So....here's the story.
We bought an Amish property a few years ago that had two houses on 5 acres. The houses were 30 feet apart, so I decided to join them together with a 30 foot atrium...making it one big long house. Working on the main house, we sorta ignored the north end...waiting for time and money to fall out of the sky.
Over this winter, the temperature dropped to 5 below zero and the plumbing that they ran through the attic, froze solid and burst. While I was at work one day, it warmed up enough to start spraying all over the attic....for 8 hours. The attic insulation became so heavy, and the drywall on the ceiling became so weak, that it all came down. Ceiling....walls.....floor....all destroyed.
The insurance company figured out the claim, determining cost of contractors, and materials...but I asked if they could just write me a check...and I would do all the work...buy all the materials...and get more for the money. They agreed.
So.....The Library was born.
Here's a few "Before" shots....although it is after I had rebuilt the walls, ceiling, tore out the bad flooring....and rerouted the plumbing out of the attic.
Before_General3.jpg
General Library
Before_entertainment.jpg
Entertainment
Before_history.jpg
History
Before_Sitting.jpg
Sitting And Visiting
Before_General2.jpg
General Library
The Amish like wide-open spaces in their houses, mainly for their gatherings. So I decided that this giant open area would need some partitioning to give the illusion of separate rooms.
I'm just going to post a bunch of pictures....but I'll just give a basic overview of my method for this project.
1. All the bookcases and structures are just some fundamental framing that I ripped 2x4 studs in half, and tried to keep everything square as I moved along the perimeter.
2. All the drywall is 5/8"
3. All the bookcase and pillar surfaces are 1/4" Oak Ply.
4. To save money, I made all the mouldings myself from a nice grade of 1X4, and routed with my favorite bits. The Crown and Baseboards are three-piece construction.
5. All horizontal surfaces are made from 6/4 Walnut and Cherry that I got from an amish sawmill a couple years ago. I have a big pile of it that has been drying in my hayloft. It was a bit warped but it was 7/4 to start....so I just planed it down with the tablesaw.
6. There are 5 primary new partioned rooms
a. Entertainment
b. General Library
c. The History Section
d. Sitting and Visiting
e. My Office.
Then of course there's the guest bedroom, craft room, bathroom, smoking room, breezeway, video closet.
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Originally Posted by John Hart
