Michael Holigan: A number of people say that they don't build homes they way they used to. You're right. They're much more energy efficient now. They're safer, plus they made big steps in appliances and other features. But what most people are missing is the old craftsmanship that used to be in homes, and you're right, that has changed quite a bit. We've got someone who can add some of that craftsmanship back. We've got Blake Hargrove with HMI Architectural. Good to have you here Blake.
Blake Hargrove: Welcome, welcome.
M.H.: Tell me about this mantel piece. It looks great and, how old is it?
B.H.: This piece is probably turn-of-the-century, maybe 1890's. It's an English piece in oak. It's got exquisite carving and mill work on it. It's an extraordinary piece.
M.H.: Yeah, you don't see this any more. Normally a builder will just use trim and nail it together and then a painter will come in and caulk it and that's it.
B.H.: No, the detail on this is quite unusual. The hand done carving here, the mill work and the carving here, and if you'll look on top this effect's called the egg and dart effect. It's the symbol of life and death. It's an interesting detail and quite an extraordinary piece.
M.H.: Well you've got a great store and yard just filled with different items from homes from the past. What do most people buy if they're going to add to their new home?
B.H.: Well, almost every home has at least two architectural elements. They've got your front door, which sort of sets the tone for the rest of your house and then in their central living space many homes have a fireplace and in there the mantel does much the same for that environment. It really sets the tone.
M.H.: When we walked in, I noticed this great entryway piece. Tell me a little bit about this.
B.H.: Well this piece is in black walnut, circa 1830's, the American South. And this piece is not symmetric. Another factor of this piece that I think is very unusual is that they spend all the money to get the hand carved walnut here, but at some point they ran out and had to go to what was a plaster.
M.H.: On their side pieces that you have right on here.
B.H.: That's right, on the side panel it's kind of a, they went with actual plaster carvings. You see the sort of a cornucopia with the leaves and the maize and the pomegranate.
M.H.: Definitely a different look. Blake, it looks like you're adding some mirrors to these old window frames.
B.H.: Right. All we're doing is taking an old window sash and cutting out the glass, recaulking it and oftentimes we won't even clean this pane off. We just clean it up, brush it off and maybe put a lacquer over it, and again, it gives you that rustic look and they make actually great dressing mirrors. The mullions in the middle really don't interfere with your vision when you're trying to dress or brush your teeth.
M.H.: Yeah, it's a great way to reuse a window and you don't have to worry about energy efficiency. It's just for looks.
B.H.: Right.
M.H.: Blake, it looks like you restore a lot of floor also.
B.H.: Well this floor comes out from all the old house from the teens, '20's and '30's and what we do is we pull it carefully and this stuffs sort of in progress, already been denailed, but the next step really is to grade it and bundle it. You know, when you grade it and bundle it, you're really checking for all the tongue and groove and make sure it's intact and making sure there's no holes or damage in the wood and then once we've done that, we actually sort it and bundle it. So what you're buying really is a product that's ready to lay at a price equivalent to what you can buy new and you don't find grain like this in new oak floor.
M.H.: Blake, it looks like you got some old barn wood here that you're taking some nails out of.
B.H.: Well exactly. What we do here, again this combines the recycling thing, what we do here is we go to old houses, old barns, old farm structures, try to removed the wood and you can open up any of the big design magazines, Architectural Digest or whatever else is full of distress lumber. Well, the distress lumber comes from this, from the hard labor that guys like Mark and Didi here, to us bundling and marketing and shipping it all over the country. It's a product which is just now picking up the availability. Again, like I sort of talked about on the floor, the grains are different on this old lumber. It's a lot higher quality stuff.
M.H.: This is what it looks like once you're finished.
B.H.: Well, here's another example of what's generally called barn wood. Actually this is an interior paneling or wainscoting, and again, it's a kind of pine where you just can't see this kind of wood today, not with this tight of a grain and it can really give your house a warmth and charm that's just not available with the new products.
M.H.: Are a lot of designers calling for this now?
B.H.: Yeah, really the design magazines have really sort of taken off on the whole recycled wood idea, and I think it's going to be with us for the long term.
M.H.: Well it looks great. Blake you said doors and mantels are your number one seller for new homes. It looks like you have a number of doors.
B.H.: Oh, all kinds of doors here. This is a spanish door, if you're doing a mission style, or maybe a spanish colonial. Look at the massive size of the hinges on that. The construction here, this isn't standard slab or hollow core door. They put some real workmanship in this.
M.H.: They have to make a special frame for it too, because it's definitely not a six-eight or an eight-four is it?
B.H.: Absolutely. You know, one of the problems that people find with architectural antiques is they don't fill in to the builder's cookie cutter. But most builders you have to remember went into building because they like to do this kind of work. And as long as you don't go off their cost schedule and their timing schedule, they're happy to work with you.
M.H.: Where do find a place like this if you're living in a different city? Where can you find someone like yourself?
B.H.: Well, not every market has an architectural antique place per se, but there's a couple different things you can do. First of all, with a good eye and some cash in your pocket go into to a junk yard, you can probably cherry pick and find some nice architectural effects. A second place is antique stores. Of course antique stores are going to have a limited inventory, usually not more than one mantel or one or two doors and any antique place when you see something you like you ought to buy it immediately. Finally, sort of the most time intensive way is to really bird-dog at demolition sites. Most areas of the country now have a lot of demolition going on for redevelopment and you find those places and you can really find some great bargains there.
M.H.: Well I appreciate you helping us today. You guys are doing a great job saving our past, plus our environment.
B.H.: Thank you Mike.
Episode 019 1995 - 96 Season
| Painting Prep | Roach Bait | Painting Your House | Architectural Salvage | What is Job Stability | LIST |
To order a Video Tape, call 1-800-TO-BUILD and ask for Episode #019.