Making Bifold Doors Into A Screen To Hide The Water Heater

Read article : Making Bifold Doors Into A Screen To Hide The Water Heater

We know this was supposed to be the final chapter when it comes to our big basement makeover, but because we tackled two different DIY projects (making a screen to block off our fugly water heater and frosting the windows for 100% privacy that still lets in the light) we realized it would be crazy to try to squeeze all those step by step photos and instructions into one post… so we’re breaking it down to two. Just look at it as twice the fun. So without further ado, here’s how we made a custom screen to hide our eye-sore of a water heater with $18 worth of secondhand bi-fold doors and a quart of punchy bright green paint (stay tuned for the window-frosting tutorial coming soon).

Before we get into all the nitty gritty details, we should remind you what the aforementioned water heater looks like. Remember this guy?

Of course the room has come a long way from that point (we added a rug, brought in a bike rack, upgraded the the lighting situation, papered the insides of the armoires, hung some art, brought in some storage, and organized our paint). But the frighteningly gross water heater remained… taunting us with its hideousness. We debated springing for a tankless variety, but because we’re big fans of working with what you have (and didn’t want to cart off our fully functional water heater to a landfill) we opted to create a screen that will block off the water heater along with the ugly trap door in the wall behind it (which leads to the crawl space under the house). And when this water heater finally breathes it’s last breath we’ll definitely consider upgrading to a tankless one (and we’ll still be able to use the screen to hide the unsightly trap door in the wall behind it).

But how did we end up with a giant screen without blowing our meager basement budget (many store-bought ones are in the $100-300 range and a bunch of those weren’t even tall enough to work for our space)? We just brainstormed materials that we could use to whip one up on the cheap. Here’s how it all went down.

Step 1: Locate three adequately tall bi-fold doors that are sturdy enough to stand on their own and will easily obscure a 6′ water heater. After debating the use of everything from all-weather curtain panels hung from the ceiling to bookcases on wheels (which could be pushed aside for water heater access) we finally decided a screen was the perfect solution for our space. And what’s an easier way to make a screen than hinging three bi-fold doors together and calling it a day? At first we thought about cutting a full sized door in half but bi-folds are like pre-cut doors, so they’re ready to go. Even better. Plus they’re easy to move, relatively simple to find, and definitely would add some playful color to the room if we opted to paint them a bold hue.

So a plan was born. For just $18 we snagged these three bi-fold doors at our local Habitat For Humanity ReStore (they were having a 40% off door sale when we went in- uh, awesome!). Plus they already came with enough hinges to join them all together and create one large screen. Jackpot.

When we got to the checkout the lady was like “um, you’re missing a door” (since there are supposed to be four) but we explained that this wonky set of three bi-folds was actually perfect for us since we were going to make a screen by joining them together and didn’t need a fourth. She seemed excited for us until we mentioned that we were going to attempt to shove them into our good ol’ Nissan Maxima. Then she just shook her head and muttered good luck. Of course we took it as a personal challenge…

That’s me flashing my victory smile. A lot of people write to us and ask how we take on so many projects with such a small car. We’re just like anyone else with a modestly sized ride… we squeeze things in when we can and call John’s sister and beg to borrow her Ford Explorer when we can’t. In a pinch we’ve even been known to rent a pick-up truck from Home Depot for a few hours, just to cart something around. It’s all about, in the words of the ever-fabulous Tim Gunn, making it work.

Tip: when you recline the front seat and place large objects in the car as we did above, you can actually fasten the passenger side seat belt across them, which can help keep things safely in place so they don’t slide around and encroach on the person in the back seat- especially when she has an ever-expanding belly full of baby to protect).

Step 2: Place bi-fold doors on cardboard (for painting) and hinge them together in the room where your screen will be living (to avoid the annoyance of building it in one place and then moving it halfway across the house afterwards). When we finally got our precious cargo home we placed the doors on a large piece of paint-ready cardboard, hinged them together with the free hinges that we inherited with the doors, and stepped back to take a look. By golly this just might work. We also did a bit of puttying/sanding to fill in any recessed parts of the doors and smooth out anything that wasn’t exactly ready for paint (but for $18 pre-used doors, they weren’t bad at all).

