Restoration Road (2021–…): Season 2, Episode 3 - Waco Apple Cider Mill - full transcript
Clint converts a 1790 Dutch home from New York into a cider mill in Texas.
There's something
about upstate New York
that feel quintessentially
American to me.
Between its lush farmland
and small towns
that sprang up during
the earliest days
of our nation,
there's a lot of history here.
So, when Kevin Durkin
of Restoration Living
invited me up to look
at a special project
he's working on,
I jumped to the chance.
It's in this small town
of Fort Plain
that Kevin has discovered
a structure shrouded
in mystery.
And, I'm here to help him
solve the puzzle.
- Hey, Kevin.
- Hey. Welcome back.
- Um...
- -You just opened the can of worms.
- I-- I did.
- -The question is, what is it?
I'm Clint Harp.
And, I'm travelling America
to shed a light on some
incredible restorations
and transformations.
Get hands-on with some
of the builders bringing these
amazing places back to life,
and make sure these new
stories live on for years
to come.
Ooh! Well, isn't she a beauty?
This is Restoration Road.
- Okay.
- -So, what we've got here
is a real interesting project.
Huh. I would have
driven right by this.
Kind of nondescript,
you'd say, huh?
Um... Victorian?
Vinyl? Victorian Vinyl?
Victorian,
20th century, uh,
1970's vinyl.
Everything mixed together
but you're right.
I do see
small windows.
- Yeah.
- I see actual clabbers there,
like, some real siding
underneath this vinyl.
You're reading it right.
- Okay.
- -How about the brick up there, too?
- Oh, on the fireplace,
the chimney. Mmm-hmm.
- Yeah.
We've got a hodgepodge
of the centuries, really,
in front of us.
What era is this?
-This is...
-Well, I was told it was
Victorian and I was...
told it was 1853.
And, we're gonna go a lot
further back than that.
- Further back than...
- Oh, yeah.
- I'd say...
- No kidding.
What are you going
to do with this house?
We want to build a cider mill.
Cider mill?
And, we're going
to have a cider press in it
and I want
it waterwheel driven.
Water powered. I love water...
Because you're just
old-school.
Yeah. I just love
the water features.
Yeah. Yeah, sure.
- So, we're gonna form a dam and a pond.
- -Okay.
We're gonna feed it into
the waterwheel
on the end here,
-which will drive the presses,
-Okay.
and grind the apples and press
fresh cider out of them.
Where is it going?
It's going to Texas.
- To Waco, I hope.
- Yeah.
Okay. And, now,
I'm really excited.
With all these different
period details visible,
this house is a bit
of a conundrum.
But, as we begin to explore
this place,
our biggest question is,
when was it built?
It doesn't look like
much from the outside,
but wait till you see
the inside.
- Let's go in.
- Hold on a second.
I wanna make sure
no one's home.
I don't think
anybody's here.
Ooh! Yeah.
Well, well. There is a remnant
of a lot of periods of history
in this house.
- Center hall colonial.
- Yep.
- Big room to this side, was it the parlor.
- -Okay.
Big room to that side,
same size,
- was it the cooking kitchen in there early on.
- -Okay.
You see all these sawn beans,
not early, very 1853 sawn.
That's not sawn.
- But when I saw that,
-Yeah.
- hand-hewn,
-Yeah.
and this overhead up here,
I thought, something else
is going on here,
-much earlier.
-Okay.
So, what we've got is
these heavy front
to back beams.
But, what's missing?
Look.
-Post, post. There was
another one right here.
-Yes.
- Another one there.
- And, these were
the tie beams. Is that...
- Yes.
- These are the tie beams that are no longer here now,
- but this is what would have been going on.
- -Yes.
- So, this was bent, bent,
bent, bent, bent. On and on.
- Dutch Framing.
Dutch Framing.
Traditionally,
a Dutch Frame
has a series of anchor bents
or structural sections
that run from the front side
to the back side
of the building.
These bents were then
connected by a top plate
to keep the structure rigid.
This house, essentially,
what you're telling me is,
it's been completely redone
in some way shape or form.
What they were doing
in the house, probably,
was upscaling everything.
They wanted things to look
plastered and very finished.
All right. But this...
Wattle and daub,
right out of Europe.
