2003 Eastern Conference

Pre-Conference Workshops

These special all-day workshops will give you an intensive hands-on learning experience; separate advance registration and fee are required (see the Registration Form).

Lunch, breaks and handouts are included. All workshop fees are quoted in US dollars.

Zimmererhandwerk
Oct. 28-30, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (3 days)

Work alongside German carpenters (Zimmerer) Filippo Campagna and Wil Dancey as you lay out, cut and erect a small picnic pavilion/barbecue house (drawing). You'll learn carpentry techniques as they have been passed down for centuries through the German apprenticeship system, including Fachwerk (half-timbered lattices) and compound/valley roof framing. Drawing techniques to solve design and roof problems will be emphasized, as well as safe and efficient tool use during layout and cutting. Other interesting features of the project include passing braces and carved brackets and overhangs.

Filippo Campagna is a chief instructor at the Gewerbe-Akademie in Rottweil, Germany and has most recently hosted roof framing and CAD workshops for visiting American Guild members. Wil Dancey moved to Canada after completing his German apprenticeship and runs (along with his wife, Chris) Dietrich's North America and Nature First Building Company.

A list of basic carpentry tools required for the workshop will be sent upon receipt of your registration; knowledge of German is not required. Rooms are available at Montebello starting Monday night.

Fee: $350 US/Guild members, $375/non-members, lunch included.

French Roof Framing

Steven Leber is a young French carpenter and Compagnon from Brittany who represented France in the World Trade Olympics in Seoul in 2001. Boris Noël worked at Bensonwood Homes in 1994 and led the recent TFG tour in France. Together they will demonstrate the techniques used to successfully lay out and cut a complicated roof during the Olympic competition. They will build a roof model with different pitches giving a hip with jack rafters and purlins. Steven will make a real-size roof layout while Boris explains the process step-by-step; participants will then help cut the model while Boris goes into more details about the process.

Steven now is in the teaching phase of his training in France, supervising younger apprentices. Boris supervises 25 employees at SARL Valentin in Troyes.

A list of basic carpentry tools required for the workshop will be sent upon receipt of your registration; knowledge of French is not required.

Fee: $185 US/Guild members, $200/non-members, lunch included.

Cordwood Masonry Construction
Thursday, Oct. 30, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Cordwood masonry is an old building technique in which walls are constructed of short logs - called "log-ends" - laid transversely, much as a rank of firewood is stacked. The wall gets its exceptional thermal characteristics from the insulated mortar matrix woven between the log-ends. Cordwood masonry makes an excellent infill material for timber frame construction.

The morning session consists of classroom work, including a slideshow and, after morning break, a discussion of the various woods and how long to dry them, mortar options, special design details, and other special considerations such as electrical and window installation.

After lunch, Rob and Jaki Roy will demonstrate the wall-building techniques, within a small timber frame panel. Students will learn how to mix mortar, select log-ends, insulate the wall, and tuck-point the masonry for strength and beauty. After the initial demonstration, students will help build up the panel with cordwood, practicing the mixing, building and pointing techniques under the watchful eyes of the instructors.

Instructors Rob and Jaki Roy have built four cordwood homes and numerous outbuildings, including saunas and garages. The couple started Earthwood Building School in West Chazy, NY, in 1981 to teach cordwood masonry and earth-sheltered housing, and have also conducted workshops throughout the world. Rob has written 12 books in the alternative building field, including Cordwood Building: The State of the Art, The Sauna, and Complete Book of Underground Houses. His newest book, Timber Framing for the Rest of Us, will be published by New Society in the autumn of 2003.

Fee: $125 US/Guild members, $140/non-members, lunch included.

Building Buildings That Build Community
Thursday, Oct. 30, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Community built buildings provide more to a community than just a place to meet. The steps involved in moving from the concept to reality provide an integral part of the process. Along the way, relationships are formed, designs evolve, skills are learned and shared, and ownership takes on a whole new meaning. The involvement of various cultures and a multi-generational spectrum, from young to old, can bring greater unity to a host community.

This pre-conference gathering will bring together a diverse group of presenters who have practical experience. Steve Chappell, of Fox Maple School, will share his experience with two training programs named Indigenous Peoples Community Building Initiative and Running Strong for American Indian Youth. Paula Baker Laporte, co-author of Prescription for a Healthy House, will discuss how the choices we make when we build can affect our health and well-being. Robert Laporte will speak about his holistic approach to designing and constructing buildings using natural materials. Examples of community based projects, which have been sponsored by the Timber Framers Guild, will illustrate how offering practical training and involvement in the raising of a frame can benefit not only the community receiving the new structure, but also the timber frame apprentices, professional framers and a cross-section of the host community. The design for a proposed timber framed Youth Cultural Centre will be shown by Markus Brunn. Linda Albright, founder of the Arts Network for Children and Youth, will elaborate on how this project would use "best practices" to create a healthy space, by making environmentally responsible choices. A project of this type can also offer skills based training, by professional instructors, to local youth and timber frame apprentices, as well as an opportunity to learn for other members of the host community.

Community based projects require involvement from many viewpoints. You will have the opportunity to participate in two forums, when the presenters can reply to your questions and hear your comments. Hopefully, seeds will be planted for even more collaborative building projects, so we can continue to "build buildings that build community."

Fee: $40 US, lunch included.