Newspapers / The Kings Mountain Herald … / July 28, 1977, edition 1 / Page 11
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I6HT M? A hod' can -I.INI will ,|( .•ss water aiths 11 nmend it. [I 5200 ly SECTION g Thursday, July 28,1977 Mirror-Herald Living Today Log House Something Different 1ST E, FREE TOUCH! By ELIZABETH STEWART Womani Editor When Jerry and Rita Simmoni started planning (or their new home they decided to use a rustic look and wanted a setting to enhance It. They also wanted smnethlng different. Their new home when com pleted on Oak Drove road near Maple Springs will enc(»npass their original Ideas and more. The Simmonses are building a liDoiry log house, probably one of the first such magnificent resi dences In this state, a triple story with 18 foot cathedral celling throughout. Jerry, principal at Waco Middle School, and Rita, resource teacher at PolkvlUe School, are using their summer vacation to construct their new home. Jerry Is doing a lot of the work himself. 95 LE tm I'l'i The logs, a total of 875 plus gable logs for the 78 foot by 88 fbot residence, were shipped from Vermont, each lettered and numbered. The Simmonses flew to New York State and spent three days learning how to build log houses and Inspecting some of them In the area. Raymond Blanton, contractor, terms the mammoth project “a little like building a giant erector set,” the logs put together with 12 Inch spikes with no nail visible on Inside or outside. Jerry plans to double treat the logs, stain the 40 foot long beams and lacquer all the ceilings himself, a project which will take a lot of time and probably won’t be completed by the reopening of school. When completed, the house will have a beautiful pine finish and natural look, which Is what the couple want to achieve. Jerry said that he and his wife had studied history of log houses and were confident after talking to owners In upstate New York that fuel bills can be cut in half because of the good Insulation, noting that even In eariy colonial times log cabins were "built so much tighter to keep In the heat.” Jerry and RtU dlaeovared first hand how comfortable and warm alog structure can be when they spent several nights In a log home In the Cascade Motmtalrji of New York when the tem peratures outside were near lero. Some features of the house will Include a full basement with fireplace In the basement and also In the den, double sliding glass doors and triple windows which give a panaroma of the mountains and the lake In front of the house which alts In the middle of a 88 acre tract of land, a large kitchen, an upstairs "loft” which will feature a study and music room for the couple, who are both talented musicians, three bedrooms, all large with X Or Photos by Tom McIntyre Logs for Jerry and Rita’s house shipped from Vermont.... anq>le closets on the upstairs level, a deck which runs the whole back of the house and a circular stairway you can see as you enter the home, from the fireplace and Into the upstairs loft. The Interior walls are of one Inch northern white pine and will be natural while the outside will be finished In clear stain. Raymond Blanton’s sons and other relatives are giving Jerry a hand In building the house. Including Wayne and Roiinle Blanton, Wes Blanton, Richard Blanton, Steve Ware and Bill Sayers. The Slmmms house Is Jsrry Simmons first vsnturs Into this buUdtng buMnssi. Hs Mid he got the Idea from a friend In Winston Salem, Rita liked It too and they studied books on the subject it log house building and than made a trip to New Yoiit to ess log houses and to learn how to put them together. The big pi-oject got underway the last week In Jtme. There are two log houses la Cleveland County and the third, the "Fletcher Carolina” house was built with round logs. The Simmons house Is a luxury log home and when completed will be a showplace and a home the two young people will be proud of. It Is luwted about a half mile from Rita’s parents. Dale and Busella Volbracht. 1 y y. ’-S' Workers say it's like building a giant erector set.. Lake gives picturesque setting for Simrronses’ new home ....
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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July 28, 1977, edition 1
11
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