Steamboat's Oldest Shack Gets Renovated into a New Dream Home
By Travis Crooke
Photos © Tim Murphy Photography
Steamboat is a town that treasures its heritage, but it also embraces the future. Though the cherished traditions that shaped the area define Steamboat as an old western town, its willingness to look toward the future is evident by the town's continual ability to rebrand itself. On 173 Maple Street, in the heart of downtown Steamboat, a building project just completed encompasses this principle of old meets new. At this site John Rolfe Burroughs, Steamboat's most legendary author, penned his works.
Born in1902, John Rolfe Burroughs moved to Steamboat as a toddler. He joined the military as a civilian engineer for a construction battalion during WWII, and was captured by the Japanese in 1941. He spent four years in a Japanese POW camp. Upon his release in 1945, he moved back to Steamboat and built a series of log cabins on his land at 173 Maple where he started his career as a writer and lived out his final days. Since his death in 1987, his property has been used as a rental, and if you talk to any ski bum in town between the ages of twenty-five and forty-five, they have probably either rented the property themselves or know someone who has. The property had become a historic landmark; unfortunately, it had also become old and dilapidated.
Susan Handloff and Bert Halberstadt bought the lot because they were looking for a retirement property in downtown Steamboat. Since they have lived part-time in Steamboat for a number of years, they are familiar with the town's traditions, and were excited about the prospects of preserving a piece of Steamboat's history. According to Susan, in a "moment of nuttiness" they decided to integrate a new building with the existing structure. It was a bit mad as it was not an economical way of going about the process. Because of building restrictions and the oddly shaped lot (think of the first triangle you drew as a child), it would have been thriftier to simply raze the existing structures and start from scratch. The owners recognized these hurdles before starting, but had the romantic idea to preserve a piece of Steamboat history and make it part of their own.
Design and Preparation
Be it a new build or a remodel, today people want healthy, safe, and comfortable homes. It takes a team approach between the architect, builder, and green building consultant to accomplish these needs. With the Burroughs rebuild, this was even more important because of the state of the existing structure, and its cultural importance. The couple chose these three professionals first so they could work together throughout the entire process.
Robert Hawkins, owner of Robert Hawkins Architects was the chief architect on the project. When creating the plans for the project, the couple and Hawkins decided to keep and restore part of the original cabin in which Burroughs lived. The other half of the cabin would be dismantled to make room for the addition. All of the wood that was salvageable was saved so that it could be used for other parts of the rebuild.
Problems arose when dealing with the "Dog House," the separate shed Burroughs used as a writing office. The couple agreed that it was important to preserve the Dog House but it was in the middle of the lot and had to be relocated to make room for the addition. Looking for guidance, the team met with the Routt County Historic Preservation Board (RCHPB) and the City Historic Preservation Committee (HPC). Together, they appealed to the Steamboat Springs Department of Planning Services (DPS) to see if the Dog House could be located in the front setback parallel to Maple Street which would make the historic shed more visible and accessible to traffic on Maple. The DPS would not agree to the easement, even after town officials such as Towny Anderson pleaded in favor of the relocation plan.
Eventually the team decided that the Dog House needed to be relocated. Jamie Letson, the general contractor, volunteered his time and dismantled the shed into two parts so it could be moved. The structure was moved to Bob and Jeanne Schneider's property. If interested, one can find it on the north side of Route 40 westbound just before crossing the Elk River, next to an old barn and a silo. There are currently no plans to relocate the Dog House back into town, but the group is appealing to the RCHPB and HPC in hopes of finding a public piece of land to display this historic bit of Steamboat culture. If you have an idea or location for the Dog House, please contact the RCHPB or HPC to offer your suggestion.
Once the historic aspects had been conserved, Hawkins set to work designing the home's addition in a way that separates the two structures visually and maintains and respects the historic nature of the cabin. The addition, built behind the cabin, so as not to overshadow it, is designed to look and seem as separate as possible. The colors, materials, and design are distinct so the original cabin is highlighted as historic.
The low roof on the entryway, which connects the old and new, also preserves this distinction. The couple hoped to use the original door for the entryway but were thwarted by building codes. Instead, they built a beautiful new door next to the original and converted the original door into a stunning stained glass window crafted by local artist Jorge Torrella (as seen on the cover).
The entryway is a welcoming space that exudes a sense of discovery. One can see into the cabin (now the 700 square foot master bedroom suite), and get a glimpse into the depth of the addition. The addition is 2,200 square feet and is built in the Craftsman style. This is a popular building style in old town and thus blends well with many of the houses in the neighborhood. The garage is modeled after an old barn and creates balance throughout the property.
Hawkins wanted the design to integrate the old and new, he also wanted to create a floor plan that flowed together seamlessly, as if it were all built at once. For example, the kitchen is closest to the garage for convenience, such as unloading groceries. The downstairs addition is not compartmentalized, thus creating a great visual connection between the kitchen, dining room, and living room. At the heart of the living room is a fireplace and chairs. Here there is no TV because the couple wanted the area to foster conversation, not isolation. Upstairs, a small TV room acts as the hub from which two guest bedrooms and Burt's office extend.
