Student Spotlight: Brian Dolloff

CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

I love history. I love working with my hands. I love building things. I love being independent of modern conveniences. Timber framing speaks to all of these elements. To see a 200-year-old barn or house still standing strong after all that time and opportunity for destruction is just amazing. When I happened to speak to a Timber Framers Guild member at a local fair, I recognized the opportunity to fulfill a dream. I had wanted to learn more about timber framing for years but hadn’t found the right opportunity. The Heartwood School just felt right.

I attended the basic Timber Framing class later that fall and fell in love. With all of it. The instructors, my classmates, the building, the history, and the opportunity to use this knowledge for future endeavors. That class led to the Cruck Framing class with Jack Sobon. Where else could you meet such an accomplished timber framer, architect and author? To say I was excited to meet and learn from one of my favorite authors may be an understatement. My desire to work independently led me to the Raising and Rigging class taught by Grigg Mullen Jr. and Grigg Mullen, III. I tend to work alone on most projects so understanding how to use a gin pole and an ‘A’ frame was very beneficial. The practical knowledge that I learned in that class has helped in many aspects of my daily life.

My day-to-day workload is mostly general carpentry and remodeling. That’s what pays the bills at this point. My recent fourteen-month project, which utilized stick and timber framing, greatly benefited from the insights gained in my Heartwood classes.

Another opportunity came along when I met a neighbor of the Heartwood School and a timber framer, Kevin Bittenbender, at one of the Thursday evening socials at the school. He found out that I was from Maine and asked if I would help with a friend’s nearby barn raising. I jumped at the chance. I was one of many volunteers, ranging from no experience to 30 years’ experience, who worked on that project. The knowledge and experience gained at Heartwood, proved invaluable to the owner on raising day. I was even asked to return as a paid contractor to help finish with roof sheathing.

I also had the opportunity to meet the owner of the Heartwood School building and surrounding land, Tedd Benson. I noticed an older band saw mill with weeds growing up through the carriage and inquired if it may be for sale. Needless to say, Tedd was happy to sell it to me and I was very happy to buy it. With my 30-acre woodlot, I hope to mill out the needed timbers for future projects myself.

My future goals include building and selling small timber frame structures; sheds, cabins, gazebos, pergolas, and barns. My wife says I can practice on the structures she wants me to build for her... I hope to connect with other timber framers in my local area and work with them to gain more knowledge and experience. This year will see me back at Heartwood for four more classes: Business Practices for Timber Framers, Intro to SketchUp, Demystifying Roof Geometry: the Stereotomical Approach, and Converting Trees to Timber.

I can’t say enough how fortunate I was to bump into that Timber Framers Guild member at the local fair. Fate intervened and sent me along a wonderful path. The new acquaintances, the knowledge, and the opportunities have all been such a wonderful gift.

Brian Dolloff