100 Year Old Farm House and Grain Hopper Renovation

2300 sf | 3 bedroom | 2.5 bathrooms

 

This home is a 100-year-old farm house on 150 acres previously owned by an old island family as a working cattle farm. The new owners wanted to raise sheep on the land and preserve the historic barn and grain hopper but they also needed the old farm house to reflect todays use of space and energy efficiency more effectively. As the architectural designer, I wanted to preserve the history and charm as if it could have been built 100 years previously. A renovation of an old building is no easy feat; the original cobblestone foundation was in need of a major structural update so the building had to be lifted so that a new modern support structure and foundation could be added. Next, the walls and ceilings were typical milled Island Douglas Fir and in need of more energy efficiency. So the walls, floors and ceiling had to be brought to current energy code with new framing members and insulation. We added wall heights and an entirely new roof, 1 new dormer in the front of the house which served as the stairwell to access the second story and 2 new dormers in the back which added quite a bit of usable space for an expanded master suite with views to the acreage beyond. We also preserved many of the farm buildings by reusing materials and adding structural support with materials typical of the period so that the house and farm buildings may stand for another 100 years.