-Wattle and daub...
-Sure.
Is that a hat shop?
This is not 1853.
This is 17 something.
So, what's the wattle
and what's the daub?
Wattle, and this is da...
the daub.
Okay. So, the wood
is the wattle,
- the mud is the daub.
- Yes.
Now, that really
gives it away,
placing it in the 1700's.
Interesting.
The brick. What is this?
- This is a huge fireplace.
- -Okay.
That chimney is up
above here.
-Ah...
-Look, the fire got out
of control at some time.
- It sure did.
- They had a... a hot time,
one night. Look at that.
- So, fireplace here...
- This one's gone.
-But we have this one.
-This one looks intact.
Yeah.
I see the outline of what used
to be.
You sure can.
There's an evolution of how
to heat this house, all right.
-Yeah. Oh, look at that.
-Yeah.
They wallpapered
the molding.
- I've never seen that.
- -Yeah.
Personally, doing wallpaper...
I hate it.
-Wallpapering molding?
-I've never seen it.
Do you see something
else here
that really has something
to do with where this
building's going?
Well, I see
the turnings.
- What do you
mean, where--
- In the turning,
-on this newel post.
-I love the turning.
You know
what I see in it?
- What?
- An apple.
We gotta paint that red
when we...
... I mean,
it's a perfect apple.
Still sturdy, too.
Okay. So...
Big room up here.
Another fireplace.
Original hand hewn,
1850's edition.
So, here are the tie beams
up here.
- These are
the original tie beams
-Yes.
that would have been similar
to the ones downstairs,
- that were taken out.
- Yes.
So, why would they leave
the original joists up here
but take them out downstairs?
-Because on every joist here,
the rafters tie into them.
-Of course. Yeah.
So, you take these out and...
-Yeah
-Gonzo.
Yeah. There's no more--
there's no more truss.
Let's poke around
up there.
Take a look.
Wow!
Look at this.
Ha! What do you think?
Well, most interesting thing
is the missing collar ties.
- They went
right across,
-Mmm-hmm.
and gave tremendous support
to the roof and they took
them out.
- I'm thinking I'd put them back in.
- -Yeah.
Even for looks, they look good
going across here.
Maybe, some of those
16-footers we have
downstairs,
- put them back in here.
- Okay.
They'd look nice.
Yeah.
Now, these rafters...
these are sawn.
But, you know, that doesn't
preclude that they were early.
Maybe these are vertical
water powered saw.
Yes. That's what
I'm thinking.
Oh, yeah. That's what
you've got.
-You can see it right here.
-Yeah.
So, still placing it
in the 1700's up here.
Yeah.
With every new space
we explore,
we get a clearer picture
of the many chapters
of this house.
It will take a lot of vision
to tie all of these decades
and centuries together.
You've got a house
that represents multiple eras.
What era are you going
back to?
Well, you know me.
I usually want to go back
to a point in time and do
the whole place that way.
The earliest point
in time, usually.
- But--
- That's-- that's what
I'm expecting.
Yeah. I like
the Victorian porch.
I don't want to get rid
of that.
- I want to keep that.
- Okay.
And yet, in here I want
to keep the original
early frame.
- Okay.
- -But we're missing parts.
So, I've got to get tie beams
to go back in here.
-You want to strip everything
out of here,
-Yes.
-and go back to Dutch Frame,
-Yes.
which is bent, bent, bent,
bent, bent. All the way.
And, big beams going this way.
-And these sawn 1850's beams,
-Yes.
how about a waterwheel?
I'm in,
a hundred percent.
I wanted a big waterwheel,
I wanted like
a 16-foot waterwheel.
- These are 16-footers up here.
- -Mmm-hmm.
Can we put them into
a waterwheel?
We have a two-story
house here.
What are you going to go
back with, in terms
of layout?
Well, it seems like everybody
who ever lived here
put their two cents into it,
so, I thought, I'd put my two
cents and change it a little.
-I want to drop the ceiling
of the second floor above us.
-Okay.
- And open this up to that open ceiling overhead.
- -Okay.
So, you're gonna take out
this floor right here
in the second floor,
-where the ceiling is now,
you're gonna vault it.
-Yes.
-And we're gonna be able
to see that from here.
-Yes.
From all the way down here.
