“They spent most of a day in the house before they said a word about money. The report named the north sill, and it was right: that's where the water was.”
Carolyn H.Stone farmhouse, Philipstown
Barns, farmhouses and stone houses
Every old building has a story. We read it before we touch it.
Kettle Hill Restoration repairs the farmhouses, barns and stone houses of the Hudson Valley. A written survey comes first, a scope second, and the work third.
What are you noticing?
- The floor slopes, and a door won't closeFrames and sills
- The cellar is damp, or the wall is bowingStone and foundations
- Plaster is coming off the ceilingPlaster, lath and floors
- The porch is pulling away from the housePorches and siding
- The barn leans, and I don't know what to do with itBarns and outbuildings
- I don't know what I haveStart with a survey
- A written survey before any quote
- Putnam County licensed home improvement contractor
A sample survey
A farmhouse, read in layers
This is the page we write for every building, here with a made-up house standing in for yours. The order never changes: what was built, what was changed, what is failing and what to keep.
- 01The frame
Step 1: Raised
A timber frame on a fieldstone foundation, pegged and braced, with a stone kitchen at one end. Everything else in the house hangs from this.
- 02The growth
Step 2: Added
A lean-to, then a porch, then a second chimney. Each addition borrowed from the one before: a beam from the barn, boards from the old porch.
- 03The changes
Step 3: Altered
Wiring, a bathroom in the old pantry, vinyl over the clapboards, a brace cut for a pipe. Most of what has gone wrong in an old house was done by someone fixing something else.
- 04The problems
Step 4: Failing
The north sill, where a gutter spilled for years. The porch footing. Two window sashes. These are the fixes that can't wait.
- 05The keepers
Step 5: Kept
The frame, the stair, the wide-board floors, the window glass that ripples. We plan the work around these.
The survey
Most of a day in the building before a word about money
Two of us come and stay. We measure, we probe, we photograph every wall, and we look under, behind and above things before we say what anything costs.
You get a written report in plain language: what we found, what it means, and what we would do first. It's yours to keep.
What the report holds
Measured sketch plans of each floor and the frame
Sills, posts, beams and foundation checked for rot, movement and insects
Moisture readings, and where the water comes from
Old paint and insulation: what we assume and what to test
Photographs of every wall, floor and roof frame
Three lists: fix now, fix next, leave alone
The scope
Three piles, not one long list
Every survey ends by sorting the building's problems into three piles. Most owners are glad to see the third.
Fix now
What lets water in, lets the frame move or puts someone at risk. We price these first, and they set the order of work.
Fix next
Work that can wait a season or two. We price it now so you can plan, and say what it waits on.
Leave alone
Wavy glass, a sloping floor, a door that sticks in August. Old buildings move and age. We say plainly what's character and what's a problem.
What we repair
Frames, stone, glass and plaster
Six kinds of work, all of it on buildings with a history. Each has its own page.
Frames and sills
Timber-frame repair, sill replacement, scarf joints, and the floor and roof framing that hangs from them.
See the workStone and foundations
Repointing, fieldstone wall repair, rebuilt foundation corners, and drainage at the footing.
See the workWindows and doors
Sash repair, reglazing, weatherstripping, storm windows, and doors rehung so they close.
See the workPlaster, lath and floors
Plaster repair over the original lath, and wide boards lifted, repaired and relaid.
See the workPorches and siding
Porch posts, floors and footings, and clapboard and shingle repair with trim matched to what was there.
See the workBarns and outbuildings
Frame stabilisation, new sills and floors, and conversions to a studio, workshop or guest room.
See the work
Why a survey
A survey is not a walk-through quote
Both end in a number. They begin differently, and in an old building that is where the surprises come from.
| A short walk-through | Our survey | |
|---|---|---|
| Time on site | A short walk-throughA short visit, one person | Our surveyMost of a day, two people |
| What you get | A short walk-throughA single number | Our surveyA written report, photos and three lists |
| What is priced | A short walk-throughEverything, with a cushion for unknowns | Our surveyWhat the survey found |
| Behind the walls | A short walk-throughGuessed at, then change orders | Our surveyProbed where it matters, opened with your say-so |
Pricing
How we price an old building
What decides the price
In an old building the price follows the condition, not the square footage. The survey tells us which of these apply.
