Where Historic and Environmental Preservation Intersect...

Where Nature and History Touch.

...flexibility and ingenuity need to be utilized. This was the case recently at Possession Point State park where a fishing cabin slated for the dumpster is being saved. Rich with history and a great example of what used to satisfy us for a weekend, this fishing cabin was slated for demolition due to 'beach improvements'!

The ranger trimming the shed!

This sounds ominous to me. The beach looks fine. The existing bulkheads are showing their age, but are still in place, with a nice buffer of natural rock and driftwood. I'd like to see native beach grass instead of pasture grass and am hoping the restoration of the bulkhead will include native plantings.


But none the less, the money will be spent digging up this entire beach and replacing it with new and improved imported rocks. Unfortunately, in this budget of hundreds of thousands of dollars, there wasn't enough money to move a 10'x14' cabin nearly a century old.

John and Harrison

So on Sunday the 6th of March, a diverse group of individuals including scuba divers, jewelers, pharmacists, port and park employees, and a few builders gathered on the soggy shores of Possession point to move a cabin.

The cabin on it's skid, on roller pipes, being loaded on the trailer

Today the weather was great. It was clear, warm and beautiful. What isn't apparent is most of these volunteers have been here every weekend for the last month digging, bracing and bolting the cabin together for the move and building a great big skid underneath the cabin. They often worked in cold, windy, rainy weather, not the sun of today.


Other details of the move include planning routes, storage and reinstatement logistics. Addressing safety issues and gathering tools and equipment for the move. Getting permission, checking it twice, and generally winding up miles of red tape between the cabin where it is now, and where it will be after all the shoreline work is completed. (Right back where it was!)

Our electric winch failed due to a proprietary fitting between the motor and 12v power supply, (damn Chicago Electric!) so out come all the mechanical devices.

Underside of Possession Point Fishing Cabin.

The truck, a bit small for the trailer being moved, got stuck almost immediately. The ground was saturated from seeping water. The cabin was loaded on the trailer but the ground is too soft to move the trailer, even with a 18,000# loader.

The loader dragging the cabin, on trialer, out of the hole.

Now, with the cabin on the trailer, it will be moved about 300', taken off the trailer and parked on blocks until the beach improvments are made. Then, it will be loaded back on the trailer and moved back to it's original

location, on the new improved beach.

Once back in place, this cute, ratty-tatty historic fishing cabin will then need to be stabilized, repaired, and re-roofed. Then it can be re-purposed, given new life for hopefully another century's worth of shelter, allowing kayakers and beach lovers a chance to sleep on the beach!

Possession Point State Park, part of the Washington Water Trails association, has a grant to dig up everything in this picture and replace it with new, improved beach. A historic fishing cabin behind photographer is being moved by Harrison and many others to preserve a bit of history.

Harrison, on his birthday. The first one to the site and the last one off! Literally!

This fishing cabin owes it's life to Harrison and deserves a plaque that says as much. Without Harrison, this Possession Point cabin would have been demolished in the summer of 2011, during beach improvements. Thank you Harrison for working so hard to preserve our connection to the past. And, Happy Birthday!

GoTo YouTube, CabinTug.MOV, to see the possession point fishing cabin being loaded onto the trailer.

Video: Doing in Minutes what it took hours to do with all this hardware!

Video: Branches, damn the branches!

BP windmill, alternative energy with a history.

What was it for, who built it and when?

We asked these question as we considered the BP windmill for the first time. During an informal tour of some historic projects here on South Whidbey, Travis, Harrison and Brad looked at an old barn, a fishing shack, some amazing barns and chicken coups, an old block building named after a man beheaded in the 1800's, a winery, and the BP windmill.

Brad assessing the condition of the BP Windmill (Bush Point, WA)

Sitting in the trees, near the top of a knoll on a hillside that seeps water all summer long, is a Windmill. It's in a curious location, halfway up the incline between the point and the crest up by Smuggler's Cove Road. It's just south of the South Whidbey State Park where there's mostly forest, or now unforest, where suburbia and the country bump together. But what was if for?

 BP Windmill. Did it pump water or generate electricity? And why, or for who?

