Howard Hall Farm is both an historic restoration project and a vehicle for educating people in sustainable, environmentally conscious restoration techniques. The site of our learning laboratory is a 1780s stone manor in the heart of the Hudson River Valley. This Federal style home presents a number of restoration challenges specific to this region of the country. We invite you to join us in our effort to RESTORE GREEN.
Charity dinner had benefits for two historic sites: The Thomas Cole House, and our 1780's parlor
Last weekend, we hosted a dinner to help raise money for the restoration of the Thomas Cole House National Historic Site in Catskill, NY. In addition to being a fantastic cause, it gave us incentive to speed up the restoration of our parlor. For the first time since moving in, our eyes were able to feast along with our stomaches.
This was our Parlor long ago:
By the time we got here it looked like this:
Since then, we've done a seemingly infinite number of repairs to the room, not the least of which were restoring the original chimney, and bringing the walls back to their original lime plaster.
Today, only a few remaining acres constitute the National Historic Site, but the modest, picturesque residential grounds reflect Thomas Cole's period, and are to be restored to their period condition, when the landscape was described by fellow artist, Jasper Cropsey, as “not give off an atmosphere of luxury and wealth.” The panoramic views to the Catskill Mountains and its great “Wall of Manitou,” experienced daily by Cole, can still be enjoyed. The entry driveway coming from Spring Street can still be traced, and the adjacent flower garden blooms each summer with renewed care. Close by is the Federal-style privy, built to complement the house, and Thomas Cole's studio at the old store-house. These outbuildings have, or will soon be, fully restored. Beyond is the grove of old trees, the woodlot mentioned in Thomas Cole's writings. A stand of Cedar trees in the grove probably inspired the name Cedar Grove, and it is possible that Cole himself coined the term before 1830. With its scenic attributes and authentic rural amenities, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site is a living memorial to the artistry of its famous resident and the world of romanticism in the Hudson River Valley. Click here to visit the Thomas Cole House website for more information.
Finishing Fantasies and Faux Finishes "in the real world."
And now for a little skewed perception. It's time to play a little game called:
"Let the camera do all the work for you"
....wherein we try to take pictures that make it look like our restoration is completely finished already.
Todays contestants are Mr. and Mrs. Wall Corner, Lady Lamp and Mistress Ceiling, Roaring Hearth, and The Floor Siblings. Let's give them all a round of applause for playing.
Meanwhile, back in the real world...
The guys have been plastering away..
....and okay, so the other half of this room:
....looks like this:
..but a lot of lime plastering and painting has been getting done! (For those of you who are curious, you can learn more about historic lime plaster HERE.) We're also experimenting with pigments that are rumored to be lime-friendly, trying to create the color we will use for our hall walls.
Historical Pigments
If you're going to embark on a painting project of your own soon, and want to read up on environmentally friendly paint options, here are some useful online reading materials we've found:
These radiators were taken out of a home we are restoring in Athens, New York. We have many elegant specimens with fine detail, scrolling, and unusual designs and patterns. Radiators vary in color from white to silver and gold. Some look retro, some more antique. Whatever kind of radiator you are looking for, the chances are very good that we have it. You can come see the lot and pick the ones you want in Athens, NY: call 518-945-1253 or email: info@howardhallfarm.com
The bird that used historic lime mortar to weave its nest.
Who would have guessed that an avian would learn to use restoration techniques at Howard Hall Farm? Ralph was moving an abandoned nest off the wall so we could get to work on restoring the corbels, and discovered that the bird had been stealing little beak-size clumps of lime mortar from the bricks before it had time to set! It had also added strands of golden thread, and little bits of wool from the shearing of our Shetland sheep! Thus proving that even the tiniest of creatures can surprise us with their adept integration of green restoration techniques, historic materials, environmentally friendly insulation, and style!
The gorgeous corbels about to be restored:
Inside the house, John tackles the parlor ceiling:
THREE COAT LIME PLASTER ON RIVEN LATHE: Step 1: Scratch-coat on the main parlor ceiling
+ =
And Nicky has been priming the doors and stairwells:
We've also had many great applicants for restoration internships. Thanks everyone who applied!
