Feature Project: Chase Tavern Farm

A former inn and stagecoach stop in Bowdoin - parts of which date back to 1767 - got a historically accurate facelift recently, with the help of Riverside Millwork Center. Named after the first family to own the building, Chase Tavern Farm had been in the hands of only two families for its first two hundred years and much work was needed to restore it.

A former inn and stagecoach stop in Bowdoin - parts of which date back to 1767 - got a historically accurate facelift recently, with the help of Riverside Millwork Center. Named after the first family to own the building, Chase Tavern Farm had been in the hands of only two families for its first two hundred years and much work was needed to restore it.

A sagging sill and decaying clapboards forced current owners Cindy and Tim Lavan to realize that something needed to be done to preserve the historic building and bring the entryway back to the way it might have looked when that section of the structure was added in the early 1800’s. They called on contractor Lincoln Wheeler, who started by digging out the entire 50’ front wall of the house and pouring a new foundation wall to replace the existing dirt crawlspace.

The Lavans researched authentic doorways from similar buildings and, with the help of window and door specialist Kevin Hunter at Riverside Millwork Center, chose a six panel entry door and coordinating sidelights from Masonite. “We were thinking about getting a wood door but the one we were replacing had been getting stuck and we wanted to improve the energy efficiency.” This fiberglass door from Masonite’s Oakcraft collection features a stained simulated wood veneer exterior, whose Early American stain color contrasts nicely with the soft gray paint of the sidelights, trim, clapboards and windows. The period mortise entry set from Emtek in Oil Rubbed Bronze gives the unit added historical detail as well as flawless operation.

Work on the sill turned up many deteriorating clapboards which needed to be replaced, so the couple decided that it made sense to replace all five ground floor windows on that wall at the same time. These Energy Star© rated windows from Peachtree's 700 All Wood Series match the existing 9-over-6 lite configuration of the windows above, which are also slated for eventual replacement. Featuring Simulated True Divided Lites, these windows were custom-built to fit the existing openings and feature extended sill horns which allowed the builder to match the exterior moldings to those on the original historical windows. The factory-primed wood exteriors were then painted to match the rest of the building. The “Low-E” coating on the exterior of the glass lets light in, yet reflects heat and keeps harmful UV rays out in the summer and keeps heat inside during the winter. Argon gas is injected between the glass layers to increase the insulation value of the windows.

In addition to enhancing the period look of a house and improving energy efficiency, doors and windows like these may qualify for federal tax credits for energy efficient home improvements.

Call Riverside Millwork Center at 207-783-3881 for more details.