The BP (Bush Point) windmill has a simple, lightweight steel frame made mostly of galvanized angle iron tower that supports a well designed, simple and attractive windmill mechanism which likely came as parts in a small crate and was assembled on site. But why? How long has it been there? What was it for? There are no farms or ranches up nearby. And was it built in the trees, or has it been sitting there so long the trees have grown up around it?

BP windmill close up showing simple, utilitarian, and elegant design.

If anyone has information on the BP windmill like when it was built, the history of settlement at Bush Point, or information just about the windmill manufacture or information useful in determining if it's a restoration candidate, please contact brad@dbBrad, subject Windmill.

Windmill and Concrete Cistern above Bush Point

In the foreground is a board formed concrete water tank, about 6' deep with a baffle down the middle, but curiously not the center. Harrison got me thinking today on re-purposing historic buildings, and though they don't always seem to mesh together, are important for each other.

Brad Hankins and the BP Windmill

My future use fantasy for the BP windmill and cistern is to insulate the exterior, rebuild the roof but about 4' higher, and turn it into a two stage, wind powered hot tub/water catchment system. We'll see what happens, but if you know about the windmill, please contact me.

BAPOW, huge timbers await design!!

I've always loved the process of design build. The challenge of interpreting the needs of a client, evaluating the conditions of the site and refining the details to suit the materials.

FrEdLey Residence: Woven wire mesh from old rock crusher; salvaged spruce for the cap, deck planks and door; and cedar siding from a barn that will be 100 years old this decade.

All of my projects have recycled or reclaimed material or a found object of some sort incorporated into the design. Quite often my furninture starts with a found object.

The design of this table was entirely driven by the 'half holes' that were for some use in another life.

I use the language that comes with these materials or objects to inform the design, asking the material what it wants to be.

The design of this building changed to accommodate salvaged materials too good to pass up.

ShantyTown, salvaged steel and wood

Other times I see the value of the material and iterate my design to create a home for these materials. The design of the FrEdLey Carport changed when I purchased some amazing old growth 2x8 spruce in quantity knowing they had outstanding qualtities but that there were currently no 2x8's in the framing plans for the building.

Iterating the design led to the angled posts to hold up an interim beam and the paired rafters to provide generous safety margin for un-inspected wood framing, both distinct elements in the final building.

FrEdLey Salvaged steel and wood

What distinguishes two different projects where the same materials are used? In the shanty town image, there is recycled wood and metal panels. Above and below are shots from FrEdLey where recycled wood and metal panels were also used. The resulting difference is striking.

It's about the details and the connections.

BAPOW!!

But the whole reason I started writing this article is to emphasize how the material informs the design.

As it happens, I have some material that is so amazing, I need a design. Acually I don't need a design so much as a client to fund a design utilizing these materials!

Here are couple of shots. This wood is beautiful, huge, available and quite affordable. If you or anyone you know is interested, please have them contact me, dbBrad, for more info.

Some large timbers awaiting a project.

B.A.P.O.W. is an acronym I use regularily to describe pieces of exceptional wood. It stands for Bad Ass Piece of Wood. That is clearly what we have here! Just waiting for a project.

Huge timbers, 23"x23" Old Doug Fir. BAPOW!!

The Staw Bale Experiment

In an effort to be as green as possible and to continue investigation and research into affordable, healthy and sustainable housing, I've built a new office for dbBrad and Mr. Greenguy.  The new office will be fully insulated, utilize recycled windows and straw bale walls left uncovered!

Mister Greenguy building new office.

The recycled, organic walls take place under an existing roof that was creating covered outdoor space.  As such, all the structure was in place allowing my walls to be non load bearing.  This gave me lots of options one typically doesn't have.

Exposed straw bale walls.

Using surplus recycled wood purchased previously,  I was able to create semi-structural siding for my straw bale walls that match the existing buildings materials and help support my straw bales.  Most importantly, it ties the straw portions and the framed portions of the building together.

Large 5' x 10' south facing window will provide heat and light, compliments of Island Sash and Door.  You can also see the Therma-max Rigid Insulation already in the rafter bays.

Recycled windows from Island Sash and Door facing southwest will let in lots of sunlight for passive solar heating on clear afternoons.  Though the windows are single pane, they came with storm windows which essentially create a thermal pane window.  The storm window also helps isolate the aluminum from  the cold air since it doesn't have a thermal break like newer metal windows.

