Author Archives: Jessica MilNeil
O’Kane Notebook VIII: Joinery, Exposed!
On Friday, Scott finished removing the trim from the Pink Parlor, pictured above. I had eagerly anticipated the joinery surrounding the fireplace, given our recent work on another fireplace surround. The displaced surround, turned upside-down, is below: When I think … Continue reading
O’Kane Notebook VII: the Pink Parlor
On Tuesday, Dan was removing southern yellow pine flooring in a room we’ve dubbed “the Pink Parlor.” As an earlier layer of flooring was uncovered, he detected beneath the scrim of sand and dust a pattern in the mottled finish. … Continue reading
O’Kane Notebook VI: The Nuts and Bolts of No Nuts and Bolts
This is post about a persnickety process: After a piece of trim is removed from an O’Kane wall, it is taken over to a photograph of that wall and traced with a fine tip marker. The dis-assembler then writes a … Continue reading
O’Kane Notebook V: Pulvinated Panels!
Before it was dismantled, the fireplace in O’Kane’s Blue Parlor got a lot of attention. It is a simple-looking surround, with a single large panel above and an applied mantle, but it’s a good representation of the vernacular style from … Continue reading
O’Kane Notebook IV: The Ghost Pantry
One of the first treasures we uncovered at O’Kane was a wall of horizontal featheredge sheathing painted in bright yellow. It was hidden behind plaster in the Blue Parlor, and had shadow lines delineating where once there were shelves. Where … Continue reading
O’Kane Notebook III: Making Wedges
We’ve been using softwood wedges, made from 2x stock, to carefully remove delicate moldings and wide wall panels. Either the wedges loosen the nails completely, or they provide use with enough room to slip a sawblade behind to cut … Continue reading
Freedom (Mill)! You’ve Gotta Give for What You Take
PTF has recently embarked upon a worthy away job to preserve a mill in Freedom, ME. Originally a grist mill, it was later converted into a wood turning mill, which closed in 1967. The building has lain dormant since. When … Continue reading
O’Kane Notebook II: Post-colonial Builder Stoked on Sweet, New Plane
Over the past week, we have been using up our supply of softwood wedges at the O’Kane House. In the effort to gently remove the delicate, hand-planed moldings, we tap narrow wedges in along the paint lines, crushing the wedges … Continue reading
O’Kane Notebook I
We’ve begun in earnest the dismantling of the O’Kane House, in Durham, NH. It began with a training day with John Butler, a photographer and carpenter who has worked with us on a number of museum de-installations. He showed us … Continue reading
Yours Gluely
The Hill fireplace is nearing completion. From the outset, this project has been among our most rewarding. We designed the panelled wall using HABS drawings from a house built by the father of the builder of this house. Knowing that the … Continue reading
