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The primary
focus of Heritage Reclaimed Structures, Inc. is to
build restored Early American timber frame structures
anywhere in the United States. I locate and then purchase
pristine handcrafted timber frame structures that must
be removed, are unwanted or unused. These wonderful
Early American Structures are then dismantled, restored
and reconstructed as timber frame homes, commercial
timber frame buildings or traditional timber frame barns.
These timber frameworks were handcrafted by early American
pioneers during the 18th and 19th Centuries and using
skills passed on for generations, these craftsmen felled
massive hardwood trees and then by hand with a scoring
axe, broadax and adz they squared them into huge beams
up to 40’, 60’ and even 80’ long.
With mere hand tools and countless hours of hard work
they crafted hundreds of mortises and tenons to build
a timber frame barn or house. I’ve often heard “with
a hundred men they built the barn in a day” but
the truth is weeks of advance preparation went into
crafting the joinery before they ever assembled the
men for the barn raising. After 20 years of working
on these barns, I’m continually fascinated and
respectful of the skills and craftsmanship of the early
timber frame builders.
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Acquiring a Pristine Timber
Frame Barn
Urban expansion, new highways, modern farming methods and high maintenance
costs are eliminating old barns at an incredible rate. The timber frameworks
that I provide are a result of hundreds of ads and telephone calls from
barn owners, and thousands of road trip miles to see the timber frame
structures that I’ve pre-qualified to be good candidates for my
work. I look for very old timber frameworks that were handcrafted, are
built with large beams, have an aesthetically pleasing design and they
must be in good restorable condition. The timber frame structures that
I offer are a rare find as most will not meet my criteria.
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Dismantling the
Timber Framework
Meticulous attention is given to every part of this process. Every
wood peg is carefully extracted and the mortises and tenons are
separated with extreme care. All the hand hewn beams are given
special handling to prevent marring or damaging the surface of
the beams.
The Restoration
Process
An extreme effort is put into cleaning every beam with a very thorough
and time consuming process. It’s possible that some beams
may have a damaged area or void, this is commonly found in the
side wall top plate beam. When possible, the damaged area will
be restored with a high strength structural epoxy in areas where
very little will show and if necessary the beam will be replaced
with one of a similar size and vintage.
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Timber Framing
Timber framing modifications are sometimes necessary. It may be to replace
a missing post that a farmer removed, or another example would be to enhance
the timber framework by adding a loft floor or using hand hewn beams to
frame door or window openings. The hand hewn beams provide a look that
can’t be duplicated, but even for the most experienced carpenters
they are very challenging to work with. Every effort is taken to make the
timber framing modifications look as if the structure was originally built
that way. Generally the timber framing is completed before the framework
is transported for reconstruction.
Reconstruction of
the Timber Framework
Heritage Reclaimed Structures, Inc delivers and reconstructs the restored
ready to build timber framework, but the entire scope of work to be performed
will vary depending on the client’s wishes. If you have an interest
in my work, then please call me to discuss how a historical timber frame
restoration can be incorporated into your next building project.
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