Good Morning from East Tennessee
As the sun gently kisses the western side of the model home, East Tennessee awakes!
Introducing The Cottage Home: Tralee's English Country Home in Tennessee
Cross over the Burr Arch Bridge, veer left on Lot 26, and you will find the second home at Tralee. Paul Smiddy has started construction on "The Cottage." At nearly 6,000 square feet, the second home in Tralee may be larger than you might imagine a cottage, but the novel plan is reminiscent of the English Country.
Updated Model Home Pictures
Recently, I have had several requests to see the current status of the Model Home. We are in the process of finishing a few details and furnishing it. Enjoy these pictures!
Inspiration from Nature: Glass
Windows are one of the most important ways to showcase the incredible views seen from most every room in Tralee’s model home. Marvin Windows and Doors was chosen because of their styles and reputation. For nearly a hundred years, this family-owned and operated company has been at the forefront of technological advances in the industry. They were the first company to offer Low-E glass on their entire product line. Energy efficient windows can translate into big savings heating and cooling a home.
According to the Efficient Windows Collaborative, two primary ways to increase a window’s efficiency are by using “low-E glass” and “Argon gas fill.” Marvin windows have both. “Low-E glass” refers to a low-emittance coating of microscopically, virtually invisible thin metal layers that suppress heat flow. “Argon gas fill” refers to inserting Argon between the layers of glass to furthermore decrease the radiant heat transfer. Argon is inexpensive, non-toxic, non-reactive, clear, and odorless. Interesting factoid: Energy efficient windows can save a homeowner 39% in heating bills.
Pictorial Update of Model Home: Nearing Completion
The house is nearing completion and looking wonderful. Again, I have to say Paul is a genius with the details of crafting this house.
The sod is in.
Clinch Mountain view from the driveway.
The outdoor count rumford fireplace is finished.
The kitchen should be finished by Friday--we'll see.
Arched window in family room overlooking Clinch Mountain.
View from upstairs bedroom overlooking lots 10 & 11.
Inspiration from Nature: Wood
Custom woodworking throughout the model home at Tralee has been key to creating an “old world” feel. Master carpenter Jeremy Barlow is responsible for hand-crafting columns and beams. He spent two weeks building eight Corinthian style columns on the main floor. Each column was then stained with a mahogany finish and rubbed with black paint to give it a distressed look.
Jeremy also added three enormous beams in the family room to give it a French Country touch. Measuring 6 by 10 inches thick and 24 feet long, the beams are not only attractive--they’re structural.
The kitchen cabinets being installed next week are made of knotty alder wood. Alder wood looks like cherry but can be stained a variety of colors more easily. Finally, a mahogany front door with curved beveled glass makes a stunning first impression for any visitor. Interesting factoid: Alder trees benefit other plants growing near them by creating exceptionally nitrogen rich soil, and their fallen leaves make fertile compost.
Inspiration from Nature: Stone
Another key material used to create that “old world” feel in Tralee’s model home is stone, inside and out. C.J. Ogle Stone Company, Inc. based in Sevierville, TN, has spent four months meticulously applying to the exterior tons upon tons of limestone quarried from middle Tennessee. They have been providing quality stone masonry installation with stone native to the Southeast for more than 40 years.
Inside the home, a variety of limestone, flagstone, and travertine adorn the floors. Limestone was chosen for the kitchen and foyer, travertine lines the master bath and patios, and flagstone flanks the fireplaces. All three types of stone are sedimentary rock, which covers 75-80% of the earth’s land area. Interesting factoid: The largest building in the world constructed primarily of travertine is the Colosseum in Rome.
Update on the Model Home: "Perfection Takes Time"
The model home on Lot 35 has seen some delays but only because of developer Paul Smiddy’s commitment to the finest product. When the Australian Cypress they had ordered for hard wood floors was installed, Paul noticed a number of knots and voids. Deciding this was not the quality of wood acceptable in this home, it is all being ripped out and replaced with select 7-inch quarter-sawn white oak floor. This special process for cutting lumber wears more evenly, reduces shrinking and swelling, and creates incomparable grain patterns.
Another time-consuming but essential step to creating an old world look to the home is a custom process of texturing the walls with plaster and vermiculite. Artisan Jay L Self has been applying this technique to homes for Paul for 17 years. It will take him approximately 70 hours to complete.
