tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-244106272009-06-22T15:23:26.245-04:00Life, etc. in a two hundred year old barn converted into a modern home.benbleeming@gmail.comBlogger169125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-28016148608224938592009-04-27T21:11:00.003-04:002009-04-27T21:30:05.263-04:00

With some large chunks of time on my hands this past weekend I decided that I would go ahead with major project # 43,652: ripping out the temporary loft railings and constructing the new "finish" railings. What you see above is the result of close to 10 hours of work. I think it came out really nice.As you can see from this shot, I only got half-way done. At the lower right of the image the

benbleeming@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-66656466714735338232009-04-16T22:00:00.003-04:002009-04-16T22:03:25.651-04:00

Now you can download the episode of Renovation Nation featuring Bare Hill Barn (for only $1.99!) In iTunes, search for Renovation Nation. Click on "Vol.2". We are episode 13 of Vol. 2 titled, "Today, Steve checks out a 200 year old barn renovated into a modern, eco-smart house." Oooooo! Enjoy.

benbleeming@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-38008601149809186322008-10-26T18:19:00.002-04:002008-10-26T18:25:11.239-04:00

benbleeming@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-63523573888856987522008-10-26T18:17:00.001-04:002008-10-26T18:19:38.563-04:00

benbleeming@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-58919423789887449502008-10-26T11:13:00.003-04:002008-10-26T11:18:12.476-04:00

There is the most beautiful view from our house. Especially during the fall. I am so grateful for this aspect of our new home.

benbleeming@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-44304215702902407522008-10-21T23:05:00.002-04:002008-10-21T23:09:53.971-04:00

Faithful readers: as you have noticed, there hasn't been a lot of activity here these past months. I guess that's because there just isn't THAT MUCH going on. BHB Blog will remain here though, as a resource and as an easy place to direct people interested in learning more about this crazy project. I will be updating it periodically with new pics, vids, and posts. Feel free to direct friends,

benbleeming@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-47322616552227415582008-09-25T21:44:00.002-04:002008-09-25T21:46:52.788-04:00

If you tuned in Tuesday at 6:00 (like we did) you noticed that our segment did not air. The producers called us that evening and gave us a new air time: this Friday Sept. 26 at 9:00. The show will be rebroadcast a total of 7 times I think over the next day or two. I know that it is also airing Sat. at 4:00. Hope some of you can catch it!

benbleeming@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-59455709856036972372008-09-21T22:37:00.004-04:002008-09-21T22:43:13.351-04:00

The segment taped this past June at BHB will air this week on the Planet Green Network. I got a call Friday afternoon from the production company responsible for the segment and was told that it would air Tuesday Sept. 23 at 6:00 pm. Check you local listings to confirm that time. We don't have cable so we are hoping to crash at a neighbor's house. Grab your popcorn!Get the full story here and

benbleeming@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-85927344075992890202008-08-03T08:52:00.007-04:002008-08-03T09:24:06.918-04:00

So, those of you who know me you know that, as a teacher, during the summer months I "don't work". Those of you who REALLY know me and have a handful of your own kids know how silly this idea of "not working" is. (Try telling my wife that she "doesn't work" during the school year. Stand back a bit before you do...) Anyway, since my wife is working pretty much full time during this summer in

benbleeming@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-28411643646601097172008-07-22T18:40:00.005-04:002008-07-22T19:01:18.948-04:00

So, the secret to an environmentally friendly, low-impact lawn is this: PRAY FOR RAIN! LOTS AND LOTS OF RAIN! Basically we watered for the first two or three weeks after the seed went down, we've fertilized once, and the good Lord provided all the rest. We lucked out having such a wet summer. We'll have some work to do this fall re-seeding patches that have come in spotty, but all in all I

benbleeming@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-66545215207580066652008-07-21T19:39:00.004-04:002008-08-03T09:49:11.826-04:00

Sorry for the pause in the posting this summer. Here are some of the most recent shots of the house. Getting the "shop" set up in the basement was the necessary first step before I could proceed with the project that remains my albatross: getting the old barn siding cut and fitted over the inside of the SIPs panels. More pics of this to come.

benbleeming@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-65996759743075952522008-06-27T21:11:00.005-04:002008-06-27T21:40:41.478-04:00

Something about Steve Thomas' visit to BHB has been nagging me. During those hot, sweaty 5-6 hours of taping the segment, Steve kept remarking how "kid-friendly" the house was. Each time we'd show him a new aspect of the house he'd say something like The kids must love this! or You've created such a kid-friendly house! In fact, that phrase "kid-friendly" was uttered so often I began to fear

benbleeming@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-89325527452514640272008-06-16T19:47:00.001-04:002008-06-16T20:33:09.018-04:00

benbleeming@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-29866116672942709612008-06-12T20:51:00.002-04:002008-06-12T20:55:16.393-04:00

benbleeming@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-28062799369659324872008-06-12T09:33:00.004-04:002008-06-12T20:45:33.781-04:00

