A Locally Sourced Sugar House

Our client has one of the finest sugar maple stands in the state. When she decided to begin collecting and boiling sap for maple syrup she decided she wanted a sugar house that would reflect the spirit of the trees as richly as possible. The entire entry was framed in full round timber (sugar maple, cherry, pine, yellow birch) and additional forked stems support a curved queenpost truss over the “arch” boiler. A poplar tree that fell onto the road in an ice storm became the center of a spiral stair leading to the sap tank. Cherry and maple cabinetry with granite countertops finished the work. No plywood or plastic was used in the entire job.

Scribing Brings a Sculptural Element to Timber Work

Every timber has a unique character that has been determined by its history. Think about the distribution of sunlight in the particular spot where a seed germinates. Consider the long-term patterns of wind and weather that a tree must adapt to over the course of its life. A multitude of factors will contribute to a timber’s ultimate shape. In much the same way as a sculptor finds and reveals shape within stone, when we work with naturally curved timber a big part of our work comes down to finding and revealing the character of a particular piece of wood.