Gonna open the whole thing up.
Okay. All right. We start
taking this down.
Let's go.
about upstate New York
that feel quintessentially
American to me.
Between its lush farmland
and small towns
that sprang up during
the earliest days
of our nation,
there's a lot of history here.
So, when Kevin Durkin
of Restoration Living
invited me up to look
at a special project
he's working on,
I jumped to the chance.
It's in this small town
of Fort Plain
that Kevin has discovered
a structure shrouded
in mystery.
And, I'm here to help him
solve the puzzle.
- Hey, Kevin.
- Hey. Welcome back.
- Um...
- -You just opened the can of worms.
- I-- I did.
- -The question is, what is it?
I'm Clint Harp.
And, I'm travelling America
to shed a light on some
incredible restorations
and transformations.
Get hands-on with some
of the builders bringing these
amazing places back to life,
and make sure these new
stories live on for years
to come.
Ooh! Well, isn't she a beauty?
This is Restoration Road.
- Okay.
- -So, what we've got here
is a real interesting project.
Huh. I would have
driven right by this.
Kind of nondescript,
you'd say, huh?
Um... Victorian?
Vinyl? Victorian Vinyl?
Victorian,
20th century, uh,
1970's vinyl.
Everything mixed together
but you're right.
I do see
small windows.
- Yeah.
- I see actual clabbers there,
like, some real siding
underneath this vinyl.
You're reading it right.
- Okay.
- -How about the brick up there, too?
- Oh, on the fireplace,
the chimney. Mmm-hmm.
- Yeah.
We've got a hodgepodge
of the centuries, really,
in front of us.
What era is this?
-This is...
-Well, I was told it was
Victorian and I was...
told it was 1853.
And, we're gonna go a lot
further back than that.
- Further back than...
- Oh, yeah.
- I'd say...
- No kidding.
What are you going
to do with this house?
We want to build a cider mill.
Cider mill?
And, we're going
to have a cider press in it
and I want
it waterwheel driven.
Water powered. I love water...
Because you're just
old-school.
Yeah. I just love
the water features.
Yeah. Yeah, sure.
- So, we're gonna form a dam and a pond.
- -Okay.
We're gonna feed it into
the waterwheel
on the end here,
-which will drive the presses,
-Okay.
and grind the apples and press
fresh cider out of them.
Where is it going?
It's going to Texas.
- To Waco, I hope.
- Yeah.
Okay. And, now,
I'm really excited.
With all these different
period details visible,
this house is a bit
of a conundrum.
But, as we begin to explore
this place,
our biggest question is,
when was it built?
It doesn't look like
much from the outside,
but wait till you see
the inside.
- Let's go in.
- Hold on a second.
I wanna make sure
no one's home.
I don't think
anybody's here.
Ooh! Yeah.
Well, well. There is a remnant
of a lot of periods of history
in this house.
- Center hall colonial.
- Yep.
- Big room to this side, was it the parlor.
- -Okay.
Big room to that side,
same size,
- was it the cooking kitchen in there early on.
- -Okay.
You see all these sawn beans,
not early, very 1853 sawn.
That's not sawn.
- But when I saw that,
-Yeah.
- hand-hewn,
-Yeah.
and this overhead up here,
I thought, something else
is going on here,
-much earlier.
-Okay.
So, what we've got is
these heavy front
to back beams.
But, what's missing?
Look.
-Post, post. There was
another one right here.
-Yes.
- Another one there.
- And, these were
the tie beams. Is that...
- Yes.
- These are the tie beams that are no longer here now,
- but this is what would have been going on.
- -Yes.
- So, this was bent, bent,
bent, bent, bent. On and on.
- Dutch Framing.
Dutch Framing.
Traditionally,
a Dutch Frame
has a series of anchor bents
or structural sections
that run from the front side
to the back side
of the building.
These bents were then
connected by a top plate
to keep the structure rigid.
This house, essentially,
what you're telling me is,
it's been completely redone
in some way shape or form.
What they were doing
in the house, probably,
was upscaling everything.
They wanted things to look
plastered and very finished.
All right. But this...
Wattle and daub,
right out of Europe.
-Wattle and daub...
-Sure.
Is that a hat shop?
This is not 1853.
This is 17 something.