Keeping cool this past weekend was a challenge. It was miserably hot: 80 degrees at 7:00 am and near 100 by the late afternoon. We had been anxiously awaiting the hot weather to see how BHB would fare in terms of comfort and natural cooling/insulating. Well, so much for keeping cool. We suffered like anyone else. Upstairs was very hot, downstairs less so, but still uncomfortable. My theory

benbleeming@gmail.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-87183975615014076212008-06-10T21:21:00.004-04:002008-06-10T22:08:08.306-04:00

So, we've been having this horrible stretch of 95-100 degree days here in the greater Boston area. It's been just miserable. In the midst of this we hosted two open houses (one for neighbors long wondering what on EARTH was going on at #11, and the other for folks from work) as well as the film crew from the Discovery Channel's new show "Renovation Nation", hosted by Steve Thomas.The day began

benbleeming@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-84862780423274484462008-06-10T21:00:00.003-04:002008-06-10T21:19:53.943-04:00

Seems relatively straight forward: topsoil+seed+sunlight+water=lawn. But anyone who's tried to grow grass knows it's not so easy. So imagine our surprise to see this wavy green carpet of new grass just a couple of weeks after getting the topsoil down. Everyone has commented on how lucky we are to have had such success. I think they've got it right: luck was key. We usually kill anything

benbleeming@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-10278835710691089162008-05-28T20:03:00.004-04:002008-05-28T21:57:04.230-04:00

As our first winter in BHB drew to a close I began to turn my thoughts to The Yard. Ugh. The Yard. The bane of suburban existence. It's not that I don't WANT a yard - I mean, an INTENTIONAL yard, not the no-man's land we've had since construction ceased. I actually LIKE thinking about landscapes and landscape design; my interest in design isn't limited to architecture and furniture. The

benbleeming@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-23836101724972110332008-05-23T20:30:00.004-04:002008-05-23T20:44:15.796-04:00

This is the way the "media room" has looked for months now. And that's pretty much the way it looked when I nearly cut the end of my finger off with my chop saw. The blood's still on that sheet of red resin paper (and my pants: rrrgh!) It happened while I was cutting barn board to fit over the inside faces of the SIPs panels (see this image and below). I was cutting a long piece and wanted to

benbleeming@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-79796099469967811652008-05-18T20:27:00.003-04:002008-05-18T21:00:12.082-04:00

Some of you have already heard that BHB has been selected to be featured on the new cable show "Renovation Nation", hosted by Steve Thomas of This Old House fame. Renovation Nation is a new show on the new Discovery Channel network Planet Green, described as "the first and only 24-hour eco-lifestyle television network". Renovation Nation will try to tap into the excitement of the "Green

benbleeming@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-16517816499865500352008-05-04T20:35:00.005-04:002008-05-04T21:19:39.813-04:00

Susi and me in Santa Elena, Yucatán, Mexico in March.The past five months have been a whirlwind. One of the casualties has been this blog. I can't say that I am certain I will continue forever, but as long as there is work being done on the house I will make occasional posts. The fact that there haven't been any posts is indicative of the pace that work has been progressing here. Since we

benbleeming@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-50069439983677265342008-02-02T09:15:00.000-05:002008-02-02T09:37:25.403-05:00

I have to admit, I'm stunned. I had concocted this brilliant offensive stragegy in my head that I was going to lay on the "faceless names" at the Bank. I had all my most cogent arguments crafted and ready to lay on them concerning why they should deem Bare Hill Barn "complete" and release the remainder of our loan. I was not terribly optimistic. At least I had hoped that MAYBE they would cut

benbleeming@gmail.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-74239404838554260252008-01-27T08:42:00.000-05:002008-01-27T09:41:08.065-05:00

This is NOT a good time to be a bank. We all know that. Consequently, it's also not a good time to be WORKING with a bank (is THAT what we are doing? Seems a little too egalitarian...) Working with a huge, impersonal institution like our bank has been trying. As someone who prefers to look a person in the eyes, size him or her up, and develop a *relationship* with them based on trust, I

benbleeming@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-2457204690033147012008-01-14T10:42:00.000-05:002008-01-14T11:22:56.493-05:00

Last night when the kids were going to bed, there were some long faces and grumblings: rumors of snow, but as of bedtime not a flake. When they awoke this AM, this is what they saw. I also got the call, so looks like a three-day weekend for us! Needless to say, the boys are outside playing, and I am in with the girls...enjoying a few brief minutes of (relative) calm. ...that snow really IS

benbleeming@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24410627.post-58333823059064646752008-01-08T19:12:00.000-05:002008-01-08T21:24:09.116-05:00

This is the story of my long relationship with a book case. Kind of like those stories (urban legends?) when a guy buys a relatively nondescript painting in a garage sale for 5 bucks and it turns out to be a long-lost Picasso or something. Except that my version doesn't involve a garage sale (I got it for free!) nor does it involve anything as potentially precious as a long-lost Picasso...So,

benbleeming@gmail.com4