Hard Hat Tour with Supermoon Founder Bradley Grillo

Welcome! Supermoon purchased this 1970’s era cabin in March and are in the beginning stages of renovation. We are excited to show you around.

Let’s take a look

Starting in the driveway

This home is a kit house originally built as a seasonal residence in 1973. The style is a combination of gambrel and A-frame design, often called a modified gambrel or chalet-style cabin. These were quite popular in the 1960’s and 70’s, and we’ve found examples of this exact model in California, Utah and Upstate New York. Word is that they were pretty easy to build, and the steep sides are perfect for areas with heavy snowfall. We believe that this particular cabin was originally more of an A-frame with a flat roof, and the gambrel peak was added later to more effectively shed water. The secondary structure is also a later addition, we are told it was originally a pottery studio.

The cabin on the left will become a year-round residence

with three bedrooms and 2.5 baths

We plan to keep the essential elements of the home’s design, but the shingled roof will be replaced with a metal one, and the facade will be redesigned to remove the triangular “cap,” instead adding a more traditional hay hood or “crow’s beak,” a common gambrel design element.

The old pottery studio will become a short-term rental

We envision scenic getaway for a couple or small family

The wood storage (and satellite dishes) will be removed, and the walkway that connects the two structures will be enlarged into an indoor/outdoor space complete with tiled hot-tub.

The interior of the Airbnb was the first to be gutted

Because the short-term rental is the first project on our long to-do list.

It wasn’t pretty, and at some point a large amount of kerosene leaked under the floorboards and was never cleaned up (imagined what that smelled like). We plan to install new french doors and large windows to capitalize on the backyard view, and the ground floor will also have a new bathroom, kitchenette, living/dining room, and outdoor patio.

This loft will become a lovely bedroom

with windows overlooking the estuary

We plan to raise the roof by adding a line of windows overlooking the backyard. We are currently living with our parents (even Supermoons have to start somewhere) s0 this will become our home base while we finish the rest of the house. When that’s done, we will move next door - hopefully by next summer.

This walkway will be an awesome indoor/outdoor living space

with tiled hot-tub, glass walls and barn-door for privacy.

This connecting walkway was set-up as a greenhouse by the previous owners. We will pour a new foundation and enlarge the space to make it continuous with the rest of the AirBnb.

Moving to the main house…

Here we are in the first floor

This space was only partially finished by the previous owners. It will eventually have one or two small bedrooms, a family room, a laundry/utilities room and storage. The style is sometimes called an “upside-down” house because the bedrooms are on the first floor and the living/dining room and kitchen are upstairs.

This is where the A-frame design really shines

The main living floor has tall ceilings and enormous windows

We totally gutted this space over the course of a few weeks, removing drywall, pine wall coverings, all the kitchen cabinets and appliances, and a small bedroom. There were also some very old air conditioners and dustiest curtains we’ve ever seen in our lives. It looks (and smells) much better now that’s its been opened up.

We found significant water damage after removing the drywall

The home’s original, flat roof design was clearly not up to the challenge of a Maine winter

Although we love the natural wood, there’s zero chance of repairing this water damage. Instead, we’ll give it a good soda-blast to remove any texture and add a thick coat of white paint.

Sigh…

This house has a totally spectacular view

The cottage looks over a long stretch of marshy estuary that provides habitat for nesting birds. Bald eagles, osprey, blue herons, egrets and songbirds can regularly be observed from these windows.

This stairwell has been held in place for 46 years with a few screws and a small piece of wood

This is one spot where the home’s substandard construction really comes into focus

The stairwell’s banisters were also tied on with string. STRING!!!

The master bedroom presents one of the home’s biggest design challenges

It’s currently an open loft overlooking the living/dining room

We want the master bedroom to be quiet and private, but if we close it off with drywall we might lose the view. To solve this problem, we are considering extending the floor over the left side of the living/dining room.

We will also open up this flat ceiling by removing the attic

A cathedral ceiling will let in more light and make the space feel huge

This phase of construction will happen when we replace the roof, because it requires that the entire “cap” of the house be removed.

This terrifying portal is the door to the attic

and a good example of what the entire house looked like about six weeks ago

Even after the roof was altered to more effectively shed water, it continued to leak and the attic became home to several generations of squirrels. It’s pretty scary up there. Everything above the beams will need to be completely replaced. We will reuse the trusses in the construction of a garage elsewhere on the property.

Moving outside again, let’s take a look at the backyard

Forty six years haven’t done this deck any favors

The deck is headed straight to the burn pile. In its place we plan to build a new deck with a screened porch underneath. We can already imagine sitting outside on warm summer nights, watching the birds return to their nests and paddlers passing by on the river. Sigh…dreams.

Why is all this pine board in a pile on the lawn?

Because after ripping it out, we tossed it out the closest window

It’s not that we don’t like pine board, but the house had absorbed decades of nicotine smoke, dust and mold. Everything had to go. We also needed to get the pine out of the way to remove the old, smelly, inadequate insulation behind it.

Reusable wood is de-nailed and carefully stacked by size

So far we’ve collected a huge stash of reusable 2x4’s and pine boards.

Everything else is sorted into piles and recycled, burned, given away on craigslist, or taken to the dump. So far we’ve made quite a bit of cash from scrapping copper pipes and wires.

This is the sad backyard of the AirBnb

Who let this tree grow so big? It’s practically blocking the back door.

This space will be totally unrecognizable when we’re done with it. We’re thinking…patio…grill…hot-tub…sauna…amazing view….cold beer….ahhh…

The $$$ Shot

Check out this fabulous view of the Harraseeket River estuary.

Our new neighbor, Giovani, said that seals can be seen on the occasional summer high tide, chasing schools of large fish. At some point, we will build a dock to have better water access.

There you have it!

Thanks for taking the time to check out our project.

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