Today's One Minute Tip comes from Historic Preservation Carpenter Paul Cutting in Decorah, Iowa. He recently won an award for documenting log homes from pioneer times.
• The Star: Paul Cutting is an Historic Preservation Carpenter from Decorah, Iowa. He has documented over 160 log homes and keeps a blog covering his reconstruction work here.
• The Music: This song is called "If You Want it We Got It" and is an instrumental version of a sweet song off of the album "Honest Mistakes" by Pete Miser. The full version is available for listen and purchase here.
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Did he have to buy the land to be given the house? How did that work?
How much did he have to put down to fix it up?
This is pretty cool! PS - He is a carpenter and his last name is Cutting. Thats actually awesome.
Bravo for your far-sighted efforts to conserve resources and some history along the way, Paul Cutting!
Yay to my fellow Iowan! I think this is fantastic and often had a fascination and a sadness whenever I'd see abandoned farmhouses. It's wonderful to know someone is saving and restoring them.
Mei-ling - my guess is he purchased or got the homes themselves for free and moved them elsewhere. The owners more than likely kept the land the house sat on. My dad had a house that he had to remove from land he owned, and it is not an easy task, so what Paul is doing is really wonderful.
Another way to get a free house: inherit one. That's what happened to me. Unfortunately, it's barely qualified as a "house." It needs so much work, I'm almost better off just refusing it and buying one that's less of a fixer-upper. Good thing I don't mind a challenge (or peeling linoleum or scarred gold-flecked formica counters or a sliding glass patio door that's been plastered over on the inside or 70s paneling or a rock facade on the outside or no insulation and no way to add any or or or...).
This is so awesome that you're saving these houses, Paul! So your website says several houses are currently in storage awaiting a site so they can be reconstructed. What if someone wanted to buy one of your houses--what would it cost to get the house re-sited and reconstructed?
Great idea if you are able to take down the old structure and rebuild using the same materials. I have seen old abandoned houses, and they look so sad. I wonder who lived there and why the houses are abandoned. I'm sure there are lots of stories within those walls.
On another note, I enjoyed the music but found it distracting to try to listen to what Paul Cutting was saying. I'd like to hear both the music and the narrator, but not at the same time. Did anyone else find the music a little distracting and loud?
I liked the music and I loved the renovations. Go Paul!
@ Florida Joyce -- I thought the music was too loud as well.
There's so much that could be done in this world with a little capital, because either Paul is independently wealthy, has a benefactor or investor, or these are side projects and he's well funded to do other building and/or restoration work.
I get paid to manage the operational change for mergers and acquisitions... and I could provide this service to myself for free if the opportunity arose. But unfortunately it doesn't get me a wonderfully restored house!
Moved an old log house in the Yukon once after paying the huge sum of $125 for it. It came apart easily, the logs were numbered and moved, then came the "fun" part. What with the original building shifting over time or whatever it never quite went back together the same way. Our new foundation was square and level but the old building was not. Eventually it worked but it would have been easier to start from scratch. If you have time to spare and a means to support yourself without losing that time it can be a good project but it's not an easy thing to do.
WOW
I can definitely appreciate his work ethic after restoring my own CT farmhouse from 1901. Real estate agents always say run down houses are 'tear downs' but you'd be surprised what doesn't have to be torn all the way to the ground to function. New homes lack charm anyways...