Even the pass-though craftsman style cabinets adjoining the kitchen and dining room help create a sense of integration. The cabinets, designed by Al Rosenthal of Alpine Design Kitchens, are made from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified cherry woods. Alpine Design Kitchens specializes in custom cabinetry, and they designed these specifically to enhance the overall design of the house. The cabinets can be accessed from both the kitchen and the dining room, allowing the couple to load the dishes from the kitchen and unload them on the other side of the cabinet in the dining room.
Build Perspective
Jamie Letson, owner of Letson Enterprises, was the general contractor for the project. The couple hired him to integrate the old with the new, but it was his idea to take it one step further and make the build as green as possible. Let's first examine his restoration work on the cabin, and then look into the new build.
For the cabin, the team literally needed to start from the ground up. There wasn't much of a foundation (the original foundation was a mere eighteen inches deep), but the team wanted to keep the original base as is it is part of the historic structure. So, in sections, they excavated down to the required minimum depth of 48" and poured new concrete underneath the existing. The new concrete incorporated 30% fly ash, which is a by-product from the Craig coal power plant and is essentially filler material that allows the team to use less new cement and more recycled product.
Much of the upper portion of the cabin roof and walls was rotten, so the team disassembled it log by log. They numbered the logs that were salvageable and replaced the rot with logs from the other part of the cabin that had been taken apart for the addition. The cabin had not previously been insulated, so they used Corbond spray-foam insulation from Columbine Insulation and replaced all of the chinking between the logs while they reassembled the cabin. Since the log cabin windows had already been compromised, new energy efficient windows were installed into the existing cabin window openings. Some of the old glass was later integrated into other parts of the house as internal windows. The glass is so old it has begun to run and has an antique "wavy" look, a truly spectacular touch to an already impressive rebuild.
The new addition was also centered on sustainable building practices. Letson used ICFs (Insulated Concrete Forms) for the foundation perimeter and incorporated the fly ash into the concrete here as well. The insulation uses BIBs (Blown in Batts), also from Columbine Insulation. The house is constructed so tightly (no drafts) that Letson needed to install an HRV system (Heat Recovery Ventilation) that controls air exchanges.
The HRV system brings fresh air into the home without creating a change in the internal temperature. It accomplishes this with 7 – 10 air exchanges per hour. The process is computer controlled and blends energy (heat) from the air outside and inside of the home very efficiently. In conjunction, these two banks of air allow the system to maintain healthy airflow at a consistent and comfortable temperature. Heating is through a 95% efficient natural gas boiler whose medium is radiant floor heating.
Chad Hazlett, of Hazlett Plumbing and Heating, installed a Roth board in-floor radiant heating system and the mechanical room that accompanies it. The system is laid directly under the exposed floor, which means it is extremely efficient and economical but is virtually undetectable. The Roth board in-floor radiant heat system runs throughout the cabin and the addition. Basically, the natural gas boiler heats a water solution that circulates through a closed system of plastic pipes. These pipes run under the exposed floor and rest on the subfloor. As the water circulates, heat radiates through the system and maintains a comfortable ambient temperature throughout the home.
The project has other green highlights as well. All of the appliances are Energy Star rated and the water fixtures are all low flow. The porch roof is constructed of locally harvested beetle kill pine. The windows are a high efficiency package by Semco from Northwestern Supplies of Steamboat, and the interior finishes use low VOC paints and waterborne finishes. Most of the electrical fixtures use CFL or LED bulbs. The original cabin corrugated metal roof was unsalvageable, so Letson replaced it with a replica. The new roof is a standing seam metal roof that is recyclable. Throughout the house Letson used reclaimed historic site materials. For example, the wood between the entryway's brick inlay is from the part of the cabin the team disassembled to make room for the addition.
Letson wanted to ensure the quality of the entire green building process, so he hired Chad Feagler of Mountain Energy Consultants to monitor the green building aspects. Letson also volunteered to follow the new City of Steamboat Springs Green Building Program guidelines and wanted Feagler to make certain that these were met as well. Feagler was involved from the beginning, making computer models of energy usage before any ground breaking had even started. During the build he performed on-site inspections of the framing, insulation, and mechanical systems. He performed multiple blower door tests throughout the process that helped eliminate air leakage problems. This way the team could diagnose these inefficiencies before they were built into the structure permanently. He also conducted carbon monoxide tests and CAZ (Combustion Appliance Zone) testing. These tests ensure that no toxic gasses, such as carbon monoxide from the boiler room, are contaminating the indoor air.
Through Feagler's help, the house ended up with a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) rating of 61. The HERS is a complicated set of formulas that determine a home's efficiency, and to be rated an "Energy Star" home, the energy efficiency minimum is 80. The lower the number the better, and each point represents one percentage point. A baseline score of 100 represents the standard home in America. The Burroughs project scored 61, which means it is 39% more efficient than the standard and 19% more efficient than what is required to be Energy Star rated. It is the first home to finish the voluntary City of Steamboat Springs Green Building Program with a final score of 140, giving it a rating of Blue Square.
Steamboat is a historic town that always looks toward the future, while keeping an eye on the past. The integration of old and new can be found everywhere. Susan Handloff notes that bringing the two together isn't for everybody, but the result can be extremely rewarding. One thing is certain, the build turned out exceptional. It is the newest and greenest "old shack" this town has seen since Butch Cassidy plundered the west and Burroughs lived to write about it.
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