Renovation Process Update

 I've been gone for two months - working in Santa Barbara on a big project - and have just now gotten back into the swing of things here at home, and that includes thinking about Ephraim.

So here is a quick update: Russell Bezette began the adobe renovation in October and made six trips to Ephraim over the next month, finishing the project before Thanksgiving. He took most of these photos to document the process. He is truly an expert on these old buildings with a life-time of experience, and a great love for his craft. It was truly a pleasure to work with him. I think he is up for another Utah Heritage award.

A heartfelt thanks to all those who gave donations to fund this project, and the exterior renovation that will continue this Spring.

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Back bedroom before wall excavation.

Southeast failed corner. Russell found this wall in urgent need of repair and close to collapse.

After adobe repair and first coat of mud plaster.

After second coat of mud plaster.

After final coat. Bizette also repaired the chimney during excavation and now the old wood stove can be put in place again.

After exterior south wall excavation.

Here you see how the failed adobes are removed and the wall is re-built.

After repair of the stem wall and stucco scratch coat.

Blue room before and after.

Before and after.

After second coat of mud plaster.

After final coat of mud plaster. Bizette used local soils sourced from the west side of town, by the city dump. It is hard to grasp just how much raw material it takes to do this kind of repair - literally tons.

Now and Then

Susan Gilbert, Mahasin Saleh, and Julie Curtis in front of the Easton's store building. I guess this was over thirty years ago, around 1979.

Memorial Day 2013

I think it does the old house good to be filled to overflowing. A heart-felt thanks to all those who made the trek this year to our central point of origin.

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Water in the creek/krik and perfect weather.

Four generations of Sorenson women: Wanda Sorenson Bachman, Julie and Eliza Workman-Curtis, and Judy Bachman Curtis, at Ephraim Cemetery.

Two sets of twins: Wanda and Dale Sorenson and Nate and Will Curtis-Workman.

Wanda and Melvona Sorenson Boren with her great-grandchildren: Taite and Tieg Boren, and Hayden and Tori Weygant.

The Valkyries: Dana, Naja, and Melvona.

Hayden, Taite, Tori, and Tieg get ready to catch some taffy at the parade.

Betina Lindsey in Scandinavian garb.

Waiting for the parade!

The maypole tradition continues.

Visiting Ken Sorenson's corral: Eliza, Will & Nate, and Scout.

Eliza Curtis-Workman.

Always a good way to spend the afternoon.

The Curtis-Workman family at the beautiful Manti Temple.

The Out Buildings: Before & After

Outbuildings like barns, chicken coops, outhouses, granaries, sheds, and carriage houses, are often overlooked and under-appreciated in historic neighborhoods. Although simple in design and usually small in scale, they tell the story of the development of the home-site and the neighborhood, adding a visible layer of history and information. This is why we thought it was important to preserve these buildings for the next generation to explore.

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The Granary with a new metal roof.

Interior with new pine rafters. I had the roofers, Alpine Summit Roofing, save the old boards. Even though they were mostly rotted through, I find old barn wood irresistible and I'm sure they can be used for something. 

Granary floor after cleaning - I wasn't sure if it even had a floor.

The outhouse with a new cedar shingle roof. We also had the whole thing moved over, away from the encroaching trees onto a new timber base. According to Grandma Wanda, it's been moved all over the place.

The old two-seater is ready for business!

Cleaning out the Granary

Of course we couldn't throw anything away! We even sifted through the dirt that we shoveled off the floor boards (I didn't even know if it still had a floor ) to make sure we didn't miss anything interesting or valuable. As the saying goes: "One man's trash is another man's treasure."

Saving the Outhouse and Granary

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After this last winter, the outhouse was ready to fall over. The floor was caving-in and half of the roof had fallen through.

We attempted to shore up the structure two years ago, but the whole thing needed to be picked-up and moved over onto a new base, away from the encroaching trees.

The boards of the granary roof had also been falling through for some time.

I wanted to preserve these structures, so I hired the guys at Alpine Summit Roofing in Ephraim to do both projects.

We decided to do a metal roof on the granary and a cedar shingle roof on the outhouse.

Luckily, the walls were still stable.