An upstairs bedroom in the Scheidt home in Town and Country showcases the original wooden logs which made up the original 1830's cabin, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
Roberto Rodriguez
The back patio of the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
Roberto Rodriguez
An archway leads into the kitchen from the living room in the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
Roberto Rodriguez
The bathroom counter in the master bedroom was made of the same wood which matches the floors of the original 1830's structure in the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
Roberto Rodriguez
Richard Scheidt (from right) and his wife Nancy Scheidt pose for a photo with their children Jake Scheidt, 8, Samantha Ruggeri, William Scheidt, 17, and their grandson, Liam Daus (bottom left), 3, in front of their updated 1830's home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
Roberto Rodriguez
The Scheidt homein Town and Country which was originally built in the 1830's, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
Roberto Rodriguez
The wooden beams which are original to the 1830's structure are seen in the living room of the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
PHOTOS BY Roberto Rodriguez
“Exposing the fronts was very important to us along with finding reclaimed wood to match the 180-year-old pine floors,” Nancy said. Richie found matching pine to build the bathroom countertops and the kitchen’s island. They limited work in the kitchen to updating appliances, countertop and cabinets, “keeping our choices simple and rustic,” Nancy said. Richie added a special touch for the kitchen ceiling, lining it with stained wood. He exposed the logs using the same method his father taught him.
When Richie Scheidt was a young boy growing up in an old log cabin home in Town and Country, he learned some valuable skills helping his father, “Big Rich” Scheidt, maintain the character and history of the 1834 structure.
Little did he know that he would use those skills to help transform the home to 21st-century standards, a feat he called “very lucky” to do properly.
The elder Rich Scheidt and wife Joan bought the house in 1960 and soon embarked on their own task of creating a comfortable family home to the standards of the day. Among the updates were mending and painting rare grooved stucco in the living room and dining room; building custom window frames; and hand-sanding several coats of paint on ceiling beams down to their wood surface for staining and sealing.
Scheidt built custom bookcases to fit around the cabin’s original limestone fireplace. With the upstairs accessible only by ladder, he constructed a staircase, including custom-making each spindle himself. Not only that, he hand-dug an existing crawl space into a walkout basement, used to this day for storage and laundry.
“Big Rich” died in 2011 and his wife in 2013, and after Richie and his wife, Nancy Scheidt, bought out his sister’s share of the property, planning began in earnest on what would be an arduous renovation involving a crooked, 180-year-old foundation built on piers.
“Starting this project was exciting, knowing I was going to be a part of preserving a unique piece of history and because it was also my childhood home that my mother and father worked so hard to preserve,” Richie Scheidt said.
Nancy played a big part in the design, while Richie focused on its integration. The restoration started with removing wallpaper, painting, sanding, staining and the like. But the project hit a roadblock when the couple presented their expansion plan to an architect. He said it wouldn’t work, offering an alternative they rejected. A second architect didn’t pan out either, but a third “drew our plan beautifully,” Nancy said.
In the midst of starting his own construction company, Richie enlisted friend Jeff Gibson, and the two worked every weekend for eight months on the addition. Richie toiled evenings on the project after his day job.
“I was overwhelmed thinking about the hours and time it would take,” Richie said.
The addition comprises a walkout to an elevated deck with an expansive view of the sunset, wide hallway to a master bedroom and bath and stairs to a new family room in the lower level.
Nancy’s vision to duplicate an existing arched entry through the rear wall of the living room meant cutting through original logs, what she called a “bittersweet moment.” They kept the cut logs.
The addition “flows very nicely,” she said. “The new feels old, just like we wanted.” The work would take almost three years.
“There were times I wanted to give up, but the big picture kept me going,” Richie said. One of those frustrations included dealing with water leakage in the addition. Installing drain tile in the cabin’s crawl space required him “to dig this 12-foot-space, 2 feet deep on my belly. It seems to have worked.”
“Big Rich” died in the old home, but his son’s dream to refine it never did.
“This old house will always have its challenges, but thanks to my dad, they will be much less of an issue if he hadn’t done the work he did,” Richie said.
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1830s home in Town & Country
Roberto Rodriguez
An upstairs bedroom in the Scheidt home in Town and Country showcases the original wooden logs which made up the original 1830's cabin, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
“Exposing the fronts was very important to us along with finding reclaimed wood to match the 180-year-old pine floors,” Nancy said. Richie found matching pine to build the bathroom countertops and the kitchen’s island. They limited work in the kitchen to updating appliances, countertop and cabinets, “keeping our choices simple and rustic,” Nancy said. Richie added a special touch for the kitchen ceiling, lining it with stained wood. He exposed the logs using the same method his father taught him.
