Preservation Timber Framing

Traditional repair of timber-framed barns, homes, churches and steeples

Tag: Media

Lickety Lantern Brasen Hill Barn

Hey, real quick! We’ve been cutting scarf fixes for enormous post feet, and fitting teleport pads for octagonal lanterns. Updates on Chestnut St Lantern, Brasen Hill Barn, and Jennison Barn, below.

Teleport Pad, Photo by Jacob Imlay

Chestnut St Church Lantern, Camden, ME: This cute little lantern was cut and fit at the shop, and is ready for transport to the Lyman-Morse boat shop later this week. There it will be fit with a 50-foot fiberglass spire and four 7-foot half-round hoods. Jake laid out the frame and Tim, Zach and Charlie cut and fit the joinery. Zach’s experience building guitars and Tim’s experience making furniture helped maintain tight tolerances. The entire lantern and spire will be laid down on a low-riding flatbed for final transport to the church, where a crane will tip the entire assembly up vertical. It is important that the joinery is tight in order to withstand the torque and lateral loads. Scott, Tim and Arron worked with Taylor-made builders up in Camden to plumb the tower and repair the belfry post feet at the Chestnut St Church. More about removing the old spire, here.

Lady Lantern, photo by Jacob Imlay

Brasen Hill Barn, Barrington, NH: Led by Dave and Dan, the rest of the crew have been busy with an enormous barn restoration at Brazen Hill Farm. The barn is beautifully hewn, with drive posts like tree trunks. The deterioration was extensive and the barn was completely dismantled for repairs. The extent of rot meant that the barn was heavily braced and was disassembled piece by piece by a crew of eight over two days.

Brasen Barn from above, photo by Josh McNally

Dave, Dan, Tom, Byam and Michael have been busy making traditional timber frame repairs at our shop in Nottingham, NH. Given the extent of damage, the crew worked hard to preserve any viable original material. That means a lot of dutchman and post feet fixes. Dan Boyle documented the repair and fitting process. A few of his process photos, below.

Undersquinted face fix, photo by Dan Boyle

An under-squinted dutchman repair can be used to repair the cheek of a mortise where a pin has blown out the relish. The rest of the post was in good condition and of a dimension and quality that is difficult (but not impossible) to find today.

Get (in the) Bent Brian, photo by Dan Boyle

After the rotten timbers are repaired or reproduced, we use come-alongs to pull the joinery tight and the bent square. Then we drill holes for the 1-inch oak pins that will hold the joinery together.

Eave fitting, photo by Dan Boyle

The barn is big, almost 70-feet long and 40-feet wide. It contains seven bents. The finished frame was raised almost a month ago, and Dave and Scott documented the process by helmet-cam. Stay tuned for the movie.

Jennison Barn, photo by Josh McNally

Jennison Barn, Lee, NH: New Hampshire Preservation Alliance has featured the Jennison Barn as one of their 52 barns in 52 weeks. The NHPA article captures why preservation is important on a human scale, from families to communities. Read their story, here.

July 24, 2017
Our Fingers in a Lot of Pies

A crowd celebrates the Hampton Town Clock

Last Tuesday night, we brushed the dirt off our shoulders and attended the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance Honor Awards Ceremony. The Northwood Congregational Church, Canterbury Shaker Village and Hampton Town Clock received awards. As David Ford, a former PTF employee and current property manager at Canterbury Shaker Village, accepted the award for restoring the Trustee’s Building, I was reminded of how good preservation is defined by collaboration. I am no longer inspired solely by a building and its history; it is the community that comes together through preservation that keeps us going. Karen Payne, President of the Effingham Preservation Society, said it best, “We’ve been preserving Effingham ‘one slice of pie at a time’ and while we were baking and sharing…and baking…we built camaraderie and community.”

Hampton and Northwood were projects that were defined by the group of committed individuals who worked together to save a piece of history that was personally meaningful. As David Adams, another winner, remarked, these collaborations are not always easy and without conflict. He said, “there were times the client hated me.” But we feel fortunate that we are able to work with people who are passionate about their projects. Working together as a group, with our conflicts and our successes, we become part of a building’s history. We are grateful to have participated in these projects and are grateful to the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance for bringing us all together to celebrate our successes. Read the stories of this year’s honor awards winners on their blog.

