribed on it. The building had been used for target practice or more like as something to shoot. In short, is was in a bad state of decline.
We first started by cleaning out the debris from around and inside the building. Took many loads to the county landfill. We trimmed back the trees and brush and started to assess the damage. We also came up with a floor plan so we could move forward with our basic restoration plan.
We hired a local family of masons who worked a good week removing adobe blocks from interior walls where we no longer wanted them and use those blocks to repair the exterior walls. Lintels were replaced as needed, windows and doors were enlarged as desired, and the foundation was repaired as needed. Photos are on the Adobe page in the Restoration Begins section.
One of the masons brought his son along when he wasn’t in school. The young man worked alongside the others doing age and ability appropriate tasks. I really admired the respect he was given while working. He was treated as a valued member of the team and worked as if he knew he was valued. It was good to see. This young man has a good future in whatever he decides to pursue and will certainly be a capable mason when he graduates from highschool.
The journey began almost 2 years ago. A friend in the area had his eye on a property owned by an investor. He waited, patiently, for the asking price of the property to be reduced. Eventually, it did. But not wanting the entire parcel, he asked if the local museum wanted to take on one of the historic buildings.
It turned out that they didn’t but after touring the site, we did. So a group of like-minded individuals were gathered and they decided who wanted which piece of the parcel.
We ended up with 2 pieces that included 3 buildings – The Mansion, The Adobe, The Post Office, as well as a mostly gone adobe (known here as the ruins), several mining shafts, and the remains of a number of foundations, on a total of a little less than 15 acres of land.
After the offer was accepted, survey made, legal work done and money exchanged we got to work. 1st up was getting the area cleaned up to reduce the chance of fire destroying the entire property. We also cleared out the detritus left behind by former owners, tenants, and probably squatters. Next up was reducing the hazards to the unwary: Rattlesnake signs were put up, Unstable building components (mostly porches) were removed, Gates were installed to discourage trespass, and Driveways were improved to allow easier access for our contractors and ourselves.