Step 3: Paint your newly made screen. That’s it. You’re done. I guess we should elaborate a bit. We used one quart of semi-gloss latex paint by Behr, which we had color matched to Benjamin Moore’s Bunker Hill Green 566. Two coats later John was finished. I love this whole being pregnant thing. No painting for me (of course for the impending bathroom and nursery projects we’ll be using no-VOC paint so I’ll be back on painting duty, but for the separate entry basement we figured low-VOC Behr paint worked for us- and at just $14 for the quart it put our total cost for the entire screen project at… (drumroll please)… $32!

We love the happy burst of emerald green that it brings to the space (it complements the paper behind the armoire doors, the large green tupperware bins we brought in, the storage boxes in our Ikea workstation, and even the subtle green stripes in the rug). And the function is great. It definitely hides the ugly stuff but still makes it easily accessible. Best of all, there’s still more than enough room- over 35″-  to walk to the other side of the basement, roll out our bikes, etc.

So that’s how you give an old set of bi-fold doors a whole new life on the cheap. We’ll be back with a window frosting tutorial followed by an entire basement project wrap-up (complete with photos from start to finish and even a budget breakdown for your viewing pleasure). And while we’re on the subject of repurposing bi-fold doors, have you guys reused doors or windows in any interesting ways? We’d love to hear how you’re giving old household staples a second life with a bit of DIY determination so do tell.

Psst- Want to look back on our big basement makeover from start to almost-finished? Here’s the first post, the second post, the third post, the forth post, the fifth post, the sixth post, and the seventh post. Ah memories.

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Home Tour: Remodeled Anderson Township barn becomes gorgeous modern dream home

Read article : Home Tour: Remodeled Anderson Township barn becomes gorgeous modern dream home

ANDERSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Jerry Whitney wasn’t looking to move, but he was looking for a clear route from his Anderson Township home to the airport on a day when interstate traffic was heavy. So he cut down Five Mile Road toward Kellogg Avenue.

“I didn’t want to miss my flight,” he said. “And then I saw this place and said, ‘Oh, my god, look at that barn.’ And then I saw a ‘for sale’ sign and Five Mile Creek behind it.”

He fell in love. When his wife of 14 years, Karen, saw it, she fell in love, too.

On Dec. 31, 2012, seven days after that first sighting, the Whitneys bought the 30-year-old horse barn and its seven acres at a 30 percent discount from a motivated seller. It cost them $300,000.

Fast forward 18 months and the Whitneys – who had no previous home construction experience – moved out of a 300-square-foot trailer on the property into a home like no other, a dream house they played a big role in designing and decorating.

The shock of the unexpected experience has worn off, but not the excitement and contentment they feel for their fully modern, energy-efficient barn house. Also still strong is their appreciation for their project partners – among them architect Marc McConnell, builder Paul Kapitula, Keidel Supply, A&S Lighting, Tate Builders Supply, Cooknee Cabinets, KBR Countertop Specialists, Home Depot, IKEA, The Container Store and Peoples First Savings Bank.

All these forces came together to produce a four-bedroom, three-bathroom showcase of modern architecture and engineering that surprisingly fits inside a big, old, round-top home originally built for horses.

Not only does the place run on a geothermal energy system that held down last summer’s utility bills to $90 per month, it is designed to be the Whitneys’ "forever home." The couple asked for and got what architects call “living in place” features that will allow the Whitneys, who are in their 60s, to stay in their home permanently.

The house’s hallways and doors are extra-wide. There’s a 4-foot-wide shaft just behind a door off the entry hall where an elevator to the second floor and its master bedroom can be installed if and when it is needed. Next to the shaft is a laundry room with a chute from the second floor. The master bathroom’s shower door is wide and wheelchair-accessible. Even the landscaping is designed to require minimal maintenance and no chemicals.

There are picture windows in every main room through which the Whitneys, for the rest of their lives, can watch the water rush down Five Mile Creek, lots of wildlife – deer, cardinals, doves, woodpeckers, nut hatches, tufted titmice and blue jays – and the moon and stars.

Take the Tour

The Whitneys – she’s from Bridgetown and is a University of Cincinnati graduate, he is from Lima, Ohio, and is a Xavier University graduate – wanted to retain the bones of the barn. And there’s no mistaking what it used to be when you turn off Five Mile Road onto their curved driveway. The house’s Quonset hut shape is enhanced by two second-floor dormers, a glassy grand entrance and the original cupola poking out at the roof’s center.