This past weekend, I saw a breathtakingly beautiful and creative new kind of historic "restoration". Three fantastic Troy artists brought a lost history to life. To read more about their wondrous and hauntng project, go to: http://spectresofliberty.com/site/
From their site:
"Spectres of Liberty is a public memory, site-specific art project. Beginning with a sense of loss about the changing built environment of Troy, New York, we set out imagining ghosts of demolished buildings and structures. Through imagining inflatable sculptural extensions to buildings whose facades have been destroyed to thinking about recreating vanished historic sites, we decided on creating a ghost of the Liberty Street Church.
The Liberty Street Church is not only significant as a vanished part of Troy's architectural history, but also for its value as a historic site in the fight to abolish slavery. From old photos of the site provided by the Rensselaer Historical Society, we created an inflatable 1:1 scale reproduction of the church and will install it at the former site of the church, which is now a parking lot. We will be animating this ghost church through video projections that call forth the history of the site, as well as through the social context of a cultural event that will bring community members to the site to think more deeply about the space and its history.
Through our research we learned more about Henry Highland Garnet, the pastor of Liberty Street Church from 1843-1848. He was known around the world for his militant orations and publications calling on people to actively participate in the fight to end slavery. When we read Henry Highland Garnet's words from the 1840's: "Let your motto be resistance! resistance! resistance! No oppressed people have ever secured their liberty without resistance," we do not think they are dead words from a forgotten time - but a call, an urging, to participate in transforming our world now.
*Not that kind of hunt...we don't want to shoot them, just invite them over for a nice cup of tea, and a week of free restoration training.... We're offering a number of different internship opportunities. We have positions ideal for students (of restoration, historic structures, writing, history, library studies, construction, architecture, antiquarian processes, artisans, etc.) as well as places for people who have their own historic home (or someone else's to work on), and would like a chance to get a feel for our environmentally friendly restoration techniques, and apply them to their own structures! Glean some of the benefits of taking our workshops at off-peak times working as an intern, and have a chance to meet all the interesting characters lurking about this old pile of beams.
All of the internships take place on the site of a 220-year-old Federal style home in Athens NY, which serves as a classroom and laboratory. The site offers a unique environment for hands-on learning and offers specific restoration challenges that are distinctive to this region.
The video features: Fred DePaul milking and shearing a sheep, gender issues in sheep shearing history, where lanolin comes from, and woolly tales of danger and woe.
Video features: Fred DePaul milking and shearing a sheep, gender issues in sheep shearing history, where lanolin comes from, and woolly tales of danger and woe.
Come and learn the materials and methods of lime plaster on wooden lath. Howard Hall will have a plaster raising party for two successive Saturdays, scratch coat then the intermediate coat on the main parlor ceiling and walls.
(A time will be set up for the finishing coat in the near future.)
We will be:
mixing lime plaster
plastering
celebrating
Joining in is free as a learning workshop, but you will have to work with a trowel. Lunch is provided.
Booking in advance is required. Call 518-945-1253 or email: howardhall.farm@gmail.com
Open to people in the trades as well as homeowners eager to learn.
This is a unique and free opportunity to learn about historic lime plaster in a workshop setting. We will be practicing on the ceiling of the parlor at Howard Hall Farm in Athens, New York.
______________________ Related events: ______________________
REMAKING LIME CROWN MOLDING in July with Rory Brennan, the plasterer from "This Old House". This is a structured as a paid class with fee limited number of students. Click the classes tab for more information or contact us: howardhall.farm@gmail.com
PRIVATE MORTAR CLASSES with Reggie Young on exterior pointing with lime mortars. We will cover mixing of mortar, proper prep of the area, pointing and curing. Whitewash recipes and appilcations can also be covered. For more information, contact: howardhall.farm@gmail.com
Unless I've missed some significant advances in quantum mechanics, it is not yet possible for the average historic home-owner to travel back in time and take digital photographs of the past, but last Saturday we did the next best thing. We invited Mercy Ingraham, The Open Hearth Cook to visit us here at Howard Hall Farm. Completely clothed in Federal garb, Mercy Ingraham arrived on the steps of our Federal Home looking like she had just emerged from a Vermeer painting to teach us how to cook on our recently restored historic hearth.
*Note the similarity:
Wearing Dutch linens and bearing an armload of iron and brass cookware, she lit a roaring fire, and proceeded to charm the hell out of all of us. She is a fascinating and intelligent woman, and one of the most incredible teachers we've ever had here. The workshop was filled with people from vastly differing fields, yet they all had some strange tie to historic buildings, so we all had plenty to talk about. We met a lot of incredible people. Clothed by references to rare films and literature, historic images, and odd chemistry facts (ex: ash+ saliva= lye, which I almost learned the hard way), Mercy gave us a treasure-trove of information....and as far as I'm concerned, it was the very best kind of knowledge: The sort you can eat afterward!
