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"Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 11:49 pm
by Straelbora
Well, much faster than I expected, my wife and I are closing this week on some land. It's 12 acres, mostly wooded and hilly, about 1/2 an hour drive south west of Indianapolis.

I'll be reclearing about and acre and a half that has been fallow for the better part of the last decade, and we're building a small country house for the family- garden, fruit trees, etc.

Up the hill from our building site, there's a small 1930 house and some outbuildings. They are mine to play with, and my plan is to convert the building into a small inn somewhere on the Greenway in the latter Third Age. The house is down to bare walls (and in some rooms, studs and joists with some flooring missing), so it's really from the bottom up. I'm thinking of keeping electricity and running water in the bathroom, and foregoing electricity in the rest of the building. The kitchen is gutted, so no running water there.

My original plan was that in a few years, I was going to try and get maybe 50 acres or more and build a two-storey inn from the ground up. However, if I can get this place fixed up and appealing to LARPers, fantasy fans, etc. (a friend has already suggested a 'once a month Dungeons & Dragons by candlelight' event, since it is actually rather close to the city), and can get it to generate some income, then phase 2 will be the larger land, with open areas for LARPing field battles, a bit more extensive hiking, etc.

I'll be posting some pictures and would really like input into how I can make this site feel as 'Middle-earth' as possible, and what kinds of amenities, additions, etc. might make it more appealing to folks.

And, of course, once it's ready, or nearly ready, I'd love to host a forum-wide moot of Rangers. The beauty is that all you'd have to do is get here and bring some food and gear. The moot would have no rental fees and we could do whatever we want on the land.

As you'll see from subsequent photos (I need to resize them to fit this forum), the house has wooden siding and the last tenants (the ones that left all the trash on the property) took some split log pieces and attached them to the sides to make it look like a log cabin. I plan on recycling them perhaps as shingles overlying the metal roof, and then using wood and stones to make a Tudor facade. I plan on recyling the wood from some of the outbuildings that have to be torn down into wooden plank floors, walls and ceilings inside.

Re: "Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 12:00 am
by Greg
Can't wait to see how this turns out. Glad you got your offer accepted!

Re: "Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 12:46 am
by Peter Remling
Sounds great !

Depending on how much split wood you have laying around,
you might thinking of making some tables and possibly a bar
out of it.

I might be able to get some canvas sacks that can be used as
flour or apple sacks, etc. If so I'll pm you for your address.

Re: "Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 1:21 am
by Straelbora
Greg wrote:Can't wait to see how this turns out. Glad you got your offer accepted!
Thanks. The site really is a mess- the renters left junk all over the place. I think people who were initially interested were turned off by the condition of the 'house' and surroundings and looked for something that would be less work.

Re: "Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 1:23 am
by Straelbora
Peter Remling wrote:Sounds great !

Depending on how much split wood you have laying around,
you might thinking of making some tables and possibly a bar
out of it.

I might be able to get some canvas sacks that can be used as
flour or apple sacks, etc. If so I'll pm you for your address.
Thanks. Yeah- I'm putting in a bar and the rear entrance will be a storeroom of sorts as well.

I'm doing everything Man-sized, but with some Hobbit-friendly features (such as two viewing ports within the doors, like in the gates to Bree).

Re: "Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 2:45 am
by Yavion
That's awesome!

Oh! Since you'll be constructing things anyway you may have fun looking into alternative heating resources like a rocket mass heater.
It sure isn't medieval, but it's efficient and needs no fancy equipment once set up.

Re: "Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 12:21 am
by Greg
I'm definitely, by the way, completely in for some organized work days. Clearing, construction...tree trimming *wink*

Re: "Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 3:37 am
by Straelbora
Greg wrote:I'm definitely, by the way, completely in for some organized work days. Clearing, construction...tree trimming *wink*
We close this Friday, and I'm guessing I'll be on the site just about every day thereafter. The goal is to reclear a bottom land acre or so that was left to overgrow for at least the last five years. As soon as we've cleared as much as we are happy with, construction of a small house and laying out gardens.