The barn’s industrial-strength foundation passed inspection with flying colors and was retained, but most of the interior – the stables, tack room and hayloft – was gutted to the arched laminated beams that support the rounded roof. To keep it water-tight during a 100-year flood, the entire house had to be raised 14½ inches.

Architect McConnell was so inspired by the place, Jerry Whitney said, that he sketched the floor plan in eight hours and then started marking off the layout with blue tape.

What strikes visitors upon entering the Whitneys’ home is its whiteness, its angular walls and windows, and its uncluttered, modern décor. Yet hints of the barn are there in the entry in the form of a frosted two-paneled sliding door that leads into the living room and a long, floating ledge made of chocolate walnut Jerry Whitney picked up on a one-day drive to Kansas City, Missouri, and back.

The Whitneys had hoped to repurpose two sliding wood doors in the old stable, but their condition was too poor.

“So we were in IKEA one day, and we saw those panels on some cabinets and said, ‘There’s our barn doors,’” said Jerry Whitney, a sales executive with a logistics software company.

The doors might leak a little heat, but the gas fireplace and heated, polished concrete floors keep the living room warm.

“My parents came here for two weeks in October, and they were so warm. My mother learned how to work the thermostat and kept it at 70 degrees. We practically had to kick them out,” joked Karen Whitney, a longtime physician’s assistant.

To the left of the entry hall and beyond the elevator shaft, laundry room and mechanicals closet are two bedrooms that share what the Whitneys call their “spa room.” The bathroom features sparkly, speckled gray quartz countertops, a dual-sink vanity with matching mirrors, a standalone soaking tub and a glassed-in shower with grass-like textured tile. Chrome is the metal of choice for the hardware and fixtures.

To be added to the “spa” features later this year is a fenced-in outdoor shower.

While family photographs in the bedroom at the front of the house stir memories, the bedroom in the back is filled with a mix of family-made art and heirlooms and images from vacations the couple and their four adult daughters have taken.

A glass door from the back bedroom leads to a covered concrete deck that stretches almost the entire length of the house. The deck faces Five Mile Creek and the woods of Withrow Nature Preserve and is accessible from the living and great rooms as well as the 2½-car garage.

Walking back to the entry hall, visitors pass a colorful Campari liqueur poster and a large portrait of an 11-year-old Jerry painted by the late College of Mount St. Joseph art instructor John Nartker.

Across the hall is a stairwell that reaches to the roof. It features a light oak staircase with stainless steel chords and rail and leads up to two more bedrooms, the kitchen and a beamed great room. The vaulted room includes a sectional couch and two stuffed chairs, a glassed-in wine closet, recessed lighting and one floor lamp, a 9-by-6 picture window, a gas fireplace, a big-screen television and a separate dining area with chandelier that faces the front yard.

The great room is where they wind down on weekends with wine and the Wall Street Journal or watch birds – on sunny or gray days.

“Even if it’s raining, we don’t care. With all these windows, it doesn’t matter,” Karen Whitney said.

Three bird feeders hang off the fully plumbed, second-story deck where the couple grills out with friends and watches the ever-running creek and forest.

The 30-foot-long deck is party central when the weather is nice, but the kitchen fills the bill in the winter. Stainless steel appliances, a long, two-tiered white quartz cooking and eating island and glossy white and textured gray European-style cabinets give the kitchen the modern feel Karen Whitney prefers.

“It’s a fun, fun, fun kitchen to cook in,” she said. “We hosted Thanksgiving last year, and I couldn’t believe how easy it was to cook the meal. There’s so much space and convenience.”

To the side of the kitchen and overlooking the stairwell’s cathedral-shaped window is a quartz-topped desk that the couple uses as command central, to pay bills and handle other household business. 

Two bedrooms are situated down a hall behind the kitchen, but before them is an inviting, steel-railed spiral staircase. Karen Whitney uses the slanted-wall and naturally lighted bonus room – which has two large cubbyholes behind doors for storage –for yoga, Pilates and TRX workouts. The third floor’s balcony hovers over the kitchen and great room and provides an up-close view of a special light fixture suspended inside the windowed cupola.