How much of the frame is sound
Access: a bank barn is not a ranch house
What was altered and has to be undone
Materials: salvaged or milled timber, lime, true divided glass
Permits, and any historic-district review
What the estimate includes, and what it doesn't
The estimate lists each job from the fix-now pile with its scope, the allowances we've set and what we've left out.
Included: scope by room or bay, materials, named allowances, who is on site, the weeks it takes
Not included: permit fees, an engineer's stamp, conditions found later, anything on the leave-alone pile
What happens at the survey
Two of us, most of a day. Clear a way to the cellar and the attic, and tell us what worries you. The survey is a paid visit; its fee is in your booking confirmation.
If we open a wall and find something
Rot behind a sill, a beam cut for a pipe, knob-and-tube wiring in the attic. We stop, show you with photos, and write a change order with its price before we go on. Nothing is billed that you haven't seen.
When you get the number
In writing, after the survey. Jobs in the fix-now pile get a fixed price. Fix-next jobs get a price good for the season we name. Hourly billing is for work that can't be scoped, and we say so before we start.
No prices here: the building's condition sets them, and the survey is how we find it.
Our habit
Repair what is there before replacing it
Old-growth sills, plaster on split lath, glass with a ripple in it: they have lasted a long time already.
We repair them when the repair will last, and replace them when it won't, and we tell you which is which. Where we add new work, we match what was there and leave it honest.
Joinery to match: scarfs, pegs and mortises, not brackets
Plaster repaired over the original lath where it is sound
Original sash kept, rebuilt and fitted with storm windows
New timber marked, so the next carpenter can tell
Owners
After the survey
“I thought the barn was a teardown. The survey sorted it into three piles, and the third pile was longer than the first. We kept most of it.”
Ernesto C.Dairy barn, Dutchess County
“Every wall they opened, they showed me before they closed it. The change order came with photographs.”
Kuldeep M.Colonial, Putnam Valley
Before you book
Questions owners ask first
What does the survey cost?
The survey is a paid visit, and the fee is quoted when you book, before we come. It covers two people for most of a day and the written report.
Is my house built before 1978? What do you do about lead?
Almost every farmhouse and barn we see is older than that. Paint from before 1978 may contain lead, and the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule (RRP) says a certified firm must follow set work practices whenever paid work disturbs it. You get the EPA's renovation pamphlet before we start. We treat old paint as lead paint unless a test says otherwise, we seal off the work area, we don't dry-scrape or burn paint, and we clean with HEPA vacuums and wet wipes. Jobs under 6 square feet inside or 20 square feet outside are exempt, but window replacement and demolition never are. Our certification is listed under Credentials.
Do I need a permit, and who pulls it?
Structural, foundation and porch work usually needs one, and like-for-like repairs often don't; it depends on your town or village. We check during the survey and pull the permit when we hold the work. In a historic district we help prepare the review.
Can we stay in the house during the work?
Usually, yes. We close off the work area, keep a path to the kitchen and a bathroom, and tell you in advance when water, power or heat will be off. The survey says whether a part of the house should be empty.
Do you take on a barn that is falling down?
Often, yes. A leaning barn can sometimes be stabilised before it is repaired. The survey says whether the frame can be saved, and if it can't, we say that too.
Our reach
Putnam County and the east bank of the Hudson
A survey day starts early and ends in daylight, and that sets how far we go.
Putnam County
- Cold Spring
- Garrison
- Nelsonville
- Carmel
- Mahopac
- Brewster
- Putnam Valley
- Patterson
Dutchess County
- Beacon
- Fishkill
- Wappingers Falls
- Hopewell Junction
- Pawling
- Millbrook
- Rhinebeck
- Red Hook
We don't work in Westchester, Rockland or Orange counties, in New York City or across the state line. We don't build new houses or take roof-only jobs.
Book a survey
Tell us about the building
We write back about a date, and about what to have ready.
Phone(845) 555-0100
Hours
- Monday – FridayToday
- 7:30 am – 4:30 pm
- SaturdayToday
- By appointment
- SundayToday
- Closed