This spring TimberHomes has been focused on another bunkhouse project at Dartmouth College’s Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. Like its predecessors: the ’65, ’66, ’67, ’74, the Class of ’78 bunkhouse will be a timber frame largely cut during a weeklong workshop held on site in Warren, NH in May. Following a successful recipe, a group of TimberHomes instructors will introduce a mix of ’78 alumni and other Dartmouth/Moosilauke Ravine Lodge friends and enthusiasts to the joys of heavy timber joinery.
After the workshop, a core group of TimberHomes employees will stay on to enclose the bunkhouse and to complete the build. Led by designer and lead carpenter, Andrew Catlin, preparations have been underway now for a couple of weeks to produce as many of the needed elements that could be manufactured beforehand at TimberHomes’ Vershire shop. While many of the pieces, with the exception of the window bucks, won’t be needed for a while still, having them done will greatly increase TimberHomes’ ability to finish the project on schedule.
With a similar format to the other bunkhouses, TimberHomes has precut 28 timber framed bunkbeds. Being two and even three beds high, ladders were also made to service the upper bunks. On both floors, there will be a number of different shelves and cubbies to supply overnighters space for their belongings.
The kitchen area will be complemented by numerous custom made cabinets and a centrally located timber framed island. As in the past, TimberHomes, with Dartmouth’s blessing, has opted to emphasize the use of the region’s local wood products. Throughout, a mixture of White Pine and Black Cherry will give the ’78 Bunkhouse a very similar feel to that of its neighbors.