“My parents gave us that,” she said of the brass and crystal chandelier. “It came out of the old Shubert Theatre in Cincinnati.” It lights up the great room like a stationary disco ball, her husband said.

A guest room with full bath and the master with bath and massive walk-in closet are back down the spiral staircase and below the bonus room. The couple outfitted their closet with a system purchased at the Container Store that holds all their clothes and accessories. There is no dresser or wardrobe in their room, just open space and a clear view from the bed of the backyard and the rising moon.

“It’s the most wonderful bed to sleep in, until you have to get up,” Karen Whitney said.

'We Took a Gamble on it'

The Whitneys had just remodeled their contemporary house on Little Dry Run Road, which sat on a half-acre and was what they thought they always wanted. Leaving it was far from their minds – until they spotted the old horse barn on Five Mile.

“We took a gamble on it,” said Jerry Whitney, whose experience rebuilding vintage cars equipped him with mechanical skills and gave him confidence they could build their own home.

“Our financial adviser said, ‘You guys are crazy if you don’t do it,’” he said. So they did, but not without sacrifice. Living in a trailer during the treacherous winter of 2013-14 and storing their belongings in a nearby 20-by-30-foot shipping container for 18 months weren’t the only challenges they faced.

“We’d never built a house before or made all the decisions we had to make, sometimes instantaneous ones like when your builder asks, ‘What do I do now?’ and you’ve got to have a decision right then,” he said.

“We turned it into an adventure that we could write a book about,” Jerry Whitney said. “Karen’s quote is, ‘We never thought we would live in a dream house, and now we own one.’ To go from a normal house to this is just amazing. I swear we were meant to be here.”

Chance to See the Whitneys’ House

The 2016 green living tours by the Cincinnati chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council includes the Whitney house on Sept. 17 ($15 for non-members). To join the Green Living Member Circle, click here. The group will tour a modern house in Northside on Jan. 16.

Room for Living winners enjoy their makeovers

Read article : Room for Living winners enjoy their makeovers

Three Daily Herald readers received big upgrades in their homes over the winter, thanks to the generous sponsors of our fall Room for Living contest. All had written in and sent photos of the "problem areas" within their homes and were ultimately chosen to win specific packages.

Living room makeover

Cindy Walk of Fox Lake was the winner of the grand prize living room makeover valued at more than $8,000. She and her husband, Jim, have two children, including a 4-year-old with special needs. They have lived in their home since 2004.

"I love it!" she says of her renovated living room. "But it is an adjustment. No one can eat in the living room anymore."

The Walks received a $4,000 gift certificate from Steinhafels furniture store in Vernon Hills and used it to purchase a grayish slate blue sectional with a chaise lounge at one end, a storage ottoman, a light oak rocking chair and a distressed wood side table. They also purchased a rustic fireplace console with doors and shelves. Its simulated fire helps heat the home and there's room to mount a television above it.

Fox Lake resident Cindy Walk and her living room makeover project." width="600" class="lazyImg" />

  Fox Lake resident Cindy Walk and her living room makeover project. - Paul Valade | Staff Photographer

"They wanted a rustic lodge feel so she assembled a warm and cozy, but fun, room," said Anne Hildreth, design consultant for Steinhafels. "The sectional with the chaise, for instance, allows them to kick their feet up and relax and it has soft corners for their special needs daughter. We put a textured navy blue and cream patterned throw pillow with it.

"The fireplace television console adds an architectural element and focal point to the room and actually acts as a space heater, too. The fireplace is an LED screen, which simulates a fire," she said.

Walk added the rocker because her daughter often needs to be rocked in order to soothe her, Hildreth said.

"Cindy was so grateful for every dollar of product we gave her. She was the nicest, most deserving person who could have won. I felt good about myself after I helped her," Hildreth said.

Mel Alger of Alger Decorating in Palatine agreed, raving about how pleased he was to paint the room and help this winner, who was exceedingly grateful. "I always like to take time out to do this kind of work for nice people.

"Cindy chose paint for her living room and adjoining dining room that is somewhere between gray and tan. In certain lights, it looks bluish-gray and in other lights it looks tan. It is pretty cool," Alger said.

