GARDNER HOUSE HISTORY

SKIP TO HOME TOUR
SKIP TO HOME TOUR

EST 1848

BUILT TO LAST

1848

FRONTIER CONSTRUCTION

Robert Gardner, Jr built this adobe home for his family in the winter of 1848 with a foundation of river stones that he carried from the nearby creek and set with hand-mixed cement.

Finished with bark-skinned timbers, the home witnesses the resourcefulness of early settlers driven by faith and stewardship to forge their own tools and settle virgin territory.

1848

SALT LAKE’S FIRST SAW MILL

Both Robert and his brother Archibald had experience running mills. After a brief, failed mill at Warm Springs, the brothers relocated the saw mill to Mill Creek.

Archie broke down one of his wagons, using the axel as the mill crank and repurposing all of the irons. The brothers hollowed out a log for the flume and set up a muley-type mill (reciprocating, up-and-down type of sawmill). The new mill ran well, and the family established their homestead and began building homes and barns in the area.

The mill was completely handcrafted and built without a single nail. “Wooden pins and mortises were used instead,” Archibald explained in his history, “all shafts, bearings, cog wheels, etc., were made of wood, our mountain maple. Here we turned out the first lumber sawed in Utah.”

Photo: izreal.eu

ADOBE BRICK CONSTRUCTION

Much of the home and garage were originally built using adobe bricks.

Adobe mud bricks are made of a mud-sand-clay composite pressed into wooden frames and dried in the sun.

For early settlers desperate for shelter, such durable construction shows the foresight and ingenuity that spurred the development of the Greater Salt Lake area.

DIGITAL HOME TOUR

Walk through the gorgeous grounds and building of the Robert Gardner Jr. Home.

This tour has been organized to double as a self-guided walking tour, if you happen to be at the site.

LIVING LANDSCAPE

From the 150-year-old maple in the front to the fresh cement sidewalks, every detail of the landscaping has been carefully manicured.

A water feature meanders through the property, connecting the home with the creek that originally brought Robert to this site. At one point Robert and his family owned 80 acres of the surrounding fields.

DECAYING MASONRY

Although Utah is an arid climate, the age of the home and its proximity to the creek both ate away at the integrity of the masonry. Many of the adobe bricks in both the home and garage were close to dissolving away completely and desperately needed attention.

THE GARAGE

The adobe brick that formed the structure of the garage was nearing failure when the renovation began. The bottomost bricks had been worn from wind and water, and were almost completely dissolved and blown away.

We removed the decayed bricks, ground them back down to powder, and sent them to New Mexico to be re-formed into new bricks that were then re-installed.

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A new metal structure and fresh cement were also installed. The new metal supports took the weight of the roof off of the brick exterior.

Along with the new adobe bricks a fresh layer of mortar helped seal up the masonry and renew the look of the whole garage.

View of the new garage bricks

SEISMIC-READY

Building practices have come a long way from the 1840’s, especially when it comes to making a structure earthquake-proof. Although you can’t see all of the seismic upgrades to the home, the photos below will give you a better idea of the extent of the renovation and how the home is truly built to last for hundreds of years.

NEW FOOTINGS

Bucket by bucket, the basement was carefully excavated to reveal the existing footings so that new, rebar-reinforced cement footings could be poured.

The cement portion of the walls in the basement are all part of the new footings, and serve as a reminder of how critical a solid foundation is to a home, a family, and a soul.

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Sample of what helical piers look like

Photo: Foundation Specialists

HELICAL PIERS

Over the years the foundation had sagged, pulling the walls and roof down, creating stress fractures and a crooked roof line. To prevent further sagging several helical piers were installed at strategic points.

Helical piers are giant metal screws that are threaded into the ground. They are generally used in places where conditions prevent standard foundation solutions.

The main weight of the home in these sections was transferred to the piers, which were securely driven into load-bearing soil.

EXPLORE THE BACKYARD OF THE HOME

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ROCK & STONE

Nearly every stone and rock that you can see on the outside of the home–including the fence and wall–has been worked on in some way. In many cases the stones were chinking off of the wall and sections had to be re-built.

A new red sandstone cap was installed to minimize water infiltration into the main wall. The entire perimeter fence is also new, and stones were sourced to match the existing wall and brickwork.

COBBLESTONES

In homage to the artisinal stone handiwork of the early pioneers, cobblestone was integrated into both the front yard driveway & paths as well as the backyard patio.

To minimize sagging, the paths were lightly excavated and then filled with fully compressed sand and gravel.

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EXPLORE THE FRONT YARD OF THE HOME

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INSIDE THE HOME

FRONT ROOM

In the 1930’s the large, stone mantlepiece was added to the home, adding a sense of grandeur to the space and setting a tone for the entire home.

CLEANED & REFINISHED

For decades the wood-burning fireplace provided heat for the building, which led to extensive smoke stains and soot buildup. The walls throughout the home also had several layers of paint and wallpaper, making them ideal mold-traps. In the end, all of the walls were either cleaned or demolished and re-surfaced with drywall.
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EXPLORE THE FRONT ROOM

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KITCHEN

The most drastic transformation of the home can be seen in the kitchen. After removing the drop-ceiling and exposing the original sawn timbers, the rafters were left open.

What made the room so visually-stunning also presented an insulation issue. To keep the home comfortable, the roof had to be re-framed to accommodate exterior insulation.

STURDY SUPPORT

Originally covered up by a drop-ceiling, the rafters were uncovered in the recent remodel and sit atop 15-inch walls. Raw cut marks on the original beams reveal that the thick planks were hewn by the sawblades of the first mill.

Removing the ceiling also revealed the original trusses and roof layers. Extra-wide planks of cottonwood act as the roof sub-layer, and speak to the superb capacity of that first sawmill, which was able to saw through over 20 inches of wood at a time.

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INSPIRATION

Most of the kitchen was in disrepair when the remodel began. A divider wall was removed and the whole room was gutted except for one cabinet, which was restored and is now attached to the table.

This cabinet features a simple, elegant trim detail that formed the inspiration for the rest of the kitchen cabinetry. Graphic designer Amber Blakesley also adapted the trim detail for the decorative mark used in much of the print and digital media about the home (such as below the heading “INSPIRATION”).

EXPLORE THE KITCHEN

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EXPLORE THE KITCHEN RAFTERS

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