WEST NEWBURY - When Cynthia Gabriel and Austin Walsh look out over their acre of land on Bailey Lane, they frequently imagine what building a home in New England must have been like hundreds of years ago.

Even though a bevy of modern conveniences are being used in building their new 3,400-square-foot home, they are approaching construction of the timber-frame house in the spirit of our 18th century ancestors, acting as their own contractors and overseeing the installation of every post and beam.

It's a dream two years in the making, and with the raising of the first timbers last week, it is finally beginning to take shape. A team of craftsmen and carpenters will be diligently working on site this week to raise the remaining beams. The couple will be working right alongside them, troubleshooting and helping with the heavy lifting when necessary.

Their love of big projects and old construction was born from the renovation of an old house in the Fort Hill area of Boston - the most dilapidated house in the neighborhood, as Gabriel tells it.

"This house was in horrible condition," she said. "I was five months pregnant with my first child when we moved in. My brother, who helped us move, was worried to leave us there. The kitchen was rat-infested. There was an open sewer in the basement. It was horrific inside."

She recalls cooking dinner in the kitchen, and her husband not having much of an appetite due to the conditions. They decided at that moment to tear things apart.

"We ripped it down to the studs, and that's when we saw how old homes were made," Gabriel said. "It was made with old peg nails - big beams that you just can't find anymore."

When they were finished, theirs was the prettiest house in the neighborhood. Although both have roots in this area - Walsh grew up in West Newbury and Gabriel in Newburyport - they never dreamed they would live anywhere but Boston. Then they learned of a beautiful piece of land for sale in West Newbury and soon were imagining taking their acquired knowledge of old homes to a new level.

"We thought we would raise kids in Boston, but this land turned us in a different direction," Gabriel said. "We said if we're going to build, we're going to design our own home with the integrity of an old home."

They purchased the land and began learning all they could about timber-frame construction. Walsh spent several months apprenticing with a master craftsman in Byfield who specializes in the building style, and Gabriel pored through books and published articles on the subject. In their spare time, they would go out to the land and sit at various times of day, imagining how the house should be built to get the best natural exposure.

 

They designed the house, and settled on Tamworth Timberwrights of New Hampshire, which specializes in timber framing and traditional joinery, to help bring their ideas to life.

The wood arrived first - all Douglas fir timbers - having traveled from a special mill by way of Vancouver, British Columbia, and cut to fit their design specifications. Then the artisans from Tamworth arrived just before Christmas. This past week, the couple watched as cranes lifted the first third of their house into place, looking like a barn-raising.

And just like a traditional barn-raising, the couple have gotten loads of help from the locals. Gabriel mentions their local septic excavator Bill Spaulding, who not only helped build the foundation but has come out to check on the project throughout the process and offered recommendations as needed. A local farmer/land owner came over and lifted wood for the couple when it was discovered the tractor they got wasn't big enough to handle such a heavy load.

Being the owner/builder requires you to be ready for anything and everything that might go wrong, Gabriel said. And things frequently do - go wrong, that is.

"You have to expect the worst-case scenario, because anything possible that can go wrong probably will," Walsh said. You have to accept it will go wrong and then seek to immediately correct it."

It's been a challenge to convince some people that their decision to act as owner/builders and to build a traditional timber frame home was sound, even though most old homes in town were built that way.

"If you go into the interior walls of most homes in West Newbury, you'll find these posts and beams," Gabriel said.

The Institution for Savings wanted to see pictures of the home the couple renovated in Boston before it would agree to loan on the project. But as soon as they saw the before and after photos, and the new designs for the Bailey Lane house, they were on board.

It's been worth doing it all themselves, especially considering the cost savings, Gabriel said. She said the house they're building would have cost in the million-dollar range - which they can't afford - if built by a traditional builder. Gabriel works for a nonprofit organization in Boston, and Walsh serves as primary caregiver to their two children, so their budget for this project is limited. They've had to put many extras, like granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, on hold.