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 with repeated use (and saving the edges of the trim). It is a slow, thoughtful…
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 how to remove trim without damaging the surface using a variety of softwood wedges, and…
Yesterday, I went to the New Hampshire Historical Society to look at photos of the O’Kane-Demeritt House taken by Doug Armsden in 1955 for a Demeritt “Home of the Month” Feature in New Hampshire Profiles magazine. The 5″ x 7″ negatives show the original interior fireplaces in all their glory, and I will share the scans with you folks…
FOR SALE – The Israel Demeritt House is a two-story, center-chimney, timber-frame dwelling, 40’ x 32’ with attached cape ell, 40’ x 21’. NH state historian, Jim Garvin, reports that it “is the best example so far identified in Durham of a two-story, center chimney house in the federal style.” Out of seven original fireplaces, three…
There exists in wood a quality so satisfying that the proper use of it in the structural features of a house produces an effect of completeness which does away with the need of elaborate furnishings or decoration. – Gustav Stickley, The Craftsman, July 1905 Every now and then, I encounter a windbag who wants…
The NH Old House and Barn Expo was a great success. To be honest, I expected what I’d seen at other “old home” trade shows: booths hawking fiberglass steeples and plastic decking. Instead, I was inspired by the level of craftsmanship and care on exhibit. Sometimes it can feel like we are alone in the wilderness,…
This weekend, we’ll be sharing a few choice parts and pieces of the Israel Demeritt-O’Kane house with visitors to the NHPA Expo. We’ll be at the Radisson in Manchester, NH soaking up good talks ranging from “Old Home/New Technology: Explore Solar Energy for your Home!” to “The Masonry Detective: Exploring Chimneys, Bake Ovens and Fireplaces” (there’s…
Many of our clients are stewards of their historic homes. Others just happen to inhabit an old house. Almost all are entrusting our crew with their most valuable and precious possession. PTF replaces sills and dismantles entire walls. We plane pine panelling by hand, and design reproduction fireplace surrounds. We install historically-sensitive energy upgrades and convert churches into…