Holt House

THE OLD BARN

Before the current owners acquired the property, the land surrounding the old, whitewashed barn belonged to a few horses horses and a couple of donkeys named Eeyore and Spunky. They enjoyed a pastoral life, wandering the fields surrounding the house, returning every evening to their stable in the paddock adjacent to the historic house.

The old barn was falling apart and the owners knew it needed to be taken down. The plan was to build another structure near where the old barn once stood. This "new barn"- envisioned by the owners as a classic American carriage house- will function as a multi-use space in the heart of Holt House's future formal garden (formerly Eeyore and Spunky's paddock).

Unfortunately, the demolition of the old barn was preempted one evening by a tornado that tore through the historic property, taking down over 30 mature trees, including the massive tree in the middle of the paddock (shown above, still standing) and one that fell directly on the barn (shown below). 

With the old barn gone, the plans for the new carriage house hastened. With the owner's initial sketches and vision in mind, local architect Kevin Coffey of C. Kevin Coffey Dwellings and Design drew up the carriage house to include a large, open first floor - with two bathrooms, a storage/utility room, and a potting room to service the gardens - and a lofted second floor that overlooks the first floor. The architectural features include a hip roof, hip dormers, 3 large double carriage doors in front and an over-sized garage door in back, a stone band around the base, wide hardie board siding, and plenty of windows to provide natural light for the interior. 

With the plans done, work commenced on the carriage house in June 2017.

The construction was undertaken by Tallman Enterprises, beginning with a 40' x 80' concrete slab.

With the slab poured and cured, framing for the first floor could begin.

After the first floor was framed, the second level floor was constructed.

To support the second level and roof, the owner opted for eight massive 15" wide, solid wood posts anchored by substantial steel brackets.

A large crane had to be brought in to construct the large hip roof. Once the upper structural posts, ridge board, and rafters were in place, the crew got to work on the 8 hip dormers that line all four sides of the carriage house. 

After the roof went up, the the remaining side sheathing and roof sheathing was installed.

Next, the weather-resistant house wrap was tacked on, then the windows were installed. The scaffolding used to install the roof was disassembled, revealing the vast openness of the interior.

The exterior continued to be defined as the crew installed the wide hardie board siding and solid stone band around the base of the structure.

The two sides and back of the carriage house were then primed and painted white, leaving the front unfinished until the large double carriage doors arrived.

Once the solid mahogany carriage doors arrived, they were installed along with the rest of the siding on the front of the structure, which was then painted white to match the other three sides. 

The interior is still being worked on, but the basic framing for the storage room, potting space, and bathrooms have been installed. The two staircases connecting the two levels will run along the back of the carriage house, flanking each side of the over-sized garage door.

Black gutters and downspouts were installed. To finish up the exterior, door overhangs, sconces, and shutters for the small windows will be installed in the near future. 

With the exterior mostly complete, work on the interior has become the focus for the crew. Look out for the next post that will feature interior progress photos and details! Thanks for reading!