May 15, 2017
‘A Distant Holla’ opens at the Abyssinian Meetinghouse

Daniel Minter installs ‘A Distant Holla’ at the Abyssinian. Photo by Portland Press Herald photographer Brianna Soukup

This Friday, May 5, do yourself a favor and attend the opening of ‘A Distant Holla,’ Daniel Minter’s art exhibition at the Abyssinian Meeting House. The work will showcase Maine artists of color including Daniel Minter, David Driskell, Elizabeth Jabar, Rafael Clariot, Ebeneza Akapko, Titi de Baccarat and Derek Jackson. Michael Wingfield, Samuel James and Ahmad Kalari will be playing music, and there will be a performance by the Theater Ensemble of Color. Read more here in the Portland Press Herald.

May 4, 2017
“We’ve been watching that steeple slant backward for years”

The Troy Union Meetinghouse had a crane day last week. The long-leaning steeple was partially dismantled, leaving behind the two front posts to stand like wooden antennae. The entire replacement frame has been cut by a crew of local craftsmen, and will be resurrected before the end of the summer. Read more about the process here, and show your support. If you don’t see a video below, click on the link to watch the story.

http://wabi.tv/2016/05/12/construction-underway-on-troy-union-church/

Check out Troy Union’s facebook page for the most up-to-date information about the project.

May 18, 2016
NH EXPOnential Success

At the Expo

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, caring about a level of preservation that gets ignored by those who care only about an historic “look.” We were fortunate to speak with like-minded individuals at the expo, who care deeply about their old homes, and are proud of their building’s age and authenticity (whether it be an 18th century vernacular farmhouse, or mid-century modern). We were surrounded by folks who cut moldings by hand, and insist on appropriate joinery.

Arron and I gave a talk on comprehensive assessment and documentation that focussed on the Middleton Old Town Hall assessment and the dismantling of the Demeritt-O’Kane house. We had a full room at the talk and a great response from the audience, another delightful surprise. I’ve posted the PowerPoint, with notes, here.

NHPA Expo 2014 ppoint

March 17, 2014
Join us at the NH Old House and Barn Expo this weekend

Less-Pink Parlor Surround, all cleaned up for the NHPA EXPO

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 a surprising amount of exploration in preservation). We are especially excited to be giving a talk on Sunday, at 1:00p; “Comprehensive Assessment of Your Barn and Home, Case Study: the Demeritt-O’Kane House.” We’ll be talking a little about assessments in general, and a lot about the specifics of the Demeritt-O’Kane house. If our series of journal entries about the complete dismantling of this Federal-era farmhouse piqued your interest, you won’t want to miss the talk. Our booth will showcase a few pieces of the house, including the fireplace surround from the “Pink Room.” We’ll be inviting folks to inspect examples of various intricate molding profiles, and see if they can identify the Asher Benjamin pattern from which they came. Hope to see you there.

March 12, 2014
Watch “Reviving the Freedom Mill” on MPBN, Thursday, March 6, at 10:15 pm

Reviving the Freedom Mill, photo courtesy Tony Grassi

Maine Preservation writes:

When Tony Grassi takes a crazy gamble to rehab an abandoned mill, he inspires both skepticism and hope that its revived bond with the river will breathe new life into the town of Freedom, Maine.

With the help of a colorful team of builders, masons, engineers and architects, he sets out to reconstruct a forgotten historic treasure. Can his 21st century vision of preservation re-power this rural community, which is now welcoming a new generation of young farmers?

Watch “Reviving the Freedom Mill” on your local MPBN station on Thursday evening, March 6, at 10:15 pm. This was one of PTF’s biggest and most inspiring projects in the past few years. A significant portion of the crew devoted their time and energy to the project, staying in Freedom, away from their families, during the months spent on the project. We were honored that the project was a recipient of the 2013 Maine Preservation Honor Award and are especially thrilled that the crew’s efforts were captured in such an engaging documentary.

