Birch Lodge Late Season is Prime Time

While the temperatures remained in the 50s, Bill decided to scrape and paint the somewhat neglected members of our Birch Lodge structural "family." The entrance gates, which closed for the season November 1 and will be the only public face for the property until next April, were scraped, primed and painted.

The outbuildings behind the lodge had bothered us because they were along the drive leading to the main lodge and impacted visitors' first impressions. They looked run down. The fish cleaning shed got a new roof and painted trim, while the bait shop, the workshop, and the barn/laundry were washed, had siding firmed up and were also scraped and primed (although the bait shop's recent vintage light tan siding panels and window frames were stained brown).

Finally, the light tan paneled pole barn near the cabin, the first building visitors see entering the grounds, was stained brown to give it a more aged appearance and blend in more with the setting.

Unfortunately, much of the stain ended up on Bill, which also gives him a more aged appearance - although he will NEVER blend in with his setting!!!

Birch Lodge Interior Progress

We have been scraping off old paint, washing as much of the underlying calcimine paint off the plaster as possible, and priming with EXPENSIVE sealer. Work has progressed on the second floor lobby that opens out onto the porch deck. And, Hoo-Boy, those were some ugly looking walls after the prep work for painting was completed!!! We don't know why the walls appear brown on the base layer - was it a function of the calcimine aging, or were the lobby walls originally a brownish tint? In some places it does scrub off. Same story in the dining room.


We've painted the walls a cream color for now. We will anxiously await to see if the new paint does adhere to the newly prepared base. Might make for an initeresting Spring!











And just when you thought the fun was over, we're also working on the dining room!!! The same scrape-scrub-rinse-seal-and-paint routine. (But, is anything about this Birch Lodge place ROUTINE???)

In addition, our electrician has begun rewiring the first floor, after our explicit instruction and supervision to disturb the lodge's historic fabric as little as possible.

SEPT-ember, Tanks for the Memories

Well, have you missed us? We have been somewhat remiss in our bloggly duties. A whole lot has been going on. Or, perhaps I should say a "hole lot" . . . We are the proud owners of a shiny(?) new septic field with not one, but TWO tanks, WOO-HOO!!!



The old Birch Lodge septic tank was metal and in poor condition. We decided while we replaced the brown water tank we'd also bring everything up to code and install a gray water tank in case we, or subsequent owners, decide to re-open the commercial kitchen. So, huge 1200 and 1000 gallon tanks and field were installed northwest of the lodge. Sadly, a few trees had to go.


We have to console ourselves with the fact we now have a simply dandy place to put up the steel gnome cut-out croquet wickets we found in the back of the barn.

One Step at a Time, Birch Lodge is Simply Electrifying

We finally got the last of the 8 rooms in the motel ready for guests this week, and once again we are fully booked. The number of guests has exceeded our expectations - many returning "regulars" but a majority finding us on line and staying for the first time. The motel rehab and clean-up and ongoing housekeeping has reduced the time available to work on the old lodge, but we are now moving forward.


Bill began electrical upgrades in the office recently, but quickly reached the limits of his expertise. Deb simply doesn't consider his success in screwing cfls into knob-and-tube wired fixtures a great leap forward.

So, somewhat reluctantly, this past week we've had electrical contractors out for bids to begin work on upgrades. A permit has been pulled and work should begin this coming week on the lodge office and Bill's office upstairs. Next phase will be the public areas on the first floor.











This past week also saw construction of permanent steps for the front porch that are in character with the building, replacing the temporary steps that were only constructed on the front. Guests can now access our vintage steel lawn chairs and wicker from the lakeside and each end. Of course, the excellent view from the porch needs no improvement.













Also, we've finished priming and applying paint to the west wing Doctor's Suite hall - replicating the original coral of the hallway. We've also begun painting the rooms in the wing. With flaking paint removed and calcimine paint scraped and sealed, the painted rooms are light and bright. The place is starting to feel like old times. If we allow ourselves to be optimistic, we may be able to start hosting guests in the lodge as early as next year.

Fire and Water

As the largest resort on Trout Lake, we are always trying to add to the amenities offered to our guests. The latest addition - a stone-lined fire pit. It in some ways it is in the spirit of a stone barbecue hearth dating to the mid-1900s that had been removed by the previous owner.







Several of our guests had asked about building a bonfire, bringing shudders to certain owners of a historic century-old frame lodge. But we realize how much weenies and s'mores over an open fire have inspired many a family tradition in the north.






So, we created a lodge-friendly, virtually fireproof location near the water's edge about mid-way between the motel and lodge. Close enough to either for access, far enough from both to reduce fire danger, and lakeside for cool breezes, sunset views, and lifetime memories.


Pull up a chair and pass the marshmallows!

Birch Lodge's "A-Peel"

While we are renovating the motel (last two rooms may come on line this week) and installing the fire ring near the lake, what the heck, might as well start working on the lodge interior. What better place than dealing with the unsightly walls and ceilings that are losing paint in huge sheets? No one wants to stay in a place whose interior looks like a haunted house.

Our research indicates the peeling problem is not due to water or weather, but is caused by the base coat of calcimine paint, a commonly used solution in early 20th century to quickly seal drying plaster and provide a finished look (an excellent summary is presented at alcimine.htm). Unfortunately for current Birch Lodge (and other old building) owners, this paint is calcium carbonate-based -- basically chalk. When you paint over it, the coverage has nothing to bond to and sooner or later peels off in flakes or large sheets - as happened in the lodge dining room that was painted just five years ago.