Shirley Plantation Mushroom Soup (which was so delicious it was gone before I could take a picture), String Roasted Chicken (Literally: it was roasted by hanging from a string), Southall Cabbage Pudding, Ember-Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Yam Pudding, Dover Cake, and more....
Mercy just finished her latest book, and signed copies for all of us after the class.
For all of you who were here, thank you for making this weekend such a scintillating experience. And Mercy, you are truly a wonder. I can't think of a better way to have brought the light and life back to our hearth. For the first time in probably a century, this house had a blazing, open fire and good company to enjoy it. I hope you'll all come back soon.
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*********************************************************** If you participated in this workshop, and have pictures, please send them to us! We'd love to add them to our collection... howardhall.farm@gmail.com
To view a complete listing of our 2008 classes and workshops: CLICK HERE
We're organizing photos of the entire progression of the house's life, downward spiral into devastating disrepair and hideous renovations, and our ongoing historic restoration. Check back soon to take an in depth tour of each of our restoration projects and track our progress day by day...
Harry is working on the fascia boards, soffits and crown moldings for the front of the house. We are trying to save as much as we can of the original, but sadly much of it is rotted beyond use...
Lorena is prepping all these boards so we can get them up primed. Can't wait until spring to get this all finally painted.
Andy has been jack hammering off the last Portland Cement left in the place. We will white wash these walls, even though they must have been plastered at one time.
This area in the front of the basement hall never had white wash on walls or ceilings like the rest of the hall, so we suspect it was a closed storage room with plaster ceiling and walls. Very odd as it would have blocked the light in the hallway.
Ralph has been steaming off the paint in the hallway. Getting closer to final plaster throughout the house.
When green products are just as affordable as their market equivalents, will you buy green?
A: Of course!
The day has come. In our continuing effort to green our lives, our research has led us to a company called Let's Go Green. They makes affordable, environmentally friendly products that often cost less than their unfriendly equivalents. All their products are eco-friendly and designed to either help save resources, money, or both.
Let's Go Green and Howard Hall Farm have decided to join forces to do a green fund-raiser, and make environmentally friendly products more easily available to eco-conscious consumers. Now you can help support a green and local business by spending less on items you regularly buy for your home. Let's Go Green has agreed to donate 25% of every purchase to the Howard Hall Farm Green Restoration, so your contribution can be substantial.
All you have to do is visit www.LetsGoGreen.biz, choose your items, and specify our group at checkout so that we get credit. It couldn’t be simpler.
Those masks are no joke. Talk about a survivor! This woman has lived through 13 years of renovations, and now shares what she's gleaned by donating time to blogging about affordable real estate, diy, period restorations, decorating bargains, and sustainable living. She writes more than any other house blogger I know, and always has interesting tidbits and links to share. I wanted to thank her for helping us out with our green fundraising efforts and always posting great content! You can visit Reclaimed Home by clicking HERE.
Ken Greene's efforts to revive the local seed trade and save heirloom seeds and their stories has culminated in the creation of a unique regional Seed Library. Like us, Ken and his friends are trying to share information about environmentally conscious skills and trades with workshops like Permaculture in Action and by sharing planting instructions for all to learn and grow from... You can read the article Ken wrote after his visit to Howard Hall Farm below.
Dennis Heaphy, the tin man behind the restoration of statue of liberty and Ellis Island, coming to Howard Hall, a center for Historic Restoration and Green Technology in Athens.
The History of Mortar may sound like a heavy subject for a workshop, but Reggie Young at Howard Hall Farm finds the topic enlightening. For years Reggie and his partner Nora Johnson had been dreaming of finding a stone house that they could afford to buy and restore. Young, previously a New York City restaurateur, had been doing restoration in the Hudson Valley for six years. “I had thought about offering training on the lime/mortar issue,” he says.”I had seen too many buildings screwed up by using the wrong mortar.” Young had gone out of state, to Chicago, for his training, but it wasn’t until he looked at a dilapidated house perched on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River that the idea of creating a training center crystallized in his mind. “It took five seconds,” he says. “The building lent itself perfectly to the idea.” Young and Johnson bought the house and have dedicated themselves not only to its restoration but to its development as a hands-on learning laboratory.