  This fireplace console from Steinhafels serves as a TV stand and also providessupplemental heat for the room. - Paul Valade | Staff Photographer

The Walks also received a $2,000 gift certificate from Yonan Carpet One in Rolling Meadows.

"When Cindy initially came to see me, we discussed all of her options for area rugs and what Yonan Carpet One could do," said Julie Boyko, designer and flooring consultant for Yonan. "I let her know that waiting until her new furniture was in her home was the best way to determine the style and size of the area rug she would need.

"Cindy returned to the showroom with the sofa fabric, accent pillow, paint colors and photographs of her room. After looking at many styles of carpet in our showroom, I suggested that she bring home several samples of the carpet styles she liked and look at them in her home setting and lighting," she said.

In the end, the Walks chose a fun and trendy style of carpet by Fabrica for its color, durability, ease of maintenance and luxurious feel. Yonan Carpet One also provided custom-fitted padding for under the area rug, which contributes to comfort, holds the rug in place and protects the hardwood floor from scratches.

"The rug features artistic swirls of color," Walk said. "I also got a matching runner for my galley kitchen since the rug had to be cut down to fit in my living room."

And when it came to lighting, the Walks received two 19-inch Bright Source lamps in green with sparkles from Lifespan Brands. They put them in their master bedroom (away from the children) and used the $2,000 gift certificate from Littman Bros. Lighting in Schaumburg for the living room.

"The Bright Source lamps provide two lighting experiences in one lamp. The motion part of the lamp emits a relaxing, soothing soft light, while the table lamp gives off a bright light perfect for any task -- reading, working and more," said Jennifer Courington, vice president of marketing and product development for Lifespan.

"We are so excited that we were able to participate in the room makeover contest with the Daily Herald. The lucky winner got to pick out two different lamps to decorate her newly remodeled room. We hope these lamps bring her family fun and light for years to come," Courington added.

The Walks chose coordinating rustic, bronze-colored contemporary Quoizel wrought iron lighting featuring butterscotch onyx shades from Littman Bros.

They cannot have any floor lamps because of their daughter so they received a chandelier for the dining room and matching sconces and pendants for the living room. The Walks also chose a 54-inch ceiling fan for the living room.

The Walk family also received a $100 gift certificate from Treetime Christmas Creations in Lake Barrington to upgrade their holiday decor.

"I am so in love with my new living room. It all came together beautifully. This was a huge gift to us," Cindy said.

Bathtub/shower conversion package

Betsy Lewis of Batavia received a partial bathroom makeover package valued at $6,500, thanks to the Room for Living contest.

"My entire experience with the replacement and installation of my tub were wonderful. I was able to look at multiple patterns and colors for the surface that was going to be on the walls around my tub. Since my old bathtub was pink and the tiles were small white squares, I was looking to update the look," Lewis said.

The whole bathroom dated to the 1950s with small tiles and white grouting and it stood out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of Lewis' updated home.

Living bathroom makeover." width="600" class="lazyImg" />

  Betsy Lewis no longer has a pink bathroom after winning the Daily Herald's Room for Living bathroom makeover. - Brian Hill | Staff Photographer

"I chose a beautiful white with some gray variation in it and a glossy surface. The new white tub and walls look amazing. The people who handled the installation were prompt, courteous and cleaned everything up when they were finished," she said.

Lewis also received a $1,000 flooring package from Yonan Carpet One.

"I chose large square tiles in white for the floor and partway up the wall behind the toilet. Previously, there was a big tile trim piece where the wall and floor met, but the new way is to butt the same tile up against each other there. No trim piece. The guy who installed it for Yonan was a true artist," she said.

Lewis already had a white sink and toilet and had white bead board on some of the walls and she took it upon herself to paint the upper portion of the walls a pale blue.

"My bathroom looks like it belongs in a hotel or a spa. It is absolutely beautiful! I am beyond happy," she added.

"We are thrilled to be able to educate the public about options for their current or future homes. We have fabulous shower and bath solutions that nearly everyone can benefit from and feel very fortunate to be able to give away a bathroom remodel to a deserving reader," said Dimitri Nacopoulus, owner of Bath Planet.

"We really enjoy reading the entrants' submission stories and looking through their pictures. But the best part for us is to look at the before-and-after pictures once our installer is done. It's a very rewarding experience for all of us here at Bath Planet," he said.