Building two masonry fireplaces, one inside and one out, has also taken some time, but it is a requirement of all homes built at Tralee. No pre-fabricated fireplaces are allowed. The style of fireplace chosen for the model home is a technique designed by Count Rumford in the late 1700’s and was used in Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello. Rumford fireplaces are tall and shallow to reflect more heat, causing them to be much more efficient heat sources than typical fireplaces.
When asked why he labors over every detail, Paul responds, “So much of this doesn’t feel like quality to me; it just feels the way it’s supposed to be done.” The model home is expected to be completed in October or November.
Progress Update on the Model: Superinsulating
Among some of the interesting details in the model home, Paul has chosen to superinsulate the house. First, they sprayed a foam insulation in all exterior walls and in the attic, and then they covered the foam with an R-19 batting, which effectively gave the home an R-30 value. Paul expects that the investment in insulation will return in rich rewards in lower utility bills. With this much insulation in the house, there are not any vents in the attic or crawl space.
Progress Update on the Model: Finishing Framing
After being away from The Farm at Tralee for a few weeks, I was anxious to see how the model home was coming along. When we last wrote, it was just being framed. Paul Smiddy and his team of experts are moving beyond the framing stage now. Paul has chosen to use a number of interesting building materials and techniques not commonly found in most homes. For example, the exterior walls of the home are constructed out of 2" x 6" studs, and instead of using traditional 7/16" sheathing, Paul has chosen to use 5/8" materials. "The thin stuff cannot support the weight of the slate roof" Smiddy said.
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Burr Arch Covered Bridge: Almost Finished
On May the fifth, our painters were onsite and the final touches were setting the stage for the first traffic to travel across the bridge. At this point, I was slightly saddened to see the end of the project. It has truly been a wonderful opportunity and I would gladly accept another! I would like to thank Mr. Paul Smiddy for placing his faith in my abilities to build this bridge. Most of all, I would like to thank God above for blessing me with the ability to do such work!
Framing a Perfect Picture
How do you frame the perfect picture? Perhaps, you start with the most amazing canvas. Then you add rich texture and dimension to it, dabble delicate colors across the landscape. Take the right amount of beauty and carefully crop it with a frame that compliments the beauty of the picture.
Paul carefully followed these steps to frame this beautiful ever changing picture on lot 35.
Construction is well under way on the model home. We will continue to post updates along the way.
Live at Five Covers the Burr Arch Covered Bridge on Local Television News
Tonight on Live at Five, Russell Biven did a great job of covering the story that we have been sharing here, here, and here. As you can see in the video, the roofers are hammering in the final pieces of slate. With a few final touches, the bridge will be done. During filming, Jeremy said that he will be finishing the Part IV of the bridge installment soon, so check back for the latest updates.
Burr Arch Covered Bridge: Installing the Famed Burr Arches
That time had finally arrived! It was time to install the arches. So much time and heart had gone into the arches that it was exciting to see a reward soon coming. The timbers proved more difficult than I had anticipated. They had now been off the form for more than a month and had been stored outdoor the entire time. While installing the first arch, we found that the first one had sprung in the last three feet of the timber. This in turn pushed up the tangent point that was established on the drawings. I wanted to do keep the arches as much as a true arc as possible. We forced some of the spring back and eliminated nearly all of the error. We then used the forklift to place a load onto the arches and bolted them. This created upward thrust from the arches to the panel posts, and in essence, placed most of the load onto the arches. After a couple of days of hard work, all the arches were installed and load bearing! This was the pinnacle of the project.
While we were tailoring the final quirks of the project, Dennis and Brian started to build the wing walls of the abutments with river stone. The roofing crew was soon to come and during this phase was when channel ten filmed for their live at five show.
Construction at The Farm at Tralee: Foundation of Model Home Completed
Construction of the model home is underway on Lot 35. The foundation was completed last week and the framing of the model begins today. From the back yard patio, this beautiful home site boasts miles and miles of a thousand shades of green rising into the peaks of House and Clinch mountains. Construction is projected to take approximately 6 months to complete.
Burr Arch Covered Bridge: Installing the Roof
Naturally, the next phase would be the roof system. We used 2x6 white oak rafters and in short order, the roof was framed. We sheathed and temporary roofed it until the day the bridge would receive its final shingles.
