-
Langlais Restoration in Maine Sunday Telegram
Read more: Langlais Restoration in Maine Sunday TelegramOn Sunday, the restoration of Bernard Langlais’ wooden sculptures was covered in a full page spread of the Maine Sunday Telegram. It was a pleasure to talk with Bob Keyes, and Shawn Ouellette, of the Portland Press Herald, and to meet the with the folks who raised the money to…
-
Freedom Mill on MPBN’s Maine Watch
Read more: Freedom Mill on MPBN’s Maine WatchTony Grassi, owner of the Mill at Freedom Falls, will be discussing its rehabilitation with Jennifer Rooks on MPBN’s Maine Watch this week. The show airs Thursday, December 13 at 8 pm, Friday at 9 pm and Sunday at 5 pm. It will also be on the radio on Friday…
-
Moffatt-Ladd’s Temporary Windows Illuminate PTF Talent
Read more: Moffatt-Ladd’s Temporary Windows Illuminate PTF TalentOur clients often comment on a pervasive artistic sentiment within the PTF crew. Shawn Perry and David Ford pursued careers in drawing and ceramics, respectively, before becoming timber framers. Ed and myself majored in art as undergraduates, and a portrait of Reese (scroll down) hangs in the National Portrait Gallery (Reese’s friend…
-
A Marriage of Traditional Joinery and Modern Engineering
Read more: A Marriage of Traditional Joinery and Modern EngineeringOn Wednesday, the crew down at iFarm raised a new timber-framed kitchen ell. The modified English frame is based closely on joinery found in the late-18th century house. We based the size and location of the addition on evidence found in the house frame of an original, and now demolished,…
-
Where were we?
Read more: Where were we?At PTF, we have a passion for preservation. It’s been joked that Arron, our boss, wants to save every old barn and church steeple in New England, and that isn’t so far from the truth. This passion brings PTF to projects large and small, far and wide. Using the “my…
-
Demeritt-O’Kane Notebook XIII: Historic Home Available for Purchase
Read more: Demeritt-O’Kane Notebook XIII: Historic Home Available for PurchaseFOR 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…
-
Guest Post, by David Ford: The Moffatt Ladd House Paint Project
Read more: Guest Post, by David Ford: The Moffatt Ladd House Paint ProjectScraping paint off of a building is an exercise in endurance, as well as management. Not a very glamorous job, its importance in maintaining the protective coating of a building can be overlooked. Paint failure can ruin a building due to water infiltration and paint build up can hide the details that…
-
O’Kane-Demeritt Notebook XII: A Fine House
Read more: O’Kane-Demeritt Notebook XII: A Fine HouseYesterday, 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…
-
O’Kane Notebook XI: Demeritt Notebook?
Read more: O’Kane Notebook XI: Demeritt Notebook?When I embarked upon a career in wood, I wondered whether I should become a furniture-maker, and construct finely joined objects of beauty, or build houses, which provide a lot more utility to people. I soon found that it was a false dichotomy; working in preservation, I can work on…
-
A River Runs Through Freedom Mill
Read more: A River Runs Through Freedom MillSince April, Ed, Lee, Reese, Chuck, Jesse, Shawn and Arron have been laboring to restore the undercarriage of the Mill at Freedom Falls (c. 1834). The crew faced a number of obstacles: one corner of the building had dropped more than 10 inches out of level, and a stream that once powered…