-
O’Kane Crane Day
Read more: O’Kane Crane DayYesterday was the first day we had a crane on site to help dismantle the O’Kane house frame. I don’t think the day could have gone more smoothly, all thanks to a great crew, and crane operator Frank Donahue. Thank you, Kendra, for all the pictures. Check back soon for…
-
O’Kane Notebook X: Guest Writer Chappy Cox
Read more: O’Kane Notebook X: Guest Writer Chappy CoxBrian Cox is managing the removal and inventory of the O’Kane windows, and he sends us the following report: As the O’Kane house continues to be examined, documented, and carefully disassembled, the windows in the ell have begun to be removed. They were previously photographed, measured, and assigned an alpha-numeric…
-
O’Kane Notebook IX: Down, Cape, DOWN!
Read more: O’Kane Notebook IX: Down, Cape, DOWN!Over the past month, an injection of new blood has invigorated the dismantling process. Not only have we three new Maine Preservation interns; Dave Ewing, Andrew Cushing and Noah Kerr, but Jim and Kendra, two clutch workers, to boot. Brian Cox has been on site, managing the inventorying and dismantling of…
-
O’Kane Notebook VIII: Joinery, Exposed!
Read more: O’Kane Notebook VIII: Joinery, Exposed!On Friday, Scott finished removing the trim from the Pink Parlor, pictured above. I had eagerly anticipated the joinery surrounding the fireplace, given our recent work on another fireplace surround. The displaced surround, turned upside-down, is below: When I think about the era in which this house was built, in…
-
O’Kane Notebook VII: the Pink Parlor
Read more: O’Kane Notebook VII: the Pink ParlorOn Tuesday, Dan was removing southern yellow pine flooring in a room we’ve dubbed “the Pink Parlor.” As an earlier layer of flooring was uncovered, he detected beneath the scrim of sand and dust a pattern in the mottled finish. A little washing revealed a fine stenciling. Scott had also…
-
O’Kane Notebook VI: The Nuts and Bolts of No Nuts and Bolts
Read more: O’Kane Notebook VI: The Nuts and Bolts of No Nuts and BoltsThis is post about a persnickety process: After a piece of trim is removed from an O’Kane wall, it is taken over to a photograph of that wall and traced with a fine tip marker. The dis-assembler then writes a description of the piece on the item list for that…
-
O’Kane Notebook V: Pulvinated Panels!
Read more: O’Kane Notebook V: Pulvinated Panels!Before it was dismantled, the fireplace in O’Kane’s Blue Parlor got a lot of attention. It is a simple-looking surround, with a single large panel above and an applied mantle, but it’s a good representation of the vernacular style from its era. Aside from a little bit of backband added…
-
O’Kane Notebook IV: The Ghost Pantry
Read more: O’Kane Notebook IV: The Ghost PantryOne of the first treasures we uncovered at O’Kane was a wall of horizontal featheredge sheathing painted in bright yellow. It was hidden behind plaster in the Blue Parlor, and had shadow lines delineating where once there were shelves. Where the boards terminate, on the left side, we think there…
-
O’Kane Notebook III: Making Wedges
Read more: O’Kane Notebook III: Making WedgesWe’ve been using softwood wedges, made from 2x stock, to carefully remove delicate moldings and wide wall panels. Either the wedges loosen the nails completely, or they provide use with enough room to slip a sawblade behind to cut the nail. Like ziploc tupperware, they can be reused, but…
-
Freedom (Mill)! You’ve Gotta Give for What You Take
Read more: Freedom (Mill)! You’ve Gotta Give for What You TakePTF has recently embarked upon a worthy away job to preserve a mill in Freedom, ME. Originally a grist mill, it was later converted into a wood turning mill, which closed in 1967. The building has lain dormant since. When the project is completed, the water turbines in the basement…