Lewis also received an iConnect by Detecto, 8-in-1 body fat scale from Lifespan Brands.

"We feel that having a good-looking scale complements a bathroom and is an important part of any bathroom decor," said Lifespan's Courington. "This scale, in particular, will give the bathroom winner of the Room for Living contest both tools and insight into their vital measurements such as weight, BMI, body fat, bone mass, muscle mass, body water and calorie intake, all displayed in easy-to-follow graphs on their smartphone."

Lewis also received a Detecto iConnect 8-in-1 body fat scale from Lifespan Brands.

Interior door package

Mount Prospect resident Lisa Piagari is deliriously happy with her interior door package from HomeStory Chicago, valued at $2,500, and her $100 gift certificate from Treetime.

"My new doors are gorgeous. It is amazing how much they update the house," Piagari said.

She was able to receive three bedroom doors, two bathroom doors and a laundry room door with her prize.

"I received more doors than I even dreamed of," she said. "I chose two-panel white doors with satin nickel hardware for the bedrooms and bathrooms. For the laundry room, which was an odd size, I chose a matching bi-fold door that has an amazing custom fit now. All of these white doors just make everything brighter.

  Lisa Piagari's new door to her son's bedroom. - Bob Chwedyk | Staff Photographer

"They are crisp, clean and current," Piagari added. "I am just thrilled. The difference they made in the house was a wonderful surprise."

She was also highly complimentary about the service she received from HomeStory Chicago. "All of their employees were efficient and very friendly. I would like to give all of them a really big shout-out."

Kate Zeller, general manager for HomeStory Chicago, was equally pleased with the experience.

"We feel passionate about being able to improve people's lives in their homes. In addition, we like to give back to the community by giving someone something they could probably not otherwise afford," she said.

"Ours is a unique service and by participating in the Daily Herald's Room for Living contest, we are able to let everyone know there is a door-replacement option for them that does not involve door frame replacement and is quick, easy and clean," Zeller said.

I vacationed at the East Coast’s quintessential rest stop. It’s more inviting than it looks.

Read article : I vacationed at the East Coast’s quintessential rest stop. It’s more inviting than it looks.

Breezewood caters to all motorists, but the town is especially trucker-friendly. In the half-mile strip, drivers find two truck stops, both with laundry facilities and showers. (Melanie D.G. Kaplan/For The Washington Post)

I expected to live my entire life without price-shopping for truck-stop showers. Then I spent the night in Breezewood.

The adventure began last August when my main squeeze James and I drove to Colorado. We passed through Breezewood, Pa., as do many drivers heading to the Rust Belt and beyond.

“What do you think about vacationing here for a week,” James asked. I laughed loudly and dismissed the idea.

If you’ve been there, you understand why. Breezewood has been a travel hub for centuries. It was a stagecoach stop in the late 1700s and then became a stop on the Lincoln Highway, America’s first cross-country road. The Pennsylvania Turnpike opened in 1940, and thousands of World War II veterans exited at Breezewood, stopping at what now is the Gateway Travel Plaza to trade their unit patches for meals. Today, motorists driving between I-70 and the turnpike are forced off the highway and onto a congested half-mile stretch of expensive gas stations, fast-food joints, truck stops and motels. That’s what people do in Breezewood, I thought. Get a quick caffeine fix, then refuel and get back on the road. They don’t sleep there.

“I’m game,” I said last summer, accepting James’s challenge. “But only for one night.”

By the time we finally rolled into town last month, I was excited about our adventure.

I had learned about Pike 2 Bike, a graffiti-covered, crumbling section of the original four-lane turnpike that was abandoned 50 years ago after the two-lane tunnels became bottlenecks. We packed bike shorts and were ready to explore. But on our first day, I was determined to walk up and down the Breezewood strip, U.S. Route 30, to better understand this town people love to hate.

Crawford’s Museum, which once displayed hundreds of taxidermied animals, is now a sports souvenir store filled with Pittsburgh Steelers tchotchkes. (Melanie D.G. Kaplan/For The Washington Post)

In the shadow of prominently placed no-pedestrian signs, we set off single file, along the shoulder — looking like hobos — and scuttled across intersections between groaning semis.