Walls with supports under construction.

My primitive semi-temporary walls are a bit of an experiment.  They are supported at the bottom by  pressure treated boards set on firm ground which also hold my vertical boards which go all the way to the top and attach to the existing roof.  The idea here was as the straw settles over the next few years, I can add more at the top to accommodate settling.

Thanks to Hansons Building Supply

Every year the team at Hansons Building Supply does something generous around the holiday season. Regardless of what you build, how much you spend, or who you vote for, Hansons gives each and every loyal customer a shirt or jacket.

Here Brad and Josh pull salvaged wood from a tent in our new Hansons attire!

Having a building store isn't just about moving products, it's about service too. At Hansons the great guys in the yard will collect and load your materials. Scotty and the others behind the counter are knowledgeable, fast and helpful. And, of coarse, Michelle and Shawna in the office are always happy to get a quote, call a manufacturer for information, or check you out -- with a smile.

2x8's after being sorted, faced and crowned, wire brushed and installed.

My projects have lots of recycled materials in them. Often, the quality of these products is superior to new products, explaining my attraction to them. But building a house is worth building it right and you can't detail and build a building to last 150 years with all the parts recycled. It is a combined effort and were it not for Hansons, my buildings couldn't happen.

Published FrEdLey Residence built from lots of recycled materials and at least as many trips to Hansons, my building store of choice!

Why I love design build. It's not just that the process leads to better design and often more efficient use of materials, but that it's hands on, it's outside and it's ever changing, and most important, I get to go to Hansons almost every day!

New dbBrad mascott

Born October 25th, picked up just last week and cuter than any button I've ever seen.

New Puppy proud to be part of good architecture and landscaping!

Aussie Puppy in motion

Perfect portrait of Australian Shepherd puppy

Aussie puppy off chain!

Australian Shepherd Puppy at 6 weeks looks like a cartoon figure!

And the name, after much deliberation, comes from the town where he was born, Benton

Splendide Washer Dryer All in One.

This machine wasn't designed,
it was just assembled.

Ive been fixing, welding, wiring and modifying all kinds of machinery and architectural systems for almost three decades. Though not the Maytag Man, I’ve taken a stab at fixing more than one washer and dryer. When I think back to the machines I've tried to fix, I recollect thin metal cabinets, parts not quite strong enough, sharp edges, rivets or cheap screw connections not meant to be removed, and parts not serviceable or replaceable.

An example of a beautifully
designed and crafted machine.

Recently I had the opportunity to fix a Splendide washer/dryer combo. The machine was a pleasure to work on. The sales staff was knowledgeable and helpful. They were a pleasure to work with. The parts were in stock and shipped immediately. I was given personal assistance in troubleshooting the problem, and the manual was excellent as well.

When it turned out I'd misread the 'error code', they even sent me a different part to try to make sure I was able to isolate the problem.

I ended up changing both a mother board and motor, equally well engineered -- properly sized bolts, accessible, well designed connections, high tolerance milling and, I have to say, the motor may be one of the most beautiful modern motors I've seen.

This is a combo unit with the motor running both the wash cycle and the dry cycle. In the wash cycle it just turns slowly and gently back and forth.

A turbine engine.

In the spin cycle, at it's climax, the drum is spinning at 1500 rpm. It sounds like an airplane taking off but the machine, with it's well engineered dampening system, solid cabinet/case and computer logic controls, runs smoothly and doesn't walk/vibrate. Even with the oddest load of fleece and cotton, it's never crept even a millimeter.

Splendide All in One

Conveniently, it plugs into any 110 volt standard outlet and comes ready to use in one simple box that fits under a counter (36") and in a space less than 24" wide. It does everything the larger machines do but with more efficiency. Now if they could just get the machine to fold and put away the clothes.

A Bosch, not a Splendide, but a quality European
machine designed to work well and to be serviceable.

I appreciate a company that sells a well designed product that is serviceable, has a good manual, and is distributed by people who understand and believe in the product. In my opinion, this is one of the best washer and dryers I've used over the years, seen in the stores or tried to fix. This machine is a demonstration of good design, craftsmanship and performance.