The services I offer reflect the historical trades ranging from timber framing to traditional masonry and traditional joinery, with much in between.  Standing in the shadows of masters, some I’ve known personally, I don’t consider myself an expert on any historical trade.  However, I do consider myself an Artificer in the traditional sense of the word. 

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  By way of explanation, Artificers were once commonplace in the militaries of the world including the United States.  They were, in short, a corps of skilled tradesmen and artisans that were responsible for maintaining every “mechanical” aspect of army and navy life.  From building stone harbor defenses to erecting a timber frame barracks to crafting a fine campaign chest for your commanding officer, Artificers owned the day.  Many of these men belonged to guilds attesting to the quality of their craft.  In fact, the best timber framers of their day were not civilian Housewrights but naval Shipwrights.  They were highly skilled in their role as tradesmen yet, although true artisans they were of necessity, due to the diverse environments in which they worked and exclusivity of the corps to which they belonged, a “Jack of all trades, and master of none”.  Styling myself in the manner of the military Artificer of yesteryear, I have engaged as a tradesman on multiple historical projects ranging from large preservation efforts on 100-year-old barns to surgical masonry projects on a 200-year-old residential brick home.

  Additionally, I have rendered a complete design and build of a replica Virginia farmhouse, ca. 1830.  I have constructed authentic reproduction doors to exacting specifications on historical properties where the damage was so extensive, I had to first render artists concepts before I could do technical drawings.  To date I have laid nearly 40 tons of fieldstone with earth mortar, an aggregate made of site clay, sharp sand, and carbonating lime.  Among all the “heavy lifting” I’ve even worked in a piece of furniture or two.