Right up there with clearing the land will be securing the house, tearing down some outbuildings and figuring out what the heck to do with the main room's floor. The orcs that lived there tore out (and apparently threw out) a section of hard wood flooring and underflooring, so there are some dodgy joists over dirt, with an old door and some crappy chipboard balanced on them.

And after that, there's 'mapping' the parcel, identifying potential sites for things like a bridge over the creek, for LARPers to battle over, fake Numenorean ruins, Swedish/Finnish style 'Ranger huts' (http://www.svenskaturistforeningen.se/P ... 3240/7.jpg)- I'm planning on building four or so of these 'wooden tents' near to each other, with a fire pit, and maybe further down the line, a Rohirrim-style mead hall (not quite on the scale of Meduseld), and bushwhacking trails to connect everything.

Anyone interested in any of those projects is more than welcome to come by and offer up expertise.

Re: "Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 7:05 pm
by Manveruon
HAH! Fantastic news!

This is just phenomenal! Once you've gotten at least one main building situated and the land is somewhat usable, I think the potential is there for you to put together what could possibly be the greatest Middle-Earth gathering in the entire US! Think about it - a Middle Earth themed faire/festival, with a sort of tent market square set up in the middle, camping all around, and every kind of inhabitant of Arda imaginable occupying the vicinity. Everyone who comes could be encouraged/required to dress in Middle-Earth-appropriate attire and remain in character for the weekend (or at least to a reasonable degree). It would be insane! I bet there would be quite a lot of interest out there for it too.

Re: "Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 12:57 am
by Rifter
Excellent news indeed!!! well done.

Re: "Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 4:10 am
by Straelbora
Rifter wrote:Excellent news indeed!!! well done.
Spent the day with machete in hand, clearing some fallow land, then hiked the perimeter with a friend who was helping me out and my five year old son. I'm so excited, and there are so many projects I want to start at once.

Re: "Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 11:56 pm
by Kiriana
This sounds so awsome. Any pictures yet???

Re: "Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 6:55 pm
by Straelbora
Kiriana wrote:This sounds so awsome. Any pictures yet???
At this point, not much to see, except the garden. I'm doing a three-part garden, fenced in wattle fencing. One part will be herbs, one flowers and berry bushes, another a kitchen vegetable garden. I've got some two and three inch tree trunk posts but due to lack of time, recycled wire fencing that was on the property to create the fence itself. We've planted 10 fruit trees and have them caged as well (the place is thick with deer).

The current garden is just vegetable. I eventually need to dig a trench for the whole garden area and lay in rabbit-proof recycled bricks, then the posts, then work in the wattle fencing.

The house itself is at least clean; the main room is missing half its floor, and I've got wood, etc. to put in new joists, then I need to scrounge some oak flooring to replace the stuff that is missing (I've got a portion of what was taken out by the former residents).

I'm tearing out some chipboard walls the previous owners put in to open up the 'main room/bar' area. Once I do that, I'll start doing the entire interior in recycled barn wood, old fences and old deck wood that people are getting rid of.

Once again, anyone who wants to come to central Indiana and worlk on the transformation, let me know. There will be work for years, turning the house into an inn, the garage into a barn, a shed into a forge, etc.

I'm getting ready to put up a web page and Facebook page to gain interest and solicit helpers, but am stuck on the name. I decided to avoid anything too 'Middle-earth,' and have whittled my list down to maybe four or five that I like due to: personal resonance; neat sounding without inviting copyright war; lending itself to a symbol that could later be put on T-shirts, mugs, etc.

Re: "Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 7:01 pm
by Manveruon
I can't wait to see the progress! Was the naming thread helpful to you at all? Were there any names from there that popped out at you?

Re: "Middle-earth Inn phase 1 a go."

Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 7:06 pm
by Straelbora
Kiriana wrote:This sounds so awsome. Any pictures yet???
A couple of photos from June. Not sure if I posted what the current exterior looks like, so I'll add one, too.