During our stroll down the strip, where 18-wheelers often outnumber four-wheelers, James and I counted close to a dozen vacant buildings, including a former Wendy’s and KFC. We wandered around an empty, weed-filled motel lot; inside a chain-link fence sat a pool filled with brown water. Several businesses pleaded for workers. Taco Bell’s sign made me smile: “Need a job? Come taco bout it.”

Among the newest properties was the Holiday Inn Express, which sold in its lobby Hungry Man frozen dinners, build-your-own six packs of beer and a snow globe of Pennsylvania covered bridges. The busiest place (and our lunch spot) was Sheetz, in front of the touch-screen kiosks that facilitate made-to-order food.

At the Gateway — where you can see displays of the soldiers’ patches — we popped into the gift shop, and I bought a miniature license plate with my name on it, skipping “The Complete Venison Cookbook.” Upstairs, we found a laundromat and arcade, and a quiet lounge for truckers that offered complimentary Bibles in Spanish.

Having passed Crawford’s Museum many times, I was hopeful about finding some culture in town. Alas, we discovered that the museum sign is simply a leftover from the building’s days of exhibiting taxidermied animals. Today, it’s a sports souvenir shop — offering a frenzy of Pittsburgh Steelers tchotchkes. Some of the animal displays remain, cohabitating in this odd space. A Kodiak bear stands on his hind legs in the sale section; some of his claws were plucked out over the years. An elephant’s head rests on the back wall, its ears splayed, tusks stretching out over the baseball caps.

Before dinner, we left town, driving past farms and orchards, and slowing for bunnies scampering across the road. We stopped at a half-dozen covered bridges just long enough for selfies and found Gravity Hill, an optical illusion that makes cars look like they’re rolling uphill. (It was underwhelming to one of us and delightful to the other.)

That night at the Quality Inn Breeze Manor, a tidy hilltop motel, I found a walking path to the truck-service station, which was lit up like a ballfield. One truck carried 10 colorful Mini Coopers, another logs, another FedEx packages. Standing on a knoll, I watched the endless parade of trucks and was enthralled while listening to their strange noises until bed beckoned.

The next morning, we enjoyed a large and healthy breakfast at the 1788 Inn, a newly renovated bed-and-breakfast just beyond the strip — but not far enough away to escape the constant din of rumbling trucks. Fueled up for biking, we drove to the start of the Pike 2 Bike trail and met Murray Schrotenboer, a gray-bearded entrepreneur who runs Grouseland Tours and has been riding the abandoned section of turnpike for nearly 20 years.

The 1788 Inn, recently renovated with fireplaces in every bedroom, was once a stagecoach stop. (Melanie D.G. Kaplan/For The Washington Post)

Under overcast skies, our small group set off. We pedaled at a comfortable pace, with gentle climbs and descents, and Schrotenboer narrated a history of the route starting with William Vanderbilt and a failed railroad project. In the old turnpike median, weeds grew to shoulder height and butterflies darted around wildflowers. Nature was repossessing its land. Locals describe it as post-apocalyptic.

We rode single file through two tunnels — dank, foggy, pitch black stretches, one more than a mile long. Condensation made the interior drippy, in some places like a waterfall. Our headlights shone cones of visibility through the dark droplets of water.

“We’re 400 feet underground,” Schrotenboer said, reminding us that we were under a mountain. We pulled over in an empty asphalt lot and he pointed to some trees. “This was once a Howard Johnson and Esso Station.”

On the return, we passed a dozen other cyclists, including a family of six driving between York and Pittsburgh. Schrotenboer, who stopped us often for stories, pointed out the spots where parts of movies “The Road” and “Zombie eXs” were shot. At one of the tunnel entrances, he unlocked a door and led us to the former control, boiler and ventilation rooms for the tunnel. This surreal steampunk hideaway is accessible only on Schrotenboer’s tour (although trespassers have found a way in), and I considered that alone worth the price. We walked by a fan the size of a jet engine, covered in bright graffiti, and continued about 150 feet into the gritty plenum, or attic, of the tunnel. Echoes bounced eerily back to the entrance.

