Living in Aurora, Town of Aurora, Ontario » Peter Van Nostrand

The Petch Log House, Built To Last, Part II

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 02:44:22 +0000

Going on the third month the Petch log house re-building continues. However, the major elements of the house are completed and of what I have seen so far, this house is going to be built to last for many generations to come.

I drove last weekend (December 16th, 2012) by the site and I noticed that they started to work on the siding, the face that is facing John West Way. I am sure by the time I get there tomorrow, all will be completed. If not me I hope someone else will take some pictures.

Inside, Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 20th, 2012.

In reference to the picture above – originally there was a second floor in the Petch Log House accessible via stairs. As you can see on the picture above only half is covered.

It was suggested to leave this opening so visitors can see the second level or the attic. Since the second floor, or attic floor is not strong enough – visitors will not be allowed to see the attic if full floor is installed.

So far the opening is still there.

Secondary Roof, Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 20th, 2012.

Well, this is a secondary roof – indestructible.

And here is something I did not see – how they built the overhang above the two windows, same on the other side.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 27th, 2012.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 29th, 2012.

On the 28th of November the roof was covered with ceder shingles. I arrived one day late to see it done. Well at least I got the footage of the big beam arrival and its installation which now hides under.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 29th, 2012.

Not to worry about the windows. The boards are temporary. The windows and doors are custom made – just have to wait for those.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, December 6th, 2012.

The above is one of my favorite photos. Note how the shadow from the overhang is almost aligned with the overhang, just slightly off because I was little late to shoot.

So what is so special about that photo? Well, the blue textured sky, the perfect light shining in the right direction, the symmetry and the ladder on the side. And the hint of the vapor barrier sheet that is going to cover the wood logs until uncovered again. Who knows when?

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, December 6th, 2012.

What else can I say? Ouch, that wall paper (vapor barrier) is not my favorite one, but I am sure the siding will, its made of wood. Confession to make, I thought it was going to be aluminum or some kind of engineered material. I am so glad to be wrong sometimes.

The new siding looks very new and plain. It will not be painted just let to age.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, December 7th, 2012.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, December 12th, 2012.

The Petch Log House, Built To Last, Part I

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 00:42:19 +0000

Last August 2011 Petch log house was taken apart – the restoration process began. In September 2012 preparation for re-building the Petch log house started on John West Way, near the Aurora Senior Centre and the entrance to the Community Arboretum.

Petch Log House, Foundation, October 04, 2012

First it was a pit filled with gravel, then foundation poured and then the assembly started. I have been following and photographing re-building of the Petch log house since October. My very first visit and real photo shoot took place on October 26th. When I was on the site the house was already three logs high in some places.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, October 26, 2012.

Since that day I was showing up every few days. Mainly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and some Fridays, when Matthew was in school. Watching it changing radically was interesting experience, photographing it was a rewarding experience.

I did upgrade my equipment since last year, new camera and new lenses, hopefully getting better too, and I can’t complain about the overcast skies I had through most of the initial re-construction of the house – all was just perfect, not to mention the hospitality of all those who worked on the site.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 1st, 2012.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 6th, 2012.

The house is now very close to the completion. If am not mistaken the wood siding installation started on Thursday or Friday of last week (December 13th, 14th).

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 6th, 2012.

The house is well reinforced with additional materials – two by fours wedged inside the window and door cutouts, solid wood wide window and door frames, square brackets on the corners where the logs are joined, and some new and modified logs that were heavily deteriorated.

The Petch log house is definitely built to last.

The Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 13th, 2012.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 13th, 2012.

Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 16th, 2012.

The roof rafters were built on the site. The roof was covered. So I thought they were done. Speaking of built to last, an engineered roof was added on top of the original roof to be shown in my next post. But it all started with the arrival of the big beam they put on top of the roof to start building secondary roof. I was told by Peter Van Nostrand that the big beam was coming at one o’clock, and right on the dot the beam came.

The story of the Petch log house will continue in the next post, however, let me leave you with a photo of the Petch house at sunset taken by my friend Peter Cameron. Click here to view.

The Big Beam, Petch Log House, Town of Aurora, November 16th, 2012.

Remebering Petch House, When In Bad Condition

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 19:54:35 +0000

Looks like the Petch log house restoration will be soon done and the house will have a new look, different look, but then the Petch log house had few different looks over the years anyway.

Petch Log House Dis-assembly, July 28, 2011

Now build on the concrete foundation, new cedar roof, wood siding soon to be installed, new windows still in the making, electrical wiring just in time for Christmas – a complete makeover. After that some tedious work inside the log house is going to take place. On the inside the house, the logs surface will be exposed.

Petch Log House Dis-assembly, July 28, 2011

I got lots of pictures. Petch house is probably my first and biggest photo documenting portfolio. There are hundreds and hundreds of photos on my computer, and when I view them sometimes it still feels like I missed something. Well, I do have a missing link – what happened between last August, 2011, until October of this year, 2012.

Petch Log House Dis-assembly, July 28, 2011

So what happened? I really don’t know what happened. Probably mainly stuff like design work, engineering drawings were prepared, rework/treatment drawings, orders for new materials, planning – all the fun things you cannot photograph.

The logs on the other hand were given special trimming and a ‘steam spa’ treatment. Pictures don’t lie, there was a lot of deterioration on some of the logs, therefore, unfortunately not all the ends made to the new re-stored house.

