Dummer House, before
For me, it was not love at first sight. The Dummer House, built in 1786, is the oldest in Hallowell. Tucked onto Dummer Lane, the building had already been moved once and was languishing under a pair of overgrown maples, awash in eau du restaurant dumpster. It’s a plank frame building, which means that the 2 inch thick sheathing performs structurally. There are corner and intermediate posts, but no studs. Back when I was a student of preservation carpentry at NBSS, my instructor introduced us to this rare frame style with a not-quite joke: “If you ever get the chance to buy a plank frame house,” he said, “Don’t.”
Plank frames are notoriously difficult to repair. The lack of sheathing means that there is one less barrier between the elements and the frame, and fewer framing members to support the building during stabilization. If the sheathing separates from the sills, the entire wall can fall away from the building, and that’s what I’d seen on my one previous visit to a plank frame. My prejudice was getting the better of me.
Last summer, the Dummer House was moved again, by Geddes Building Movers. After three stress-free moves with the company this summer, we are crushing hard. They do the work of easy-going giants, gently lifting the building onto steel I-beams and rolling it into position using rugged rotating skates. The Kennebec Journal made this sweet time lapse of the move (dear reader, support your local news!)
Dummer House, after
When I returned this fall, the building had been turned 180 degrees and moved uphill to face Second Street at the intersection with Center. The spin returned the house to its original relationship to the street, so that the paired doors leading to the front hall are steps off of the sidewalk. No longer hidden by the brick buildings on Water street, the historic features of the Dummer House make an impression. The historic significance of the building can be better appreciated in an appropriate context with its front and side streets. In back, the building stands a story above a new municipal parking lot. And even this ahistorical view is an improvement. Looking up at the building from the parking lot, I fell in love.
Plank frame window pin
After the entrance, windows are the defining aspect of a building’s aesthetic. Their presence or absence and location communicate building use and place it in a historical context. For this reason, windows are frequently replaced when a building is “updated”. Looking at old buildings, it’s rare to find the original windows, and especially rare to find original sash or glass. Whenever I visit an 18th century building, I look at the ends of the windowsills in search of the shadow of a wooden pin behind the thick paint. The pin indicates the mortise and tenon joint at the heart of plank frame window construction. Rarely am I lucky enough to see the pin, much less the joint itself.
Plank frame window tenon
From the parking lot behind the Dummer House, a visitor can see the underside of the windowsills and the ends of tenons poking through – be still my beating heart! Instead of falling away from the sills, the walls have retained many of their original adornments: front entrance, clapboards, and plank frame windows. In a contemporary window, the frame is constructed from a hollow, 3-sided post. Three 3/4″ thick boards are rabbeted, nailed, and glued into a C-shape and make up the interior casing, the jamb and the exterior casing. In a plank frame window, the frame is constructed from stout timbers, about 3-4″ wide and 4-6″ deep. Because the jamb is solid, the front casing is the dressed front edge of the jamb. The jambs are joined to the hefty header and windowsill by a mortise and tenon joint. Seeing the end grain of those tenons poking through the bottom of the sill warmed the cockles of my heart.
In the winter, we hope to begin restoring the house, which will serve as a historic house museum. First, the undercarriage needs to be completely rebuilt, so we’ll get practice in rigging a plank frame building. Restoring the plank frame windows will come later; we’re lucky they’re still there. If you’re thinking of replacing your old or original windows, think twice. A restored window, with interior and exterior storms, can perform as well as a triple glazed window. Vinyl windows are almost impossible to restore (why bother?) and start to sag in a few years. If you’re interested in a turn-of-the-century wood window restoration, read more here.