View more photos of the finished project, here

March 5, 2014
David Ewing to present at 2013 National Preservation Conference

Dave, carefully removing sheathing from the Demeritt-O’Kane House

PTF’s own David Ewing will present his paper, “Moving Historic Properties: A Valid Method of Preservation” at the National Trust for Preservation’s 2013 Conference in Indianapolis, IN. Inspired by his experience dismantling the Demeritt-O’Kane house, the paper reviews the history of moving buildings and includes the example of a Boston apartment building which was moved at the rate of one inch per minute. The move took three months, and the apartments were inhabited continuously. He argues that the threat of demolition makes careful dis-assembly or intact movement a viable option for preservationists, as well as environmentalists. From the abstract:

The practice of Historic Preservation fundamentally involves the response to threatened historic places, buildings, or properties. Those involved in this professional field have the responsibility to use whatever means necessary to successfully thwart the deterioration or demolition of historic structures. For that reason preservationists must consider the merit of all potential methods. This paper investigates the evolution of building relocation as a method of protecting the resources found in the built environment. Furthermore, it explores the technological advances in the practice of relocation, the restrictive guidelines of National Registration Criteria and environmental implications in a thorough understanding of how relocation is a worthy option in the preservation of historic places.

Dave will participate in a panel discussion on “Re-Booting Preservation for New Audiences.” He is pursuing a Masters of Design Studies (MDS) in Historic Preservation at the Boston Architectural College, and his paper was selected competitively from a pool of preservationists from around the country. Dave joined PTF after a summer internship through Maine Preservation, which PTF supports as a way to give preservation professionals headed for the office some time in the field. We persuaded Dave to stay out in the field with us a little longer, and this paper is evidence that he’ll keep a boot in both environments.

Dave, removing floor joists at the end of a long day

October 2, 2013
Happy 4th!

The historic nature of our work gives Independence Day special meaning for us here at PTF. Two of our recent projects will be holding special celebrations to unveil their restored buildings:

New Castle Gazebo, almost finished

July 4, 2013, New Castle Congregational Church, New Castle, NH – Parade and ribbon cutting at the New Castle Congregational Church, 10a-2p. We have been negotiating with the rain these past two weeks to finish the trim on the gazebo. Since Friday, the gazebo has been covered by an enormous green tarp tent; so in this case, I mean unveiling literally.

Mill at Freedom Falls, almost finished. Photo from millatfreedomfalls.com

July 6, 2013, Mill at Freedom Falls, Freedom, ME – In honor of Freedom, ME’s Bicentennial, the Mill will be giving tours on July 6, from 8:30 – 3:30. Read more about the tours on their blog, and please stop by.

July 2, 2013
Abyssinian Meetinghouse listed as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Properties

Abyssinian Meetinghouse, photo by Troy R. Bennet for the Bangor Daily News

Last week, the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced it’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Properties. The Abyssinian Meetinghouse had the dubious distinction of making it on the list. Inclusion on the list indicates the importance of the third-oldest standing African-American meetinghouse in our nation’s history, but also sheds light upon the lack of funding to complete its restoration (you can make a donation, here). The announcement was made on June 19, Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the day in 1965 when slavery was finally abolished in Texas. When I lived in Houston, Juneteenth was really celebrated, it couldn’t pass without one noticing as it does here in Maine. Many people in Maine don’t recognize the holiday, and don’t realize that we have a significant African-American and abolitionist history. Hopefully, this list will bring attention to the one of Maine’s most important artifacts of American history. Preservation Timber Framing is honored to be a part of the restoration process.

The press conference announcing the Abyssinian’s place on the list was rousing, and much more inspiring than other press conferences I’ve been to (and with a reporter dad, I’ve been to a few). It was covered particularly well by the Bangor Daily News, and also by WMTW and WDSH. The story made the cover of the Portland Daily Sun.

The Portland Press Herald published a particularly well-researched editorial to help generate support for the building. I learned about the 1898 shipwreck that drowned 19 congregants and ultimately led to the dissolution of the church. Read the article here.

And remember, the Committee to Restore the Abyssinian takes donations.

Read more about the restoration of Abyssinian.

June 25, 2013

Think we can help? Get in touch.

Cell

(603) 781 5725

Office

(207) 698 1695

Email

Office Manager: Emilee Bolduc

President: Arron Sturgis

Mail

P.O. Box 28, Berwick, ME 03901

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