Ice House in a Heat Wave

On Friday we erected the Ice House, c. 1770.  This small, 10′ x 13′, frame is an exact replica of the larger barn to which it was found adjacent.  The Ice House had been fully sheathed inside and out, and the wall cavities filled with sawdust, for insulation.  It is extremely rare to find an…

Lebanon Barn Coming in for the Finish

A few months back, we disassembled a barn in Lebanon, Maine.  Since then, we took the pieces back to the shop, repaired what we could, and re-designed the rest.  This Spring, we assembled the frame using original and remade pieces, and Shawn and his crew have been busy hanging the cornice. Click on the photos…

Shop Time

During the past few months, Ed has been busy at the shop cutting a reproduction barn frame for a client.  The original barn fell in a Nor’Easter, and we salvaged as much as we could.  We will re-use much of the bracing, an upper gable, and a front gable drive post that has a large…

Barn Assessments

New England is peppered with antique barns in various states of disrepair, and saving them is central to our mission.  Timber-framed barns are icons of the New England landscape.  They connect us to our agrarian and architectural history and contain centuries of embodied energy.  But many other books, such as Field Guide to New England…