The Rural Voice, 1993-08, Page 40HURON COUNTY MUSEUM
"and FRIENDS"
9TH ANNUAL QUILT SHOW
AUGUST 7TH TO SEPTEMBER 19TH
QUILT FAIR — AUGUST 14TH and 15TH - 10:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.
REGULAR MUSEUM HOURS AND ADMISSION APPLY
110 NORTH ST., GODERICH
r
lit i l l RCS N 524-2686
iLYJ) C UNIY
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36 THE RURAL VOICE
insulation, and using the `stress skin
panels' allows us to build quality
R2000 homes."
Thirty employees work all
winter precutting and shaping the
timbers for delivery the following
spring. "The timbers are crafted
here before delivery," says Murray.
"We start the foundations in the
spring and have the timber frames
ready to go. We are busy all year
long, and we kept everybody on last
winter. Employees are a very
important pan of the business!"
The timbers are colour-coded for
individual orders. Power tools are
used in the shaping of the timbers,
but the final cutting is done by hand
with a chisel and mallet. The
timbers arc test -fitted for orders that
are going far away.
The lumber is prepared and
shipped as component lumber to the
building site. The frames are
assembled at the site in sections
called "bents". After pre -
assembling the bents on the sub -
floor, they are raised by cranes.
"The frames are raised like the
old-fashioned barn raisings, except
we use a crane instead of men with
pike poles," says Murray. "The
raising is quite a social event for
some families. They come for the
raising and hold celebrations." The
mortise and tenon are secured with
wooden pegs.
Several features are unique to
Thistlewood, such as the distinct
curve to the wood braces, a
trademark of the company.
"The company is service-
oriented," says Murray. "We want
to serve our clients well. We have
enough of the experience and
expertise now and we are quite
good at a variety of designs."
Three-day courses are offered in
timber framing at Thistlewood.
"We offer courses at the location
and the class members construct a
small building and hand -raise it."
People take the course for a variety
of reasons; some want to build their
own homes; others want to practice
woodworking. Thistlewood helps
with designing, with assembly
techniques, and provides materials
to work with.
"These courses also spread the
knowledge of the craft," states
Murray. "We will have a display at