Published: Sunday, October 1, 2006
What's old is new again in home built by couple to fulfill a dream
Almost all of the house was built with salvaged or recycled materials.
EAST ROCHESTER — The large Gothic house and the nearby lake and woods are a dream come true.
But that's by planning and hard work.
The spires on the 3,800-square-foot house and other architectural features are pointing toward heaven by design. Inside the cozy, modern kitchen, Bill and Linda Cundiff listen to a soothing Gregorian chant, a form of religious music a thousand years old.
Bill says their home, called Stone Gate Manor, is based on a 14th-century English manor house.
The feeling, said Bill, "is of another world."
The scene itself is from an earlier time. There are no telephone poles or light poles. Utility connections are underground.
The couple have been showing their dream home they built themselves in Augusta Township in Carroll County, just over the line from Columbiana County. It took them seven years and three months to complete the project, using mostly salvaged and recycled materials.
The Cundiffs said they want to encourage and show people to do the same thing. They plan to start offering tours and seminars to teach others what they have learned.
They had estimated the work might take them about
21/2 years. Instead, they said they worked 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week for seven years and three months.
"I never thought it would take this long," Bill said.
What does it take to work on a project that long?
"Foolishness," Bill said with a laugh.
The couple moved in Dec. 24 last year and finished the project last month.
Decades in the making
They had saved materials for the project since the 1970s. Their many businesses include being landlords who renovated properties in Canton. Through that work, and through visiting antique shops, flea markets and demolition sites, and Dumpster diving, they acquired furniture, all types of wood, hardware, granite for countertops, barn slate for the roof, furniture and stained-glass windows. They stashed it all in a 13,000-square-foot shop.
Linda also made stained-glass windows from salvaged materials.
Before they began to build, they went to Europe, where they took 1,500 photographs as they learned about craftsmanship.
The house is on 54 acres that used to be a Girl Scout camp, which closed in 1967.
The couple said they cut down 200 trees and used the lumber for the building along with rocks they collected on the property. During their collecting, two old and worn grave markers were found — one for a baby. The headstones were integrated into the stone work in the living room.
Bill said he designed the house to make it appear even bigger; the rooms are large and there is a fair amount of open space. An architect then made construction plans.
Did it themselves
The couple could go into the do-it-yourself hall of fame.
"Anything a person doesn't know is available for the asking," Bill said.
Instead of paying for arches, Bill bent the wood himself. When beams were too costly, he made them and made them to look old. He learned to cut stone blocks so they would have a rough face but would stack properly. He built the cabinets and trim.
Furniture was repaired or recycled. A large Victorian pump organ with a broken pump is now a large washstand. There are stained-glass windows within the house. One, in a second-story office, opens onto the two-story main entrance so the couple can change the bulb in the hanging light.
They're not about to start another large project.
"If the house burns down, there will be a double-wide here," Bill said.
For more information on the house, call (330) 868-2834.
More Stories from Wed, Oct 4, 2006
- No new charges expected in Annie Lee tragedy
- Questions raised about gas pricing
- City schools address dropout problem
- Prosecutor: 3 did not cause fatal injuries
- GM proposal aims at hiring 115 temps
- Some schools boost security
- 2 guilty of misdemeanors in beating death
- Judge to hear more in 3rd-attorney bid
from vindyJOBS.com