Bob Talbott Selects Shope, Reno, Wharton to Design Home
Lot 23 contains one of the most spectacular views of Mt. LeConte, which is part of the reason that Talbott chose this site for his future home. To match these spectacular views, he has selected Greenwich, Connecticut based Shope, Reno, Wharton to design his home. Below is a picture of one of their designs, which fits nicely with other designs used in The Farm at Tralee.
Listed in Architectural Digest's Top Architects and Designers, Shope, Reno, Wharton carefully crafts their home designs to match the landscape where the home is built. One of their principle design goals is to integrate the residential experience with the home's natural surroundings.
Talbott intends to begin construction after the Equestrian Center is completed and relocated.
Burr Arch Covered Bridge: Next was the Road Bed
Work continued to move along swiftly and without any serious complications which pleased me greatly. I was beginning to see the vision reach it’s fruition.
We temporarily installed the flooring on each end which was going to be removed so we could later install the arches. We then assembled a run of scaffolding the length of the bridge and started installing the upper chords. The upper chords contained the longest straight members of the entire bridge; the longest being nineteen feet.
Once the upper chords were installed we prepared the tie beams which contained many mortises each. They were mortised for the knee braces and also for the lateral bracing. These members were surely the most difficult to part of installation up to this point. Aligning the knee braces and upper chords all at once proved a small trial.
On March the 29th , I decided to remove the false work under the bridge and let the kingpost structure support itself for a while before installing the arches. This was a mile marker of the job as we removed all but one support under each truss. I used a sledge hammer and after a couple of small hits, the blocks were removed…and the bridge was on its own. She spoke not a word!
The Farm at Tralee: East Tennessee Real Estate or Irish Golf Course?
One of the most common questions that we get is: What is Tralee? Of course, to us Tralee is unique way of life, but specifically they want to know the origin of the name.
Tralee actually comes from the Irish "Trá Lí" meaning "strand of the Lee, or river." The name is derived from the geography of Tralee, Ireland, where several small rivers converge right at Tralee Bay.
One of the co-developers of The Farm at Tralee, played Tralee Golf Course and reveres it is one of the finest golf courses in the world uniquely situated on breathtaking land. When he stepped foot on the land in Strawberry Plains, he experienced the same breathtaking sensation and felt as though he had stepped out of East Tennessee into Heaven.
Of course, our Tralee is an Equestrian Facility, but the remarkable greenscape carefully situated between the Great Smoky Mountains and House/Clinch Mountain, raptures your soul away with every step.
Burr Arch Covered Bridge: Installing Posts
After a couple weeks of timber preparation, we started relocating the timbers from our yard to the bridge location. On 3-08-07, we placed the false work that would support the bridge until that day that it would support itself. The first timbers to be placed were the South side bottom chord members.
I had prepared shop drawings for eight tie brackets that would hold fast the bridge to the abutments which I employed Towe Iron Works to manufacture. This was one of the few variances from what I saw in the historic spans of which many had no means of securing to the foundation.
After we had placed the inside beam of both bottom chord runs, we were ready to install the panel posts. In order to install these safely, we drilled a ¾ inch hole in the top section , ran a bolt through, and screwed eyelets on each end to receive the lifting straps. This worked superbly, keeping the crew safe and also allowed us to lift the post perfectly plumb. This section of the work went swiftly and within a week’s time we had all panel posts lifted into place and braced.
Barracksville Covered Bridge: Getting Inspiration
During the first week of March, I went to visit my wife’s parents in West Virginia to get a closer look at some covered bridges. They live near a fabulous work of art, the Barracksville covered bridge, built by famed bridge builder Lemeux Chenoweth. In all, my father-in-law and I visited five covered bridge on my learning excursion.
Burr Arch Covered Bridge: Preparing the Panel Posts
Our first order of timbers arrived on 2-20-07 and we wasted no time on laying out and prepping them. The green white oak soon spoke as we worked at moving these giant timbers around. I had seen a log roller at a local antique mall and purchased it for ten dollars. It soon paid us back exponentially since we could hardly budge the timbers with manpower alone. Our timber orders came in a way that was difficult to complete any one area of the bridge since the logs were so large our sawyer was having a difficult time locating some of the longer logs.
The first panel post is ready to install.
Burr Arch Covered Bridge: Testing the Forms
The first arch was ready to be removed from the form after three days of work but remained until I was able to have a forklift delivered. The beam reacted superbly when it was lifted, keeping its form quite well and no cracking was herd. On February 21st we placed the beam on benches for prep.
