Like most of the small buildings here at Blue Rock Station, the Happy Nest began life as trash… basically a discarded garden shed.
The garden shed "Happy Nest" ready for the big transition.
Deconstruction of the shed begins...
The siding is removed, the inside is gutted, the roofing shingles off - down to the bare bones.
The building is loaded up and moved to its new foundation...
The rammed earth tire foundation in the garden area under construction...
The building perched up on its new foundation...
A bit of the repurposed material (doors, windows, wood, etc) that will become part of the new building.
Old metal barn roofing is used for the siding, replacing that annoying vinyl stuff.
Ricky cutting reclaimed slate to size to create the new roof.
Tar paper goes on before the slate. Believe it or not, even the tar paper was salvaged for this project.
The slate going up on the new roof.
Some mud and bottle artwork going into the walls.
Nearly finished except for some trim work and some caulking.
Pretty much finished - now just waiting for the porch on the east side of the building.
Covered inside walls with reclaimed barn wood.
Finished floor with old roofing slate.
We hauled the shed to Blue Rock Station, and intern Nans Thomassey converted it into a sleeping cabin, with straw insulation, barnwood siding and a bunk bed. He called it the “Happy Nest” which to his mind was a cross between a nest (to sleep in) and happiness.
In 2021, intern Rickey Boebel took on the project – gutting the building and constructing a new foundation out of tires up in the garden area (a perch with a view).
Once stripped down, the building was moved (we used a professional for this) and placed on the foundation.
Rickey then replaced the vinyl siding with old tin, salvaged from barn roofs. He fitted in new windows and doors, redesigned the interior and replaced the roof with slate.
Later we ran electricity to the building, and plans for 2022 include putting a porch on the east side.