The Construction Saints of Washington County

We have encountered some remarkable people in our efforts to recreate my grandmother's house in easternmost Maine.  There are still a few people around who remember her, and that is fun.  Then there are others who remember relatives I never knew, and that is also fun.

Then there are the people who think we are quite probably certifiable. First of all, there are the legal and civic issues that need attention and care. From the lawsuit by an abutting landowner against the town for issuing us a building permit to the tribal people who have dug clams on our beach for generations, some people are not as enthusiastic about our little venture as we might like.

The second issue that suggests we might not be playing with full decks is the water table.  It's high.  That means that we have had to do a lot of ditching and draining to keep water from seeping into the structure. People have commented. However, as a glass-half-full person, I am beginning to enjoy thinking about different water-loving plants we can put in the ditches.

The remarkable people, however, are the local contractors and experts who have jumped in to help with the project.  Although we are paying them, they also seem to take genuine pleasure in helping out the crazy folks from away.

The hero of the project is John the carpenter. John likes to do things the old fashioned way and is highly knowledgeable about historic New England building methods.  If he was not able to salvage building elements during deconstruction, he has recreated them. That includes window trim and baseboards, both of which fell apart when he tried to remove them from the old house.  No problem--he just remade them. He knows the best lumber yards in the area and is quite scornful of the big box building stores.

Under his supervision, we purchased quarter sawn white spruce clapboards from a mill in western Maine still making them as they were made in the 19th century.  I was thrilled when I was able to introduce him to a guy who makes cedar shingles in a one-man mill that is more than 100 years old. He is going back next week to pick up our order, which will grace the water side of the house.

The ever-thrifty Mainers of the past would put the fancy siding, i.e. the painted or stained clapboards, on the public face of the house, and put the lesser quality siding, cedar shingles, on the back, where no one would see them.  The fact that cedar is even more durable than white spruce, especially in sea-side structures, makes that strategy a good one.

Of course there is the couple who sold us the land; the man is also a site designer.  He is still trying to get the water away from the house, and does not charge us what he should.  That is fine with me, of course.

Then there is the heavy equipment guy, who has done a lot of work for us and is one of the people who remembers some of my relatives. He is an artist of the bulldozer and front loader, picking up boulders like someone picking up a piece of tofu with chopsticks. He built the road, the driveway, the septic system, the slab on which the house rests, and is still working on the ditches and drains.

Next up are the plumber and electrician, who both appear to live by the motto, "We'll get 'er done." Because they are good, they are in high demand and require periodic reminders that we exist.  Making excuses to email, call or visit results in the feeling that they were just thinking about our project and were on the verge of calling us.  That's a skill.

Then there is the general contractor who has saved our bacon several times. He has a big crew of incredibly handsome sons and relatives and is a great problem solver. He is also in demand; Our attorney once commented that he now understood why his front porch was not getting repaired--the contractor was working for us!

Then there is another heavy equipment operator who deconstructed the original house.  He was recommended to us as the right guy for the job because he "liked to knock things down." And he did, with attention to our need to salvage as much as possible from the structure.

There are many others--the aforementioned attorney and the woman who runs a nearby Air B & B and has put us up numerous times during construction.  She has provided invaluable contractor recommendations. There is the town clerk of Perry, always efficient and knowledgeable about what we need to do. The fact that she reminds me of my grandmother, from her tightly permed iron-gray hair to her beautiful Washington County accent, is an added bonus. Then there is Roy, who remembers my grandmother and cleaned out her house for the “Junkin' for Jesus” auction (really) at the town's Congregational church before we started disassembling the structure.

While we hope the results of our efforts will be lovely, the process has been remarkable, too.  It's not just a building project, it's a labor of love and a trip down memory lane, made memorable by the Washington County folks who have helped along the way.