Getting the arc lengths , joint locations and general layout was part of the fun of this job! I have truly enjoyed the challenges.
Construction at The Farm at Tralee: The Cottage
Last week, I wrote about my meeting with Shawn Fisher, and, as promised, I proudly bring you the renderings of the cottage that is being built at The Farm at Tralee:
Spectacular Home Design: Sitting Down with Shawn Fisher
As you may have noticed on the website, we have some very nice renderings. A local architect/artist, Shawn Fisher, does a fantastic job of bringing two-dimensional plans to life with his creative flare. Recently, I sat down with Shawn to discuss his work on The Farm at Tralee, and I have excerpted parts of our conversation.
What inspiration did you draw upon for your designs?
When Paul and I first discussed his vision of The Farm at Tralee, he was pretty clear in what he wanted, a community, neighborhood feeling with an abundance of outdoor living spaces and a very equestrian-friendly atmosphere. Touring the grounds, however, brought Paul’s passion to life. The incredible views that are exclusive to East Tennessee, along with the wonderful rolling hills and gorgeous natural elements, were the best inspirations I could have had.
Have you found that your designs are different now than when you first engaged the project?
We discussed having the farmhouse look for Tralee, but the typical white clapboard siding simply would not do for such a pastoral setting. I began to envision stone and heavy timbers, natural elements that would complement the mountain views, not detract. I wanted to create new home designs that looked like they were built generations ago - and that would provide comfort, warmth and satisfaction for generations to come. Each rendering and floor plan is a lasting design that looks like it was designed especially for The Farm at Tralee - because each one was!
The barn that you have designed is very impressive, did you find it to be a design challenge?
The barn was a challenge, because we wanted it to be functional without compromising beauty. The barn houses a wealth of amenities, but it is still a beautiful structure as well. The Farm at Tralee may have begun as one man’s vision, but it’s easy to see how quickly that vision can spread!
Shawn is an extremely talented designer and a pleasure to interview. He has finished the renderings for the cottage that is scheduled to begin construction this month. I will be posting renderings of the cottage soon, so check back.
Burr Arch Covered Bridge: Laminating the Arches and Setting up Shop
I hired Mr. Kelley Hunter to help with building these massive arches on Monday, February 5th. Kelley and Adam started setting up shop in the hay storage shed on-site. I helped them along with getting the form built and my mind was jumping with anticipation as I could see those arches in my head even more clearly now that the form was ready to go! When we started milling lumber we soon realized that our power source was inadequate so we used the help of a fine electrician, Mr. Ken, and he set us up nicely to continue full steam ahead.
After what seemed to be endless preparation on our shop, we finally were ready to begin lamination of the arches. We had made a makeshift clamping system and on Wednesday, February 14th, it was finally tested and we had our first two laminations glued and clamped. There was a sense of excitement and anticipation as we saw the oak being placed on the form. A little more tweaking and the system was ready for full production.
The arches, when complete, will reach a mere 48 feet and four inches. With four arches total, we have a total of 193 feet and four inches of arch to laminate. There will be over 3200 lineal feet of 1 X 8 red oak totaling around 8000 pounds of oak arches! We are using 16 laminations to reach our 12 inch thickness.
The first arch was ready to be removed from the form after three days of work but remained until I was able to have a forklift delivered on-site. The beam reacted superbly when it was lifted, keeping its form quite well and no cracking was herd. On February the twenty first, we placed the beam on benches for prep.
Burr Arch Covered Bridge: Pouring the Foundation of Abutments at The Farm at Tralee
On January 15th, I began my employment with Mr. Smiddy to build the bridge. I made my office at a table in the Blount county library. My mind was finally able to eject some of what was built up in it over that last six months. I was actually putting on paper a bridge all my own, well, and Mr. Smiddy’s.
For two days I brainstormed and drew, brainstormed and drew. After two and a half days, I was finished with the main body of drawings minus details.
I started work at the job site on January 18th where Paul had his men already preparing the site. Mr. Mike Duncan was to be the Lead Carpenter on the Bridge Abutment form-work with Mr. Ronnie Duncan and soon to follow, Mr. Adam Griffith, as the rest of the carpentry crew.
