Old ways are new for builder

By CHRISTIAN S. MADORE
Staff Writer

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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	Staff photo by Joe Phelan enlarge David Frankenfield, of Kennebec Timber Framing, stands in a display model on Friday afternoon at the Windsor Fair.

When David Frankenfield of Albion opened his carpentry business about 10 years ago, he did the same kind of work as most other contractors: building homes with two-by-fours, 16-penny nails and plywood.

But time went by, and he realized he really didn't enjoy that kind of work.

"I just didn't want to do stick framing anymore," he said, referring to the method used to build most modern homes.

So Frankenfield decided to reach back hundreds of years, back to the trade of timber framing.

He was at the Windsor Fair on Friday to show off one of his products: a 12-foot-by-16-foot post-and-beam structure made entirely of Maine hemlock.

His business, Kennebec Timber Framing, builds homes and barns all over the central Maine and the midcoast.

In timber framing, buildings are constructed with beams that fit together in a series of tight joints fastened together by hardwood pegs. It is an art that dates back to the middle ages. Prior to the early 1900s, most homes in the United States were built in this fashion.

But since then, with the arrival of modern technology, the craft has largely been replaced by more modern methods; methods that Frankenfield says do not yield as high a quality.

In modern house building, a house's frame is held together by nails, and the structure held rigid by plywood. Over time, though, that framing can shift and lose its shape.

By contrast, Frankenfield said a house built in the old way can keep its structural integrity much longer.

"The difference is that the construction is built to last for generations," he said. "My enjoyment is knowing that all the structures we build will be around in two or three hundred years."

Frankenfield employs a combination of modern and traditional tools in his work.

Whereas the mortices are made with an electric morticing tool, he still uses hand chisels to fine-tune the fit. Using modern tools helps him make a 12-foot-by-16-foot structure in about one week, while preserving the traditional form of timber framing.

Beside the enjoyment of building homes that will last, Frankenfield says timber framing gets him more directly involved with the shaping of the wood. Each piece of a structure is cut and fit at his shop before it gets sent off to a customer.

Every timber is also harvested from Maine land.

"I know where the timbers came from because I know the man who owns the land," he said.

There are about 1,800 timber framers left in the world today, he said, and he sees that number growing. He said he knows of about six others in central Maine alone.

"What I see is people getting fed up with the poor quality that other building styles offer," he said.

He said he has gotten a good response from patrons of the Windsor Fair, including several individuals who are interested in commissioning him for work.

"I see a resurgence of people getting back to quality building," he said.

For more information on Kennebec Timber Framing, visit http://www.kennebectimberframing.com.

C hristian S. Madore -- 623-3811, Ext. 435

cmadore@centralmaine.com