The Ox Barn at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village and the Penhallow House at Strawberry Banke are two of our most historically significant projects. Both buildings were temporarily lifted by Geddes Building Movers so that they could receive completely new foundations and modern drainage systems. Jimmy and his crew are peaceful and professional and we could…
On and off since 2019, PTF has been involved with the restoration of the Tuttle Barn at the Desert of Maine in Freeport. The new owners, Mela and Doug Heestand, have transformed the Desert to be more welcoming for families and more clearly interpret the unique ecology of this site. This past year, we restored…
Three of our projects have been in the news recently: Sabbathday Shaker Village won a $750,000 grant to rehabilitate their Herb House, the Abyssinian Meeting House will complete their restoration with $1.7 million in federal funding, and Broad Bay Church won a Maine Preservation Honor Award. The Sabbathday Shakers are restoring their Herb House; the…
We raised the Kavanagh ell last week. The frame was in rough condition, but the owners have prioritized preserving original material as much as possible. All but one tie beam received two new ends, each joined by a timber scarf. Most of the posts received repairs as well. The undercarriage and roof system were beyond…
The story of the Abyssinian Meetinghouse and Leonard Cummings, its long-time board president, was on the cover of the Maine/New England section of the Maine Sunday Telegram today. The Abyssinian is the third oldest African American Meetinghouse and is located across the street from the Shipyard Brewery in Portland. Frederick Douglass trod its very floorboards.…
If crane days were measured by weight, last Thursday’s crane day would be our biggest to date. East Derry’s belfry, bell and double lantern weighed 43,400 pounds, not including the rigging. The crane day might also be the biggest in terms of scope. Since 2013, we’ve lifted and moved the church onto a new foundation, rebuilt…
Norway UU Church is the kind of church that reminds me why we do this work. The congregation has been hosting a community lunch program for more than 25 years and the building provides a space for daily AA meetings. When I’ve been in the office for weeks, finishing up estimates I know will be…
On Friday, East Derry First Parish Church will be hosting a celebration in honor of the 300th anniversary of Nutfield, a Scotch-Irish settlement that was the precursor to today’s Derry, Londonderry, and Manchester, NH. The crew at East Derry has been hustling to finish the belfry in preparation for the event. For a bunch of…
The Barn at Bondgarden Farm has been the talk of Eliot all summer. Nearly a hundred feet long and roofed in slate, the barn was always a stunner, but in July, Rick Geddes lifted the barn 6 feet in the air, and neighbors and news crews took note. Geddes threaded four 50 foot, 12 inch H-beams…
At East Derry, we knew the lantern was in bad shape, but we couldn’t know the full extent until we had it on the ground. Brian Cox was the job lead. He says, “The will of the church was holding that thing together, many layers of lead paint, and band-aid flashing details.” It was chilling…