Historic Construction that time travels back to the City of Henricus, the second successful English settlement in the New World.
Explore a moment in time where 300 settlers, led by Sir Thomas Dale, departed the unhealthy environment of Jamestown with the hope of establishing a strong English Colony. Learn from your visit how these brave settlers lived under the constant threat of attack by Indians and Spaniards while building their colony. Henricus Historical Park re-creates this historical journey for the visitor transporting you back four hundred years. Historic setting in a time where property ownership by the common man was a unique concept. The innovative idea of property ownership by a common man combined with the development of the first English hospital at this location. The chartering of the first college in the New World, the English home of Pocahontas, the establishment of tobacco as the first cash crop in the New World, all happened here the City of Henricus.
Gepetto Craftsmen were instrumental in construction of the crown jewel of the Henricus historic site’s replica church. From the groud up the chapel is built with historically authentic technique by our craftsmen. The opportunity to hand hew, and fit each joint allowed us to share in the same joy of craftsmanship and strong independent spirit shared by these pioneers ages ago. From the handmade glass windows to the the gothic style arches we were able to slip back in time and work with hand tools again.
Give us a call if your modern home needs an antique replica, solid wood centerpiece, or if you are a park service representative looking for qualified restoration craftsmen.
Historic Construction : Building Methods and Materials
For National Park Service and other projects that require authentic historic woodworking techniques and tools that are period specific:
Beam Joinery
Waddle and Daub
Historic Joinery Techniques
Materials guided irregularities
The advantages to using traditional joinery in preservation & restoration projects are shown in the full character of a historic building. Matching the traditional joinery techniques in construction, repairs, restorations, and other preservation activities ensures the structural integrity of a historic building by matching the existing joinery with a joinery technique that’s compatible with it’s original construction methods. Traditional joinery honors the wooden materials and makes a stronger, more durable end product. The older design methods account for expanding and contracting materials because they had such a thorough understanding of their craft. Modern joinery – on the other hand – generally prioritizes minimal time, and multiple materials like screws and glues. Pairing modern adhesives with historic joinery can compromise the structure of a historic building. Historic construction that values each trade and period specific methods add’s to that period’s methods being maintained in the trade community as well.
Historically Accurate Hand Built Techniques
Traditional joinery is a time-tested method that is much stronger than modern joinery and lasts for generations, even thousands of years. The mortise and tenon joint is the most ancient traditional joint and has been found in the wooden planks of a vessel 43.6 meters long that dates to 2,500 BCE. Traditional Chinese architecture as old as 5000 years used these methods for a perfect fit without using fasteners and glues. The gepetto craftsmen keep these skills and traditions alive in the modern and historic project they complete.
Historically Accurate Replica Construction Contractor
Custom Woodworking for summer vacation home : Country Chic Style by Virginia Craftsmen Gepetto Millworks. Have Gepetto design and build your kitchen, dining and wood paneling to meet your budget and your design aesthetic! Here we used reclaimed barn wood for the kitchen/dining area walls to bring together the front hall and original wood floors that were refinished in renovation.
Renovate your historic property with the organic look and feel of #reclaimed lumber on the walls, floors or as purpose built furniture! In this property tour you can see how the #CountryChic elements blend together with the weathered and faded walls built by Gepetto from an old barn. The country farm house kitchen was built by the space conscious farmer of the 19th century. To bring it to modern standards, our #Kitchen#Designer brought the small space between the stove, sink and fridge out into the dining room by adding the cart style island allowing the chef to determine the cooking space, or entertaining space with the roll of the casters. Gepetto built the family length dining table to fit the space using solid wood joinery. We fashioned a clock from the same reclaimed panels and tied together the staircase, sitting room, and dining area using the reclaimed paneling. If you are looking to source a medium or large project, give us a call @ (804) 938-2094 and chat about your specific needs, and we’ll scour the rich #virginiacountryside for the right #reclaimedlumber for the job.
As you are renovating your historic home you will find the choice presented to you to tear down one set of window trim,
doorway molding or any part that can not be immediately sourced or replaced. Before you throw away the character
and history of your property one small piece at a time, please contact us to recreate your historic pieces with their full character.
Historic homes are often designed around an entry hall or great room. This greatroom wall hosts a lighted display of period china. All electrical wiring is hidden and the accent lighting on the china cabinet is dimmable so that a warm glow can be kept in the stairway.
Historic Woodworking for Period Authentic Home Renovation
The historic architectural touches include the upper ballaster & solid wood windows,
Gepetto specializes in fabricating wooden restaurant fittings and furnishings to your design:
19th Century Replica Wooden bar and cabinet for restaurant ambiance
Above even the televisions at Mari Vanna are faced with naturally weathered and antique barn wood. Below we created intricate arcs and openings to visually separate this wine bar.
We tore down the barn wood for this Bar project just a few miles from where it was to be installed.
This Washington DC Restaurant was funded by Kickstarter, and features cuisine from the west asian country of Georgia.
Fabricated from Locust for a historic farm restoration.
Historic Wooden Gate Construction
All of Gepetto’s projects are handmade in our Richmond Virginia Shop.
Historic Wooden Gate Construction
Gates compliment many styles of fence from picket styles to agricultural styles of wooden fencing. Rustic split rail styles in pine or western red cedar can be treated as a compliment to the finished look of the gates. Five bar gates easily accept wire such as farm and field fence, woven wire fence, welded wire fence, or even chain link. You may even use these strong wood gate frames for picket styles of fence by attaching to picket to the face of them. English style gates are a much classier finishing touch than farm tubular gates often used with agricultural fences. Gates may be painted or stained nearly any color to match existing fences, even vinyl post and rail fences.
Unique solid wood construction utilizes a cedar to achieve the long lasting weather resistance of these solid wood mortised gates. Gepetto craftsmen took on the ambitious project of mortising through 8 inches of solid cedar, on an arc! We can stretch the boundaries of what you think is possible with wood!
Primary gate joints are mortised and tenoned.
Gates are designed with a heavy duty top rail over the entire width for extra strength.
Gate top rails are chamfered cross braced for additional strength and durability.
Rail and cross bracing reinforced with stainless steel bolts.
Superior quality timber used throughout gate frame and rails.
Gates may be automated with gate operators and accessories.
Ornamental wood gates may be hung as right or left hand.
Gates have beautifully planed natural wood finish.
Gates may be re-painted using water-based or oil-based paints or leave ‘as-is’ to weather naturally.
Suitable for residential, commercial, and agricultural uses.
Gates easily mount to masonry columns, wood, or steel posts.
An old dilapidated barn? Well of course!!! But through the eyes of a skilled Craftsman, you see an outdoor aging process ripe for picking.
Wood can be like wine, getting better with age. The age shows itself in the richer colors in the wood-grain, the character marks and weather stains.
Do you love the natural and inviting look of wood? Then you’ll love our unique kitchen and living space designs made from reclaimed lumber.
What is reclaimed lumber?
Wood that isn’t rotten, is reusable – reclaiming it from it’s first build is a great way to recycle, but can also give your project a unique look in one of two ways:
The Aging Process: produces unique defects, accentuates grain color and contrast
Unique Trees: modern lumber comes from trees grown for cutting, whereas 100 year old wood from barns, and buildings was lumber harvested from naturally grown trees – giving a different and amazing rich contrast that young trees just can not do. If you are looking to give your Barn a new life. Let us help with you ideas.
