Big week over at the Oil House brings master carpenter Karl and his crew back for a 7th straight season.
While Peter pulled up the mahogany decking, Karl and Sunny, with assists from Rowan, built this magnificent upper deck, complete with a stanchion railing salvaged from a World War II minesweeper.
Well, it seems you’re never really “done” fixing up a lighthouse, but we’re well enough along where we thought it fun to share some Before and After photos.
Those of you who have followed us from the start might recall how big a task we had in front of us.
For perspective, the interior of Graves Light is about 13 feet in diameter.
The “Before” shots were taken in the autumn of 2013, right after we purchased Graves Light from the Coast Guard. The “After” shots are how things look today.
It’s not just metalworking out here. The boys from Driftwood Construction in Nantucket brought every tool in the shop and in just three days framed out the new second floor of the Oil House.
In February with assistance of a helicopter, we added the new second story, made in Philadelphia of cast marine concrete. The new timberframe roof was made last year in Maine.
For the second story floor, the Driftwood Construction crew reused the old 12 x 12 timbers from the ruined original Oil House roof. They added some beautiful reclaimed wood from our friends at Longleaf Lumber.
Thanks Karl, Sonny, Peter, and Jack!
The Oil House project has generated a lot of interest in our restoration efforts, so we’d like to share some more photos that have been trickling in all week of our work on the second story.
Praise and respect for the whole crew! Thanks Anthony, Frank, Ben, Randy, Jared, Brad and Raivo for the excellent pictures from every possible angle.
In 25-knot winds and sub-freezing temperatures, a daring and dedicated crew of 30 put a second story and new roof on the Graves Light Oil House.
We have been working since last spring to convert the Oil House into a guest cottage.
A heavy-lift Erickson Air Crane helicopter ferried the five-ton marine concrete walls and a completed timberframe roof from a barge to Graves Ledge.
Waiting crews guided the massive pieces in place as the helicopter – Erickson’s civilian version of Sikorsky’s military CH-64 Tarhe Skycrane – neatly lowered them, one at a time, on the heavy granite Oil House.
The Oil House was built in 1905 to store whale oil used to fuel the Graves Light beacon. It is made of heavy granite blocks and has withstood all seas and weather ever since.
Making an equally tough second story was a task we gave to Carson Concrete, which pre-cast the four interlocking side panels in Pennsylvania and sent them to Boston by barge.
The original wooden roof also survived, but was too battered to salvage. Haystack Joinery in Maine built a magnificent timberframe replacement on shore. We helicoptered it out in one piece along with the concrete second story.
Hats off to our most daring and dedicated crew, which pulled off the job flawlessly on the icy ledge. Everyone’s safe.
Placing our first Christmas wreath on Graves Light’s massive new oak doors. @BostonGlobe #Boston pic.twitter.com/oxiyaDBuHa
— Keeper (@Graveslight) December 25, 2018
Master Ship’s Carpenter Don Conry with two of the perfect replica doors he built for Graves Light.
There’s no better way to test a new pair of heavy oak doors than to install them during a gale.
Using the original 1905 US Light House Service blueprints, Master Ship’s Carpenter Don Conry built us a perfectly accurate pair of double doors for our entry, 40 feet above the sea.
The old lighthouse plans have been essential to our restoration efforts. For the four entry doors, we turned to Don. He fashioned them out of white oak, exactly according to the 1905 specifications.
Until now, Graves Light’s front doors were Coast Guard replacements of the long-gone originals. They were functional but drab, nothing like the original design.
We unearthed a lovely group of twelve antique heavy brass barrel hinges for a solid and weatherproof fit.
Then we added a beautiful porcelain enamel warning sign – an original from the US Light House Service. It’s all about the details.
Just like the long-lost doors installed 113 years ago, these white oak brutes are built to take a beating. They have reinforced security glass and up-rated hardware against intruders.
An identical set of exterior doors, painted regulation red, completes the entryway.
Don labored over the fall and installed them in early November, during a gale. That’s what Master Ship’s Carpenters do. Thanks so much, Sir!
Our talented cousin Kenny Burns built this fabulous quarter sawn oak Service Cabinet.
It’s an exact copy patterned from the original 1903 Graves Light blueprints.
The back is curved to fit the radius of the tower.
The original is long gone.
The Keepers used the service cabinet to store oil lamps, tools, wicks and glass chimneys. We’ll use our new one for the same purpose.
Kenny’s shown in his shop before bringing his exact replica to Boston. Soon it will be in the lighthouse.
Fully framed timber reconstruction of the 1905 oil house.
Our friend Raivo has been busy up in Maine transforming some old pine timbers into a dramatic new roof for our Oil House.
The original 1905 roof was solidly built and still mostly intact, but it’s time for a fresh one and this season we’ll be concentrating on transforming the little stone structure into a fabulous guest cottage.
Raivo will assemble the new roof in his shop, dismantle it and reassemble out at Graves late in the summer.
Master Cabinetmaker Will installs his mahogany crown molding in the kitchen (watch deck).
Four original cast iron pieces were lost years ago, but once Uncle Mike gives the mahogany replacements a fresh coat of paint, they blend right in with the rest!