Petch Log House Dis-assembly, July 28, 2011, Roof Down

So I thought that I had photos posted here from the last August (2011) when they took down the Petch log house for restoration, but I guess not. They were donated to Friends of the Petch House, and since the site does not exist anymore, there aren’t any photos online.

Therefore, before I publish photos of the house ‘from ground up’, I will share some photos ‘going down’.

Petch Log House Dis-assembly, July 28, 2011

It is interesting to see that lot of faces I photographed last year will appear on photos from 2012. Its been a long journey for the house and I am glad to see and hear that those who fought for this project for a long time were given this restoration assignment.

Not to mention it is so nice to hear how every person on the Petch log house restoration project is and continues to be proud of their work. I wish I could remember all I have been told, but then my camera did the ‘remembering job’ for me in pictures.

On the side note, today when I visited the site, I saw the last areas of the external wood surface covered with the vapor barrier. I guess it is going to be hidden for another 100 or 200 years, unless … needs to be uncovered.

Petch House, It Was A Lifetime Opportunity

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 04:37:37 +0000

Theoretically Petch House will never be the same. As of a last week August 4th, 2011 in the late afternoon, the house was totally taken apart and all logs and other parts of the house were moved to the storage on the local farm where it will be restored. In the future, it will have a new and restored look.

However, it will take a great skill to restore the house, as it took a great skill to built this house in 1840s, and in the future this will be definitely a historical event.

Petch House - roof off

I must say it was a lifetime opportunity to photograph the Petch house before it was labelled and dismantled. I was inside in the early spring. I many times visited from outside. I saw and photographed the gradual deterioration, especially of the logs on the corners. I saw embraced by nature and guarded by wildlife.

Petch House - log by log dismantling

Lastly I was able to photograph inside again when town went go ahead with the dis-assembly. I was inside once again by permission equipped with my camera, safety boots and hard-hat. Once the roof was removed, the logs inside got to see the natural light and beautiful wood log textures were revealed.

Then on August 3rd, 2011 I found a spot across the Leslie Street to witness and photograph the dismantling process of the walls, down to the floor. I had my little Matthew with me that day, so going closer to the site with a heavy equipment was a big no for us.

Petch House - last corner

To see the Petch house photographed at different stages of disassembly by Peter Van Nostrand, his team and with the help of town on August 3rd, 2011 and much more you can visit The Friends of Petch House the Restoration web page.

Petch House, August 4th, 2011, all done

Hope everyone enjoyed my little photographic journey of the Petch house last few months, but before you move on note something I just realized – the background. There was nothing else, but trees, lots of green trees.

So until next time … it may be quiet for a while.

Petch House, That Is Strange? Alive Again

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 19:28:51 +0000

Three months elapsed since April 21_st, 2011 – my first visit inside the Petch house. Destiny of the 160 year old log house was then unknown, but was promising.

On July 28 of the same year I am inside the Petch house taking photographs again. It was different this time. The natural light, better for photography, entered through the windows and the roof, and from the corners of the heavily deteriorated logs. Much more was uncovered and there was much more to see. This time the house was giving off different sense of feeling – a positive one.

Embraced and nurtured by nature for many years, the Petch house was happy to have friends inside once again. Friends that were now effortlessly working to save the weak standing structure on the side of Leslie Street in Aurora.

Petch House, Deteriorated Corner, July 28th, 2011

The house is being restored by Peter Van Nostrand and his team. It is interesting to know that the Petch house is restored by someone who has deep roots in Aurora community. The house would not have survived one more year, so they say, and I was able to see it myself. The photographs do not lie.

For many days the house was being aired and cleaned. The results are stunning. The house inside is beautiful again. Of course it does not look like any decorated house we live in now, but if you have sense and appreciation for the workmanship and the skill people had back than to build their own houses, the beauty is there.

The Petch house is definitely on the new journey. It will never be the same, meaning original, but it will be a stronger, renewed, restored log house that will survive many more generations to come.

It will never house a family again, but it will definitely have a valuable purpose in our town. I am so honored to be part of the project and photograph the restoration process that is in place now. This is all thanks to Katherine Belrose – it is a life time opportunity to be part of the historical event that is taking place here in Aurora.

Our experience and technicality of the restoration from July 26th-28th, are now published on the The Friends of Petch House website – Petch House Layers Tell Us Many Things by Katherine Belrose.

The Petch house will have a new location once restored. I will miss this log house, not for long, but still standing lonely on the one side of Leslie Street. The house will be gone, and never know, that beautiful country road view may go with it in the near future.

Petch House on Leslie Street

Later that day …

I wondered into the garage. I knew I put my sealed plastic container somewhere. I found it sitting on the shelf, the same shelf I placed my Petch box three months ago. This time I had a rusted nail from late 1800s and I wanted to include with my other collection, with the deteriorated log pieces I collected back then. They were just wet dark pieces of wood that fell on the ground and were about to fall apart even more if disturbed.

Piece of Deteriorated Wood Log

I gently opened the box, and I saw it to my disbelief to be alive again. The color of the wood chips changed and some sort of plant species was rooting itself to the wood chip which I have not seen before. Separated, but not far from the Petch house, the pieces were glowing and breathing the same way the Petch house was blooming on the day I photographed it, July 28, 2011.