When Steve Roth purchased the dilapidated and foreclosed Civil War-era home in Hillsdale, Mich., in 2011, many people said he had on rose-colored glasses. But Roth, a professional contractor, quickly saw the potential of returning the home to its former glory by using innovative urethane products.

“We gutted 90 percent of this two-story home and rebuilt it using the original massive stone basement and solid oak structural framing to start fresh,” says Roth. “Our vision was to create an inviting cabin-style home with a big front porch that could be rented out to students at nearby Hillsdale College. We turned that dream into reality within just one year.”

ALL THE PIECES MATTER

What helped Roth most with creating the log-cabin feel he was after on the home’s exterior? Stainable woodgrain urethane pieces from the Fypon Stone and Timber collection. Roth selected the Fypon pieces due to their durability, low maintenance appeal and style—all of which were important considerations for the rehab that will now be used as a rental property.

“The original stone pillars on the porch had the beginning style of a lodge retreat home, but had ugly 4x4 lumber as support posts,” says Roth. “I used post wrap kit pieces from Fypon in a woodgrain finish to surround those posts. Then, to carry the theme further, textured flat trim was used to accent the new Therma-Tru entry door and deep pine green exterior frames of the Simonton windows I installed.”

“A half-log tongue-and-groove pine siding was installed on the home itself to give it a real log cabin feel. Finally, I used urethane five-board panel shutters in a rather unique way to cover the porch ceiling and then accented them with faux wooden beams and straps from Fypon,” he says.

REPLACE THE BAD WITH GOOD

Roth had never used this much wood textured product before.

“The installation is so much easier than real cedar wood because you don’t have the cup and bowing problems that are a natural defect in wood. Plus, this product is faster to cut and nail since the material is uniform,” he says.

 The transformation of the home’s porch was a huge change, as it started out with white vinyl siding on the house with OSB particle board painted white on the porch ceiling.

“Decaying wood trim was everywhere. With the products installed now, maintenance will never again be a challenge for this home and it’s ready for its next life,” Roth says.

 The fully-renovated house, which Therma-Tru and Fypon provided materials for, features eight bedrooms, three bathrooms, large living areas and the renovated front porch. New energy-efficient windows, doors, insulation, gas furnace system and HVAC all bring the home into the 21st century. Now called the “Lodge on Manning,” the house is ready to start a new history—with college students ready to create new memories inside the old, renovated home.