153 West Northfield Road, an 1862 farmhouse: Built by German Immigrant George Hoffman from trees cut from what is now South Mountain Reservation. Owned by relatives of Clara Maass since 1913.

Here is photo of the Maass Family:

Purchased by us from the estate of Margaret Maass in 2000.  

11/2002 Update We have begun renovations to the house.  Our wish list is to add a deck, modern kitchen, breakfast nook, new powder room, master bath, and two bedrooms in the attic.  Along the way, we want to reopen the fireplace in the dining room, add central air, and modernize the systems.  Whether this can be accomplished within our budget is still undecided. Because we know that we will modernize the kitchen no matter what, we have started by gutting the kitchen and adjoining dining room wall to see what was up.  

We learned that the home was constructed using a technique called timber framing, where the structure is framed out of large hand hewn wooden beams, let into each other with mortise and tenon joints, and then pinned in place with hand made oak pegs.  Each joint was custom made on the site and numbered so it could be constructed like a giant erector set once the structure was completely crafted.  This type of construction disappeared once large quantities of dimensional lumber was available for purchase.  Done right, it is very strong and elegant,  

This is quite different from anything we have done before, and sent us off to the library, and to see an architect.  Also, we have a couple of zoning issues to research to see if we can legally turn the attic into 3rd floor living space.  

We  will post pictures of the renovation when we can show progress.

Before:                                                                        3 years after, and still not complete:

For more pictures of renovation in progress, click here

Pictures prior to renovation: 

Laundry/Mud & 2nd Floor Bathrooms

Backyard View