Allow me, for a moment, to wax about about windows: They are the eyes to a building’s soul. The transom light above a Yankee barn door and the triple-hung sash in a meetinghouse facade help to distinguish a building, or relate it to its peers. Even when dismantling the most decrepit of barns, we are…
Built by Elias Carter in 1821, the Acworth Meetinghouse, with its double lantern spire, is a masterful representation of historic building craft. But by 2008, the building was in desperate need of repair. PTF was called in to give an estimate, but Acworth, NH is far, and endowed already with a number of seasoned carpenters. Arron,…
Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an article about I-Farm and Chris Barensfeld’s efforts to restore it. Online, the story was accompanied by a video and slideshow. From the article: For years, Christine Barensfeld dreamed about fixing up and living in a property down the street from her home: a historic white barn, carriage…
Since last we updated, PTF has been busy on a number of projects. The Northern contingent documented and dismantled a barn in West Poland, which will be repaired and rebuilt on a new site five miles away. The Southern contingent is repairing the trim on the Federated Church in South Berwick, as well as putting…
Over the past year, part of our crew has been busy repairing a barn at I-Farm, a multi-building complex soon to become a working farm that teaches early farm technology and sustainable agricultural practices. Around the turn of the century, the barn that had been there previously, a hand-hewn English frame (eave entry) was converted…
On Friday we erected the Ice House, c. 1770. This small, 10′ x 13′, frame is an exact replica of the larger barn to which it was found adjacent. The Ice House had been fully sheathed inside and out, and the wall cavities filled with sawdust, for insulation. It is extremely rare to find an…
A few months back, we disassembled a barn in Lebanon, Maine. Since then, we took the pieces back to the shop, repaired what we could, and re-designed the rest. This Spring, we assembled the frame using original and remade pieces, and Shawn and his crew have been busy hanging the cornice. Click on the photos…
Last week, we dropped the staging from the front of the York First Parish Church. After the 24 ft picks were lowered smoothly, we took apart the rest of the ledgers and standards like a rogue band of dismantling Doozers. Staging takedowns like that don’t just happen, they are engineered, by people like Keith Trefethen. …
Maine Preservation recently released an independent study of the economic impact of Maine’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit. Read all about it. Since the start of Maine’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit in 2008, $135 million has been privately invested by developers rehabbing historic commercial buildings in the state of Maine . This $135 million comes in…
For the third summer, the North Bennet Street School is collaborating with the Shaker Museum and Library to offer a range of workshops in preservation and traditional woodworking at Mount Lebanon Shaker Village, in New Lebanon, NY. A number of PTF employees graduated from the Preservation Carpentry program at North Bennet and can vouch for…