Historic Homes

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 residences. Historic home restoration requires sensitivity and adaptability; we believe that part of preservation is meeting clients where they’re at. Read the selection of homes below, or about some of these homes on the blog.

*KAVANAGH HOUSE, Newcastle, ME 2019-2022
Full assessment, multi-phase repair-planning. Lifted house on cribbing, rebuilt timber-framed undercarriage, repaired post feet and portico. Dismantled, repaired and rebuilt timber-framed ell. Next phases include tie beam repair, and rebuild of a beautiful timber-framed hip roof surrounding a glass-floored cupola.

Kavanagh House
Kavanagh House

GREENLAND RESIDENCE, Greenland, NH 2019-2021
Restoration of historic home with new, high-end kitchen inside exposed antique timber frame. New barn design and build.

HALLWARD-ROUGH KITCHEN ELL, Saco, ME 2020-2021
New open-plan kitchen addition to traditional cape. Exposed timber trusses and re-used antique pine panelling.

FOLEY HOUSE, West Poland, ME 2017-2019
Organized, repaired and rebuilt 19th century timber-framed house. Expanded and redesigned ell to compliment existing frame. Adapted frame for contemporary domestic and active farm use. Collaborated with client and family to finish the building. The original hip roof was designed with incredible joinery. Read more about our repair process, here.

Foley House and Horse Barn
Foley House and Horse Barn

BURD BARN AND RESIDENCE, Kennebunkport, ME 2018-2019
Burd Barn is an 18th-century in-town carriage house. The barn was lifted and rolled off its foundation, received a new foundation, new sills and undercarriage. PTF repaired posts, studs and tie beams with traditional scarf joints. Benjamin Nutter redesigned the building for use as a primary bedroom and bath, and convert the property to one-floor living. An article about our process was published in Timber Framing 131

PALARDY RESIDENCE 2019
Replaced rear eave sills and standing gunstock post.

DUMMER HOUSE, Hallowell, ME 2018
Robust 18th-century plank frame on timber frame. Assessed, moved and rotated house to fit contemporary streetscape. Built new foundation and chimney bases. Multi-phase repair plan includes undercarriage replacement, chimney repair and preservation of original interior and exterior elements.

BELLE ISLE, Portsmouth, NH 2018
Sensitive dismantling, cataloguing, and documentation of fisherman’s cabin interior.

CHIMNEY RESIDENCE, Berwick, ME 2018
Reinstalled center chimney and fireplace openings within standing historic home.

DIAMOND RESIDENCE, Londonderry, NH 2017
Replaced sills, installed insulated roof on this 1750s cape.

WHALEN RESIDENCE, West Newbury, MA     2015
Extensive rot found in corner post of main house and porch. New post and braces installed. Tension connections installed in floor system to halt separation and movement of exterior wall.

STEINER-TRUESDALE RESIDENCE, Newfields, NH     2014-2015
Conversion of gothic church into private residence. Second story timber-framed floor designed and built in gothic-ribbed sanctuary space.

Steiner-Truesdale Residence
Steiner-Truesdale Residence

RADCLIFFE HOUSE AND ELL, New York     2014-15
Drafted tagging drawings for a late 18th century barn dismantled on a property in Vermont. PTF designed the adaptive re-use of the barn frame into an addition for a late 19th century home in New York.

PENNELL HOUSE AND ELL, Brunswick, ME     2014
High-style, two story Greek Revival house built in 1838. Documented, tagged, and dismantled ell. Performed extensive repairs to ell including a complete rebuild of the undercarriage and created two new bents to extend length by 22’. Performed extensive repairs to undercarriage, foundation, tie beams, girts, sills, and posts.

Pennell Ell
Pennell Ell

I-FARM, Boxford, Massachusetts     2009 – 2014
I-Farm is a multi-building complex soon to become a working farm that teaches early farm technology and sustainable agricultural practices. Our work there began with the complete restoration of an historic barn that had been built with timbers reused from an earlier English barn.  Our recent projects include the restoration of a water tower and utility shed, building the timber-framed addition to the kitchen ell, and creation of black locust arbor and trellises. Currently, we are restoring the main residence.

iFarmhouse, Boxford, MA, 2013
iFarmhouse, Boxford, MA, 2013

SOULE CARRIAGE HOUSE, Kennebunkport, ME     2014
Creation of cold roof system on Carriage House.

SHEEHAN/DOFOURNEY ROOF, Candia, NH     2013
Creation of cold roof system on private residence.

JALBERT PORCH, Dover, NH     2013
Repair sagging porch on private residence. Replicate existing damaged turnings.

BLINN RESIDENCE, Berwick, ME     2013
Re-alignment of foundation stones, and replacement of eave sills and repair to post feet and studs on private residence.

LOOK, TRUE-RANDALL FARMHOUSE, Montville, ME 2012-2013
Sill replacement and post repair on historic home on Randall’s Hill in Montville, ME.  In conjunction with extensive barn repair and collaboration with installation of contemporary kitchen in ell.

*ISRAEL DEMERITT-O’KANE HOUSE, Durham, NH 2012
Complete deconstruction of this 1808 Federal-style farmhouse, ell and carriage house. Fireplace surrounds, crown, chairrail, wainscot, “Indian” shutters, windows, lath, subwall framing, timber frame, hearth brick and roof slate mapped, labelled and preserved in their entirety.  The house is in storage, and is for sale.  We’ve posted a series of articles about the process on our blog.

Blue Parlor, numbered and outlined
Blue Parlor, numbered and outlined

HARVEY HOUSE, Berwick, NH     2012
Design and construction of new, traditional timber frame home.

O’BRIEN RESIDENCE, Portland, ME     2012
Shingle-style home on Portland’s West End, designed by John Calvin Stevens.  We made structural repairs to the front porch and sunroom above, and restored or reproduced exactly the original trim.

HILL RESIDENCE, Hampton Falls, NH     2011-2012
Design and reproduction of fireplace and raised-panel wall from similar buildings in the Historic American Building Survey. Please read more about our research, and construction techniques.

CLINEFF RESIDENCE, Topsfield, MA     2012
Structural and drainage repairs to main house.

POOR RESIDENCE, Lebanon, ME    2011-2014
Sill and undercarriage repair and replacement.  Post repairs.  Exterior facade restoration

TONEY GYM, York, Maine     2010-2011
This historic gymnasium was built by the Goodrich family in the 1910s adjacent the York River, and complete with a tire-shaped pool.  In 2010 and 2011, we repaired the truss system in the monitor roof.  Later that year, we restored and rebuilt the gym’s 40 windows.  Read more about the process, here. We also rebuilt the undercarriage, piers and floor system for the gymnasium, which is adjacent to the York River, and susceptible to tidal swells.

Gym Sash, 6-over-1 light
Gym Sash, 6-over-1 light