Sagging beam
Wouldn't you expect to be sagging a bit at age 130? Maybe you're even younger than 130 and starting to sag? Well, for you there might not be an easy fix but for the summer kitchen at the Palmer/Loveless Farm there are jacks and staging to fix that slump. Rick Houldsworth, the carpenter who never stops moving, decided to attack the sagging ceiling over the summer kitchen. Here are a few pictures of the very cool space prior to repairs:
All personal effects of the Loveless family were gone when the house changed hands and Rick, Missy & I began disassembling the old "Summer kitchen" right away so we could repair the infrastructure and get another 130 years of living out of the place. The larder was carefully taken apart by Missy and the elements saved for reassembly. Rick & I set up staging and removed a massive ceiling beam that had failed.
Floor joists have seen better days. Note clapboards in the kitchen in picture two. This part of the structure was added on when the Palmer's could afford it. No need to delete perfectly good clapboards, right? Rick works on removing carrying beam, now that staging is in place to support the second floor. In picture four Missy tries to stay warm (and optimistic) in the remnants of the old kitchen space. See the shadow of an old staircase behind her? This house has gone through many stages in its long life. The kitchen was unheated because it was used in summertime when it was too hot to cook inside the main house.