The Restoration of a 19th-Century Barn

By Margaret Gilmour

By taking their time and creating a ten-year renovation plan, these homeowners overhauled a 1860s barn they now call home. Details include a geothermal system, radiant flooring and making use of architectural details they happened upon during rehab, or collected over the years.

If you’ve dreamed of living in a barn-turned-house, here’s a little inspiration from Kennett Square residents Traci and Bruce Jameson.

The couple says it was the description of the property that lured them to the old barn back in 1998. They had no idea the outbuilding was the part of the original Bayard Taylor estate.

The paper read: “For Sale: Barn home with stable yard and a secret garden.”

The Jameson’s had been searching over two years for an old house to restore, and as soon as they pulled into the driveway, they knew they’d found their project. They discovered the secret garden around back in the paddock. It had potential.

“We knew we could move in and live in it while we did the work,” Bruce Jameson says. “I calculated it would take about ten years to complete.”

It turns out, he was dead on.

It’s hard to believe that when the two moved in with their young children a decade ago that the previous owners had transformed the three-level, 1860s barn to a ‘60s contemporary. Details included wall-to-wall carpeting throughout, grid-less aluminum frame windows and one skinny metal front door painted turquoise. It was hardly a dream house then, but the two knew it could be in time.

With the goal of reverting the structure back to a barn, the Jameson’s started their rehab by hiring Pennland Contractors.

Bruce took on role of General Manager. Traci, with her background in graphic arts and design, became interior designer. Though this was their first remodel together, both grew up in old houses with families that took to restoring and repairing without question.

So they were well prepared, and they knew to proceed at brake speed.

“We weren’t independently wealthy. We needed to plan and save,” Bruce says. “We planned every detail out from the second we bought the house.”

Construction began with Pennland working for two months to make the middle level, where bedrooms and bath areas are located, livable. After that, the family moved in.

The lower level of the barn where, over 100 years ago, cows were milked and horses brought in for the night, became the Jameson’s hang out for the next few years. The space was cool yet damp. It was also where the kitchen was, complete with warped cabinets and mildew.

“We wanted to live there awhile before making major decisions,” Traci says. “We also needed to wait to see where the water was coming in and what was causing all the dampness and moisture downstairs.”

You have to admire the unhurried attitude at work here, along with the couple’s thoughtful attention to detail, like using reclaimed wood from local sources and recycling structural details from the original barn and using them throughout the house.

When you walk up the barn bridge entrance, for example, and enter into the foyer, a stall door relocated from the stable on the ground level frames the kitchen doorway.  Polished metal hooks that once held halters and reins, and buckets most likely, are now used to hang a sack, a jacket or a dog’s leash.

In the kitchen, the fireplace mantel came from an old home in Philadelphia. Many of the walls are finished with doubled beaded white barn wood rescued from nearby farms.

They built the detached garage during phase three, year five. This structure provided them with much-need storage space, and maybe even more important, a heated workshop for Bruce.

By the final phase of their project, years nine and ten, the Jameson’s were ready to move out for six months to attempt the last major overhaul. This was the spring of 2007.

“We wanted to understand the bones of the barn,” says Traci. “We took it down to the raw stone foundation and dirt floors.”

During this last stage they relocated the kitchen to the middle story, and completely gutted the lower level. There they installed a new radiant flooring system and geothermal heat pump. A sunroom was added on across from the new kitchen, and the third floor of the barn became and entertainment/computer room.

“We appreciate all we’ve done together,” says Traci. “It’s the process that makes it fun and makes us appreciate the project so much more.”

The Jameson’s 10-year renovation plan:

Phase 1, year one: 1998

Purchased the barn/house: 12/1997

Goals: Prepare sleeping spaces + bathrooms

Renovated middle level by combing small bedrooms, knocking out walls and remodeling bathrooms with new fixtures, etc.

Installed A.C., replaced skinny metal front door w/double barn doors (entrance), replaced all windows

Phase 2: years 2, 3, 4

Major landscaping: repaired stonework, replaced furnace

Phase 3: year 5

Built detached garage w/loft for storage, heat + running water necessary for Bruce’s workshop

Wrapped driveway around house

Poured new foundation over stone wall to fix water problems

Phase 4: years 6, 7, 8

Continue outside work, planting 20 new trees, new roof, adding public water

Cosmetic/finish work inside including faux painting

Major planning stages for “big overhaul,” meet w/architect, consider design and materials

Continue to save $$$ to prepare for final phase

Phase 5, FINAL PHASE, years 9, 10

Added sunroom addition with radiant floor system; provides roof to patio below (was stable yard)

Relocated kitchen to middle level; “We wanted a functional kitchen,” says Bruce.

3rd level totally finished w/one bedroom, computer stations and movie/entertainment area

Gutted bottom floor to rewire, replumb, replace all systems, replace radiant flooring with new system, and install geothermal heat/ac pump.

Moved out for 6 months during this phase (rented)– no running water/no power

ECO-FRIENDLY DETAILS

Geothermal Base System: heating and A.C.

Hydronic Radiant flooring 1st level & sunroom on 2nd level

Double-glazed windows

Recycled wood + barn doors from old buildings/barns

Reused architectural elements from the barn throughout the house (like stall doors, metal bars + hooks)

Collected architectural elements throughout the years to use later in the house

Recommended Resources

General Contractor:  Pennland Contractors

Geothermal HVAC System:  Sinton Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.

Floors:  Pinnacle Floors LLC

Home Audio/Visual Network:  CSS Electronics

Faux Wall Painter:  Deborah Anderson’s Decorative Wall & Design: 610-430-0307