New Project: Sortwell Chandlery

While every site we work on presents unique challenges, our Sortwell Chandlery project, located directly at the water’s edge, was especially one-of-a-kind. Historic photos show the chandlery completely surrounded by wooden wharves where boats could dock; some of the pins in the rocks and old stone cribbing still exists to this day. Before our renovation, the high tides would actually lap at the side of the chandlery, and during big storms the clients could feel the structure moving with each big wave. Our design involved picking up the building and setting it back on a new foundation, footings, and wooden cribbing system. In collaboration with structural engineer Al Putnam, we designed a new interior structural framework to help support and reinforce the original structure. Says project architect Will Fellis, "I am most proud of the fact that it looks like it could have been there for 200 years." Read all about the project and see the beautiful photos by Trent Bell Photography.

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