Young sees the Federal-style home’s potential to be transformed into a modern, functioning dwelling that preserves the home’s historic integrity and has a minimal impact on the natural environment. Three years after purchasing the property, Young and his team are deep into the renovation of the structure and are still tinkering with the training center’s mission statement. Currently, the center’s main purpose is to “investigate, restore, and revive every facet of the structure in a green manner, and provide a forum for other interested homeowners and craftspeople to learn to do the same.” Part of this process of educating themselves and others involves bringing in preservation and restoration experts from all over the country. “With the help of these incredible individuals,” says Young “we can all learn to bring an old home out of the cobwebs and into the green. We are in a global crisis, and conservation and restoration can be very green.”
Young sees his responsible approach to renovation as one facet of solving many environmental problems. He advocates fixing up existing structures rather than building new, reusing as much as possible, locating local materials, and incorporating alternative energy practices into historic renovations. In at least one instance, Young found that being green and historically accurate go hand in hand. He located and used a type of sand from Saugerties for his mortar mix which brought him closer to replicating the mix originally used on the home.
Mortar is not the only mixing happening on the hill. Young’s use of the Howard Hall website and blogs reflects his pride in working collaboratively. One site, howardhallfarm.wordpress.com is called the Faces of Howard Hall Farm. Its pages are an enthusiastic and affectionate introduction to the core group and their contributions to the project. The home site howardhallfarm.com is overflowing with before and after photos, short videos, archives, history, introductions to visiting experts, and an impressive list of workshops past and present.
The fall series of offerings ranges from the practical to the esoteric. Young’s partner, Nora Johnson, will bring New York City artist Toby Nutall and collaborator Moira Kelley to teach a workshop entitled “Historic Paints and Finishes: Faux Wood Graining: Creating Fantasy Wood Finishes”; it takes place October 13th and 14th. For those in historic homes, there is the quintessential lime plaster workshop with famed plaster professional Roy Brennen. On the fascinatingly obscure end of the Howard Hall workshop spectrum is Lady Liberty’s personal face lift professional (and fourth generation tinsmith) Dennis Heaphy—also known as the Tin Man. He will offer a lesson on working with Terne Tin, the material that keeps the Statue of Liberty clothed and smiling. In addition to the workshop, Heaphy will also be working on Howard Hall’s tin ceiling and conducting a presentation for children on October 20th about the making of the Statue of Liberty.
For a complete list of workshops, presentations and available internships, visit Howard Hall Farm’s extensive website (www.howardhallfarm.com ), email howardhall.farm@gmail.com, or call 518-945-1253.
We are hoping that 2008 finds the world a lot greener and bit better preserved. Here at Howard Hall, we continue to work toward this goal. I had to move out for part of the winter with all the chaos that was happening in the house every day. We insulated with Soy foam in December, which was very exciting. I know that there is limited soy in this version of insulation but it has the green effect of doing a very tight high R value job, and (that's not nothing/ that counts for something). I would never use fiberglass as it is a bad idea to introduce workers to it, doesn't get very good R value, and if you research you will see that it causes endless future problems that you would rather avoid. Our application was tricky in that we wanted to do entire second floor ceiling without any demo of the original plaster, and without man-handling the old attic floor. We were able to take out some flooring and blow it in, and it did the job.
The view that day:
We also got the Co-generation unit up and running. That little boiler now just hums while heating this place, and it is so tiny. (Nora says it purrs). We have sold several of these units to our restoration clients as well. Everyone who comes here just wants a moment in the boiler room to see the beautiful install job, and see and hear the thing working. On Top of that we also got Our Jutl stove in and working, so it's all about warmth here these days. I have moved back in and can actually get warm without leaving a huge carbon footprint! (If you would like to see the Co-generation unit for yourself, call us:518.945.1253) On other fronts, we just had a great class with Rory Brennan.
It was our best attended class so far, and filled with a lot of knowledgable people.We are getting ready to do all lime wash finish on walls of the first floor. For the first time we will be posting a 10 minute video of the class, so watch for that soon. *(The video is now up in the video section of the blog) Rory will be back for another lime wash class this spring. Lots of paint steaming and stripping happening now:
Our Soffit story and fascia boards continue, as do the pointing and whitewash stories.
We have a few cooking classes in March, which is our deadline for having beehive oven back up and running. The chimney for that side of the house is 4 feet from complete. So soon those fireplaces will also be up and running:Beehive Oven (2),Parlor Fireplace:
Click here to view our house in 3-D
