Charles's Obsession

While driving over the Hummingbird Highway, we came across this strange structure and had to wait a mile or two to find a good place to turn around.  We couldn't decide whether it was a house or an art project when we pulled up.  It was both.  We were standing in awe when Charles strolled up to take prideful ownership of his project, happy to answer our questions and pose for a picture or two.  

Turns out, Charles has been working on this house since 1979, bit-by-bit.  He finds old lumber scraps wherever he can and adds them to the house where needed.  There is pretty much nothing on the house that isn't second-hand.  My friend Joel is a housing deconstruction and reuse expert for Habitat for Humanity. He's amazing at reclaiming and reusing building materials but I think he may have met his match in Charles.  They have pretty different styles but I've got a feeling that these two would have plenty to chat about.

In its current state, the house is about 2400 square feet, with two-stories, and it has a wrap-around porch with 4-ish bedrooms.  He told us there would be 13 bedrooms when it was done.  Charles is definitely not finished though, and I don't think he will be until he passes.  

I love the detail work on the railings. Many of the little pieces are fit together out of necessity because they are small or oddly shaped and wouldn't serve any other purpose, but there is a definite design intent that I really enjoy.  

You definitely get  a sense of Charles's obsession with building on as you see that he's begun a brand new section on the back of the house without even adding the stairs to the original second story yet.  He could hardly finish explaining the add-on that was in progress before going into his plan for the next one.  

He set out in 1979 to build a mansion.  It was the plan all along. He said he wanted a big place for his family.  There was no evidence of a family around during our tour, but there were bedrooms prepared with beds made and bedside tables set neatly with homemade lamps.




Thanks for the tour Charles.  I wish you luck and hope you actually get to keep building forever and never finish your masterpiece.  I'm pretty sure that is what will make you the happiest.