Yesterday we began the dismantling the Marrett House panels in order to repair the broken stiles and rails. Above, Shawn shows his method for extracting the pins. He drills a tiny hole through the center of the pin, then threads a screw into the hole until it just bites, and then uses a hammer claw…
A year ago last April, just after rush hour, a man stole a Suburu in Cape Elizabeth, drunk-drove it to Standish, crossed two lanes of traffic, surfed a lawn and crashed into the Marrett House, coming to rest in its historic parlor. The stout framing members were fractured and the frame and panel wainscot splintered,…
On Sunday, the restoration of Bernard Langlais’ wooden sculptures was covered in a full page spread of the Maine Sunday Telegram. It was a pleasure to talk with Bob Keyes, and Shawn Ouellette, of the Portland Press Herald, and to meet the with the folks who raised the money to make this restoration possible. The…
Our clients often comment on a pervasive artistic sentiment within the PTF crew. Shawn Perry and David Ford pursued careers in drawing and ceramics, respectively, before becoming timber framers. Ed and myself majored in art as undergraduates, and a portrait of Reese (scroll down) hangs in the National Portrait Gallery (Reese’s friend Megan Ledbetter took the photo,…
Scraping paint off of a building is an exercise in endurance, as well as management. Not a very glamorous job, its importance in maintaining the protective coating of a building can be overlooked. Paint failure can ruin a building due to water infiltration and paint build up can hide the details that enhance the form of the…
Preservation Timber Framing has been involved in a number of museum projects in the past. We reconstructed the Brown-Pearl and Manning Rooms for the Boston MFA, rebuilt the Moffatt-Ladd coachhouse in Portsmouth, and dismantled 16th c. Carved Ceiling Beams for the Fogg Museum at Harvard, to name a few. We are honored to have been a part…
For the third summer, the North Bennet Street School is collaborating with the Shaker Museum and Library to offer a range of workshops in preservation and traditional woodworking at Mount Lebanon Shaker Village, in New Lebanon, NY. A number of PTF employees graduated from the Preservation Carpentry program at North Bennet and can vouch for…
On Thursday, June 9, Maine Preservation presented their Annual Honors Awards as part of the Vital Maine Communities Conference. Maine Preservation presented an award of Excellence in Craftsmanship to the craftspeople who restored the Brown-Pearl Hall at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. These included Robin Neely, Maker of leaded windows, Ben Coombs, Glass Blower,…
In 1900, Charles Goodhue drew this sketch from the memory of an elderly parishioner. This is one of the only remaining images that depict the building from this era. Fortunately, evidence within the building has proven this sketch to be remarkably accurate. From the beginning of our involvement in the project, we have been looking…
The annual meeting of the Traditional Timber Framers Advisory Group is this Saturday, and our crew is really looking forward to it. Our own Dan Boyle has worked hard to organize a great event in Topsfield, MA, which will include a walking tour of the Parson Capon House c. 1683, the Gould Barn c. 1710, …