The logs which originally made up an wall are exposed in the arch way which leads to the new addition in the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
The bathroom counter in the master bedroom was made of the same wood which matches the floors of the original 1830's structure in the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
Richard Scheidt (from right) and his wife Nancy Scheidt pose for a photo with their children Jake Scheidt, 8, Samantha Ruggeri, William Scheidt, 17, and their grandson, Liam Daus (bottom left), 3, in front of their updated 1830's home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
A wreath made of cotton hangs on a stone fire place in the living room of the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
The wooden beams which are original to the 1830's structure are seen in the living room of the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
Family updates their 19th century home in Town & Country
Richard and Nancy Scheidt have made additions the their 1830's home in Town and Country to blend the old and the new. Richard grew up in the home.
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1830s home in Town & Country
Roberto Rodriguez
An upstairs bedroom in the Scheidt home in Town and Country showcases the original wooden logs which made up the original 1830's cabin, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
1830s home in Town & Country
Roberto Rodriguez
A collection of decorations on a hallway table in Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
1830s home in Town & Country
Roberto Rodriguez
The back patio of the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
1830s home in Town & Country
Roberto Rodriguez
An archway leads into the kitchen from the living room in the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
1830s home in Town & Country
Roberto Rodriguez
A painting of a cow hangs in the kitchen of the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
1830s home in Town & Country
Roberto Rodriguez
“Exposing the fronts was very important to us along with finding reclaimed wood to match the 180-year-old pine floors,” Nancy said. Richie found matching pine to build the bathroom countertops and the kitchen’s island. They limited work in the kitchen to updating appliances, countertop and cabinets, “keeping our choices simple and rustic,” Nancy said. Richie added a special touch for the kitchen ceiling, lining it with stained wood. He exposed the logs using the same method his father taught him.
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Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
1830s home in Town & Country
Roberto Rodriguez
The logs which originally made up an wall are exposed in the arch way which leads to the new addition in the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
1830s home in Town & Country
Roberto Rodriguez
The master bedroom, which is part of the new addition, in the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
1830s home in Town & Country
Roberto Rodriguez
The bathroom counter in the master bedroom was made of the same wood which matches the floors of the original 1830's structure in the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
1830s home in Town & Country
Roberto Rodriguez
Richard Scheidt (from right) and his wife Nancy Scheidt pose for a photo with their children Jake Scheidt, 8, Samantha Ruggeri, William Scheidt, 17, and their grandson, Liam Daus (bottom left), 3, in front of their updated 1830's home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
1830s home in Town & Country
Roberto Rodriguez
A wreath made of cotton hangs on a stone fire place in the living room of the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
1830s home in Town & Country
Roberto Rodriguez
The Scheidt homein Town and Country which was originally built in the 1830's, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
1830s home in Town & Country
PHOTOS BY Roberto Rodriguez
The wooden beams which are original to the 1830's structure are seen in the living room of the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
Now a single-family home, the building, built in 1908, was a neighborhood grocery until the 1950s and is believed to have also housed a bar and possibly a speakeasy at different times.
Q: My wife signed her home over to her daughter 15 years ago. She wanted to protect her home in case she ever went into a nursing home. She got paid less than $100 for the house.
An upstairs bedroom in the Scheidt home in Town and Country showcases the original wooden logs which made up the original 1830's cabin, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
The bathroom counter in the master bedroom was made of the same wood which matches the floors of the original 1830's structure in the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
Richard Scheidt (from right) and his wife Nancy Scheidt pose for a photo with their children Jake Scheidt, 8, Samantha Ruggeri, William Scheidt, 17, and their grandson, Liam Daus (bottom left), 3, in front of their updated 1830's home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
The wooden beams which are original to the 1830's structure are seen in the living room of the Scheidt home in Town and Country, Thursday, July 14, 2016. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez
“Exposing the fronts was very important to us along with finding reclaimed wood to match the 180-year-old pine floors,” Nancy said. Richie found matching pine to build the bathroom countertops and the kitchen’s island. They limited work in the kitchen to updating appliances, countertop and cabinets, “keeping our choices simple and rustic,” Nancy said. Richie added a special touch for the kitchen ceiling, lining it with stained wood. He exposed the logs using the same method his father taught him.