The Pike 2 Bike trail along an abandoned section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike passes through two tunnels, one longer than a mile. (Melanie D.G. Kaplan/For The Washington Post)

After our five-hour, 17-mile tour, we were mud-splattered and sweaty. Inconveniently, we had checked out of our motel that morning. The previous day, we had learned that showers at the Gateway cost $14. (“Pricey,” I had muttered.) I suggested that we check out the less-spiffy Flying J across the street. Sure enough, that saved us $2. I bought a shower pass from the cashier, walked to the basement and keyed in a code at the assigned room. Easy as pie.

With that, our Breezewood adventure was over. Driving out of town, I saw Bob Evans, Shell, Best Western and a fluttering Stars and Stripes in my rearview mirror. In less than a mile, we were driving through green, rolling hills. I thought about the world we’d made — the crumbling facades, the abandoned highway, the declawed bear — and watched trucks across the median speeding toward a momentary stop in a strange yet utterly American town.

Kaplan is a freelance writer based in the District. Her website is melaniedgkaplan.com. Find her on Twitter: @MelanieDGKaplan.

Where to stay

The 1788 Inn

16200 Lincoln Hwy., Breezewood

814-626-1788

the1788inn.com

The Federal-style 1788 Inn is run by delightful hosts who care deeply about renovation and history. Each room has a fireplace and private bath with heated floor. Rooms from $125, including full breakfast; call ahead for a la carte breakfast at $25 for two.

Quality Inn Breeze Manor

16621 Lincoln Hwy., Breezewood

814-735-4311

choicehotels.com

Located on the Breezewood strip, the motel is a quarter-mile from the Pike 2 Bike trail. The Quality Inn has basic rooms, a clean outdoor pool, free continental breakfast, a view of the truck-service plaza and a black Labrador greeter named Sadie. Rooms from $119.

Where to eat

Mother Trucker’s Cafe

167 Posthouse Rd., Breezewood

814-735-4076

mothertruckerscafe.com

Located in the Flying J Travel Plaza, Mother Trucker’s is one of the few non-fast options in Breezewood, although fast it is. Cafeteria-style sides start at $2.36, including mac and cheese, cabbage and blueberry cobbler. Dinner plates, including with ham pot pie and pork sauerkraut, cost $9.43.

Horn O Plenty

220 Wolfsburg Rd., Bedford

814-623-0522

myhornoplenty.com

A short detour from the covered-bridge tour, this farm-to-table restaurant is the antithesis of the Breezewood strip — a beautiful, natural setting with organically grown ingredients. Homemade sourdough and condiments, wood-fired pizza and entrees such as quinoa cakes and stuffed peppers, starting at $16. Open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. Closed Mondays.

What to do

Pike 2 Bike Behind the Scenes Guided Tours

Lincoln Highway (U.S. Route 30)

814-784-5000

pike2bike.com

Murray Schrotenboer’s Grouseland offers 17-mile bike tours along the abandoned highway and through its tunnels, as well as otherwise inaccessible parts of the turnpike, such as the control room. Ride and tour last three to five hours, or add on for a deluxe tour with a hike. One rider, $95; two, $110; three or more, $45 per person. Rental Cannondale bikes are available. If you venture out on your own, make sure to bring lights and water.

Covered Bridges of Bedford County Tour

Bedford County Visitors Bureau

814-623-1771

visitbedfordcounty.com/coveredbridges

Download a copy of this 100-minute driving tour or call for a brochure and map. The county has 14 century-old, hand-built covered bridges, nine of which are on the loop. Be sure to visit nearby Gravity Hill, an optical illusion where your car appears to roll uphill.

Bedford County Bike Loops

Bedford County Visitors Bureau

814-623-1771

visitbedfordcounty.com/biking

The county website has five printable maps of bike loops with lengths of 16 to 42 miles. Loops are generally rolling hills with light traffic and some good climbs. The rides pass farms, orchards and covered bridges.

End of the Road Marathon
and Half Marathon

Forbes Road High School

159 Red Bird Dr., Waterfall

pike2bike.com/event

Bring your flashlight or headlamp for this race. Held Oct. 29, the marathon route follows the abandoned turnpike, with water stop volunteers dressed in apocalypse-themed attire. Be prepared for rough patches, potholes and several miles inside the abandoned tunnels.

Information

visitbedfordcounty.com

M.K.