Reclaimed Lumber: From Trash to Treasure

I recently made improvements to a rental property where we removed an old collapsed porch roof and made the space an open deck.  While disassembling the roof, I was impressed with the weight and heft of the beams used.  While some were rotted due to water damage, the remaining ones were worth saving.
 
We reused most of the old 2X4s when reconstructing a lean-to style roof over the laundry room.  Yet, in the end, I had a lot of leftovers.

I couldn't bring myself to throw the rest of this away, so I put an ad on KSL advertising "FREE Victorian Era Lumber".  But why would somebody want this old lumber?  As it turns out, it is much better than the new stuff that is being made.

Below is a cross section of two 2x4s.  The one on the left is over 100 years old.  The other on the right is about 5 years old.  Both of these are pine.  The old lumber has very tight and dense rings.  The new lumber on the right has broad rings.  The difference comes from how lumber is grown and harvested.  Old lumber was from virgin slow growth trees.  Today's lumber is grown on tree farms where the trees are given growth hormones.  Old growth trees took 100 years to reach maturity.  Today's trees are ready to harvest in 20.  Thus, today's lumber has more of the characteristic of balsa wood than it does it's rugged predecessors.   

 
Fortunately, this value is recognized by a few people in the market and I received several calls from folks wanting the wood.  "Junk Man Dave" showed up and hauled it away.

I asked folks what they would use the lumber for.  Answers ranged from wall paneling to antique looking wheel barrows to planter boxes.  I am just glad it found a new home and was able to be reused.

DEMOLITION: Historic Ogden School District Building Razed

I was cruising down 20th Street the other day in Ogden and notice a dramatic change in the landscape.  Here is a photo of a cool old building found on the Ogden School District administrative campus from several years ago:

The structure was quite large, extending almost a quarter length of the city block.  I thought it was also architecturally significant with great lines and ornamental brick work.

 Here is the scene I fell upon recently:

The whole edifice is gone.  When I inquired with the guy holding the hose what happened, he indicated that the roof was bad on the building and the bid to replace it came in at $1,000,000.  Wow!  It was much less expensive for the school district to knock the building down and turn it into landscaping. 

It is sad to see this building go but the resources of the school district are lean.  As stewards of public funds, I suspect the School District couldn't justify the repair expense to the public that it serves.

This building was quite different than Ogden High School which recently was the focus of a restoration and preservation effort.  Not only did taxpayer funds support the preservation effort, but private funds paid for the most elaborate and expensive part of restoring the amphitheater.

Workers You Can Trust: Jeremy's Preferred Vendors

As we come on the Summer season, repair and improvement work on homes tends to increase dramatically.  I have been busy already this last week ordering fix up on rentals.  For those of you looking for some good vendors, here is who I use:

Trusted Home Service Providers

If you have any question about who is the best fit for the job, contact me and I can let you know.  Happy rehabbing!

Photo of the Day: Visions of Blue

I went shopping in Riverdale with a client today and we stumbled upon this interesting scene:

Blue walls, blue ceiling, complimented with blue carpet.  My client and I both agreed it's the only room we have ever been in where we felt like we were drowning.  Needless to say...we didn't write an offer on this home.

Old Provo Tabernacle to Be New Provo Temple

Last year we mourned what we thought would be the loss of a historical icon: the Provo Tabernacle.  Today during General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it was announced that the tabernacle will be restored and dedicated as a new temple.  This will be the 2nd temple in Provo, Utah.


As was the case with the new Ogden Temple, the church has provided elevations of the new restored victorian structure.  Here is the rendering of what the finished product will be:

This will be an improvement over what the tabernacle structure was before it burned last year.  The large steeple in the center was taken down back in the 1940's due to structural weakness.  Here is a picture of the tabernacle shortly after it was built:

The church deserves credit for committing the resources to resurrect this fine edifice.

Historic Salvage: Reclamation Brick BBQ

A year ago I sold a turn of the century home that one of my investor clients had restored.  Part of their fix-up included removing brick and pouring new concrete for the cellar access.  The bricks that lined the cellar stairway previously were giving way and ready to collapse.  When we closed on the resale, the buyer indicated they did not want the old bricks so I kindly removed them and stored them in my backyard.

Our plan was to build a BBQ stand next to our pergola (which is still a work in progress).

The first step was to procure the items I needed from Home Depot:

 The 3/8" pointing tool is a handy finishing tool.  I also used a square trowel.

 Duplex nails are best for putting together concrete forms.

 Hearty concrete for my base.

Type-S mortar for sticking the bricks together. (Type-N mortar is for decorative finishing not structural use.)

The first thing I did was put a prototype structure together to make sure I had enough bricks for the job.

After I put this together, I realized I had enough bricks but I needed to follow my written plan so the BBQ would fit on top.  The finished project looks quite a bit different than this.

The next step was cleaning up the brick by scraping off the 105 year-old mortar.  This was not as hard as I thought it would be but it was still time consuming.  To do this, I scrubbed the bricks against a cinder block.

Next came pouring the foundation.  To do this I built a frame out of 2x4s.  I calculated that I needed 240 lbs. of concrete to fill my 48"X28" space.  Unfortunately, I did not count the dirt that I dug out of the bottom of my frame so when I poured the concrete I was way short of the top of my forms.  It's pretty hard to level concrete that doesn't reach the top of your forms.

In a panic I stuck some clinker bricks in the wet concrete to see if I could get it to flush out with the top of my forms.  That just complicated my problems.

When I put the brick in concrete, they stuck out above my forms preventing me from running my scrap 2x4 over the top to level everything.  I also started to crowd into the space that I would be laying my BBQ brick.  The moral of the story is buy more concrete than you need so you don't have to improvise like I did here.  I also discovered that the form I made was measured to the exterior dimensions instead of the interior ones.  Whoops!  I poured my foundation smaller than I had planned.

After letting the base dry and harden for a week, I started laying the brick.  Two bags of spec mix was exactly the right amount for the job.  Also, after reviewing my plans, I determined that even though the base was smaller than planned, it was still large enough to lay the brick where needed and provide ample support.  Laying the brick took about five hours as I learned how to do it right and keep things plumb as I went.

 Also, while selecting bricks from my pile, I was spooked by the biggest black widow I have ever scene.  It jumped out at me with fangs salivating after I removed a brick and disturbed its home.  Feisty critter...but no match for my shoe.

  
In the end, the finished product turned out quite nicely.

 Now on to the pergola...