We poured footers on Thursday, January the 25th. I ordered a pump truck to reach the far footer and we poured 32 yard of concrete, 4000lb. Pump mix. The pump truck was two hours late but all in all things went well.
The Origin of My Passion for the Burr Arch Covered Bridge
The project started , in reality, in the Summer of 2006. The Barlow summer vacation started the twist of fate with a beautiful location of Turkey Run State Park in Parke county Indiana. Parke county, the covered bridge capital of the world, struck my interest in covered bridges without any knowledge of the future project.
The family and I traveled over one covered bridge after another. I was amazed at the dates of these tunneled spans, driving over a timber framed bridge that was built in the 1850’s. The size of the timbers impressed me giving a sense of strength and stability as we drove through the Klickity Clack caves. There was one part of these bridges that stood above all the rest in my mind and that was those wonderfully crafted “Burr” arches. I was sure of one thing…..I was going to build a Burr Arch covered bridge, whether it be for someone else or for myself.
This began my intense drive for the knowledge of the covered bridges. My wife was wonderful in buying me books for my birthday and for Christmas and I was searching frantically for any analytical information that I could round up over the net. My goldmine was found! I had read in a covered bridge book by Richard Sanders Allan that the Library of congress was full of historical information. There it was, actual blueprints of even some of the bridges that we had crossed in Indiana. I searched over many drawings and accumulated information for the bridge that I wanted to build. I had looked at blueprints so much that I felt I could nearly build one out of my head.
I had worked the idea of building a covered bridge so high up in my head that I was telling everyone that I was going to build one, knowing full well that I hadn’t anyone to build it for….yet!
I remember that day well. I was trying to figure out the answering machine for my cell phone and finally retrieved my messages, some from two months before. After going through one message after another, Mr. Paul Smiddy’s voice rang “CAN YOU SAY COVERED BRIDGE!.” My wife attacked me; I wasn’t sure who was more excited, me or her (my cell phone was on speakerphone). Within two weeks I was preparing foundation drawings.
To Build or Not to Build: Covenants and Restrictions at The Farm at Tralee
First it was 18 months, then 36 months, then 60 months, but finally Bob and Paul decided today to have no minimum period for construction. So, on the final version of the Covenants and Restrictions, lot owners may officially hold their lot without being penalized.
While most interested clients want to build soon after purchasing their estate at Tralee, we have a few clients that want to purchase their lot while the prices are still reasonable knowing that they will not build for a few years.
I will spend some time pointing out a few of the interesting provisions in the Covenants and Restrictions in the coming weeks.
Exclusive Site Visits: Finishing Touches at the Pavilion
As we prepare to invite the public to view The Farm at Tralee, we have been busy adding the finishing touches to the property. At the Pavilion, we have just completed the irrigation system, laid sod, and added large (6 foot) limestone stepping stones leading to the private drive.
Journey through Tralee
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Every journey begins on a pathway--some are cut and paved, some worn, while still others are defined as you go. At The Farm at Tralee, the paths are both carefully crafted and completely uncharted. As you first turn your vehicle into the entrance at Tralee, the luxurious journey begins as you tread over beautiful hand laid cobblestone roads.
Row by row, piece by piece the roads that lead throughout Tralee have been carefully laid, one at a time. More than 350,000 pavers will lead you from the faded blacktop roads to the wide-open fields of the countryside. We dug more than eighteen inches into the earth to create the foundation for this cobblestone masterpiece. Then we filled the trench with twelve inches of pug mix, compacted it, added another layer of finer pug mix, and compacted it again. Then we carefully leveled one inch of sand over the surface of this composite. Each paver was carefully selected and placed on the road. Finally, one more layer of sand was brushed over the pavers and the road was vibrate compacted into place. Pouring a concrete road would have been much faster, cheaper, and easier, but we did not want to hurry or skimp on the rest of your life.
While great care and attention has been paid to sculpting this road, once you mount your horse, you can define your own paths while exploring more than 100 acres of common area in the shadows of beautiful East Tennessee mountainviews.
Whether strolling on the cobblestone roads, galloping over lush fields, or getting lost in long forgotten surrounding of nature, the journey through Tralee waiting on you to be created.
Enter: The Farm at Tralee
A great deal of thought has gone into making Tralee a beautiful place to come home to, starting with this graceful entrance constructed of limestone and brick with gates crafted from Honduran mahogany. Imagine watching these gates swing open and knowing you are home.