The best way to deal with this situation is to scrape off all overlying layers and then wash down the walls until the calcimine is removed. Since it is almost impossible through physical effort - and budget - to take all walls down to bare plaster, removing as much as possible, and then painting the walls with specialized paint such as Cal-Clean, Calc-X or Calci-coater, will seal and allow paint to adhere to the walls and ceilings.



Thus, our two intrepid soul mates, Randy and Becca, waded in this week in the first lodge rooms to undergo treatment - the former Doctor's Suite on the first floor. At the current state it all looks pretty nasty, but in our eyes it is progress that, while not beautiful, appears less frightening than walls that look like they are out of a horror movie.

However, we just can't seem to get used to the dark browns and reds that apparently once graced the suite . . .

Birch Lodge Modern---Again

Many people these days, even those who wish to immerse themselves in nostalgia and historical environments, expect "modern amenities" in accommodations.

Back in the day, Birch Lodge was proud to be up to date, and we want to bring it up to date again. Back then, to be "modern" you had to have indoor plumbing - and it is now almost to that state with Internet access and full-spectrum TV.

We did appreciate the old funky RCA color TVs in the motel rooms, but the roof antenna only pulled in two Canadian stations.

While Canadian TV is interesting, lets face it, that is not much of a choice, and after September 1 even these won't be available as Canada ceases analog broadcasting.

Thus, we somewhat reluctantly have acquired satellite Internet and TV for our guests. In the motel rooms we provide the DirecTV commercial package.


We thought this image of the old antenna juxtaposed with the satellite dish symbolized well the technological transition, as does this one showing the old and new televisions.
We now offer wireless connection through HughesNet in the lodge's Birch Bar, lobby, and dining room as well as on the full-width veranda - darned nice places with tons of atmosphere to sit with a cup of joe and check your email and facebook.

Can you imagine yourself behind the computer pictured here on the front porch, or there in the Birch Bar, or perhaps there in the front lobby???

Oh, and did we mention we now have an online reservation link on the website? Check the calender for availability and book yourself a room now! Soon the link will be set with our credit card processor so you can book and pay online with a secure link.

For two Luddites like us that never had more than rabbit ears and first thought dial-up web access was the bees knees, well, jeepers creepers and 24-skidoo, this is quite a change!!!

Summer Renovations at Birch Lodge The Beginning...

Birch Lodge before Restoration

We closed on the lodge just before Memorial Day, and spent that weekend settling into the small log cabin which would be our base for the summer. A tree had fallen on the electrical mast of the motel, and repairs were needed before we were ready to house the workers for the work on the lodge. Trees were down everywhere, the lawn had not been mowed in quite a while, and the lake edge was sprouting tag alder. Junk and debris had accrued everywhere. (Over twenty truckloads were cleaned up this year, not counting construction debris.)
And the lodge....
Oh, the lodge, the poor lodge, it looked really sad. On top of needing paint, and a roof the foundation was crumbling in the front and it was sagging.

Work on the lodge itself finally began in July. Our objective was to get a new roof on, make the repairs to the foundation, restore the old windows, and give it a coat of paint so that it might be weather-tight, and stabilized until further work inside can be done.

Demolition

The worst area was in the front of the lodge, under the picture windows in the lobby, where the building had sagged. Before the foundation was repaired, this area was raised almost 5", and support beams were installed, until the new foundation work was installed. It groaned, and moaned, cracked and popped, and at one point, the men thought it would not lift, but finally it started to move and all was well. Surprisingly, this did very little additional damage to the plaster inside.

Bill in Protective Gear

Bill got to don a respirator, and tyvek suit to tackle the clean-up of the bat droppings in the attic. Oddly, no bats were found in the attic, just their calling cards... the attic was then repeatedly sprayed with a bleach solution before the window restorers set to work.

Roofing Birch Lodge

The re-roof involved stripping off the old shingle and felt, which exposed the old roof boards. Originally, the roof had cedar shakes, which were nailed on boards with gaps between them to allow the air to flow. Unfortunately, when they were torn off and re-done way back when, they did not add any additional fill strips in the boards, and the old shingles were only "nailed" to the roofing felt over much of the roof! The view outside from the attic looked like a planetarium--a thousand points of light!

New sheathing went on as the weather turned rainy, and sections of roof were done quickly as the rain allowed. This was a dismal process, the rain seemed to play tag with the workers. The only good thing about doing a roof in rainy summer is that it makes it easy to check for leaks! (The only areas which leaked were "in progress" spots.)

In the midst of the work, the visitors came, by car, boat, golf cart--and wheel chair. It was fun to watch the parade of boats, and kayaks, and even jet-ski's watching us. One morning as the black underlayment for the roof was up across the front a jet-ski screamed across the lake, paused at the shore, apparently saw that it was only black on the roof because it was in progress, and darted straight back!

I wish I had a dollar for everyone who told us where to put the dock in (straight off the front door!). But we did enjoy listening to the stories people shared. We were deeply moved when one of our older visitors actually came to tears, she was so happy that we were saving the lodge. It did wonders for our spirits to get such strong approval.

But in spite of the numerous requests, we have no plans at this time to re-open the Birch Bar. Eventually I hope if will be open for coffee, but it will remain intact pool table and jukebox, and the bar with all their initials carved in, just the same. I invite all with old photos of vacations at the lodge to send us a copy, I intend to frame groups of old photos along the walls for all to reminisce and enjoy.

Next the story of the windows....