So, what's the wattle
and what's the daub?
Wattle, and this is da...
the daub.
Okay. So, the wood
is the wattle,
- the mud is the daub.
- Yes.
Now, that really
gives it away,
placing it in the 1700's.
Interesting.
The brick. What is this?
- This is a huge fireplace.
- -Okay.
That chimney is up
above here.
-Ah...
-Look, the fire got out
of control at some time.
- It sure did.
- They had a... a hot time,
one night. Look at that.
- So, fireplace here...
- This one's gone.
-But we have this one.
-This one looks intact.
Yeah.
I see the outline of what used
to be.
You sure can.
There's an evolution of how
to heat this house, all right.
-Yeah. Oh, look at that.
-Yeah.
They wallpapered
the molding.
- I've never seen that.
- -Yeah.
Personally, doing wallpaper...
I hate it.
-Wallpapering molding?
-I've never seen it.
Do you see something
else here
that really has something
to do with where this
building's going?
Well, I see
the turnings.
- What do you
mean, where--
- In the turning,
-on this newel post.
-I love the turning.
You know
what I see in it?
- What?
- An apple.
We gotta paint that red
when we...
... I mean,
it's a perfect apple.
Still sturdy, too.
Okay. So...
Big room up here.
Another fireplace.
Original hand hewn,
1850's edition.
So, here are the tie beams
up here.
- These are
the original tie beams
-Yes.
that would have been similar
to the ones downstairs,
- that were taken out.
- Yes.
So, why would they leave
the original joists up here
but take them out downstairs?
-Because on every joist here,
the rafters tie into them.
-Of course. Yeah.
So, you take these out and...
-Yeah
-Gonzo.
Yeah. There's no more--
there's no more truss.
Let's poke around
up there.
Take a look.
Wow!
Look at this.
Ha! What do you think?
Well, most interesting thing
is the missing collar ties.
- They went
right across,
-Mmm-hmm.
and gave tremendous support
to the roof and they took
them out.
- I'm thinking I'd put them back in.
- -Yeah.
Even for looks, they look good
going across here.
Maybe, some of those
16-footers we have
downstairs,
- put them back in here.
- Okay.
They'd look nice.
Yeah.
Now, these rafters...
these are sawn.
But, you know, that doesn't
preclude that they were early.
Maybe these are vertical
water powered saw.
Yes. That's what
I'm thinking.
Oh, yeah. That's what
you've got.
-You can see it right here.
-Yeah.
So, still placing it
in the 1700's up here.
Yeah.
With every new space
we explore,
we get a clearer picture
of the many chapters
of this house.
It will take a lot of vision
to tie all of these decades
and centuries together.
You've got a house
that represents multiple eras.
What era are you going
back to?
Well, you know me.
I usually want to go back
to a point in time and do
the whole place that way.
The earliest point
in time, usually.
- But--
- That's-- that's what
I'm expecting.
Yeah. I like
the Victorian porch.
I don't want to get rid
of that.
- I want to keep that.
- Okay.
And yet, in here I want
to keep the original
early frame.
- Okay.
- -But we're missing parts.
So, I've got to get tie beams
to go back in here.
-You want to strip everything
out of here,
-Yes.
-and go back to Dutch Frame,
-Yes.
which is bent, bent, bent,
bent, bent. All the way.
And, big beams going this way.
-And these sawn 1850's beams,
-Yes.
how about a waterwheel?
I'm in,
a hundred percent.
I wanted a big waterwheel,
I wanted like
a 16-foot waterwheel.
- These are 16-footers up here.
- -Mmm-hmm.
Can we put them into
a waterwheel?
We have a two-story
house here.
What are you going to go
back with, in terms
of layout?
Well, it seems like everybody
who ever lived here
put their two cents into it,
so, I thought, I'd put my two
cents and change it a little.
-I want to drop the ceiling
of the second floor above us.
-Okay.
- And open this up to that open ceiling overhead.
- -Okay.
So, you're gonna take out
this floor right here
in the second floor,
-where the ceiling is now,
you're gonna vault it.
-Yes.
-And we're gonna be able
to see that from here.
-Yes.
From all the way down here.
Gonna open the whole thing up.
Okay. All right. We start
taking this down.
Let's go.