The lower level entrance of an absolutely gorgeous event center was in need of a set of stairs. This was the project and with it came some interesting challenges.
The lower entrance is seen below.
The final result below.
Belfast, Maine 04915 • August 2025
The Belfast City Harbor has been in the very capable hands of Kathy Given these past three decades. The following interview is such a wonderful tribute to Kathy and her contributions to the community and travelers who have sailed into and out of our port.
Featured Image – Belfast Harbor
During the winter of 2024, two back-to-back storms plummeted the Maine coastline. The Penobscot Bay Pilot covered these storms in the following two articles:
January 10, 2024 and January 13, 2024
Both of these storms were co-oincident with January king tides, tides during a new or full moon.
This is a great summary article of storm details by Thornton Tomasetti.
On a calm sun filled day, the king tides slowly inch there way up the shoreline and occasional drool into a low area parking lot, a coastal walk way, or into the low areas of an ocean front home backyard. During a winter full gale storm, there is a completely different dynamic and the storm surge rises well above the king tide level and pummels anything and everything on the coast. This is exactly what happened on January 10th and 13th of 2024.
Multiple coastal businesses were flooded and severely damaged. A local business had some basement flooding, but fortunate to have been able to pump out the water and restore all of the systems that were damaged.
With everything back to normal, the owner took steps to fortify the property and one step toward this was to install a sump pump that would be able to keep up with the storm surge. This project was the result of this effort.
A high volume pump was selected that would be able to pump out the entire volume of the basement in under an hour. This rate would be ample enough to keep up with a king tide storm surge which over an hour span would attempt to fill the basement.
The Speroni HGM 80-2.2 Trash Water Pump is a self-priming, 3HP, monoblock, trash water pump. It has a maximum flow of 15840 GPH and suitable to drain clean or slightly dirty water and can even be used in a flood irrigation system.
This pump met the requirement because the basement volume was about 15,000 gallons if full, so the GPH rate matched perfectly. The final installation included a switch control to turn it on manually or with the use of a high level float switch. A final component (check valve) was needed to hold the prime so that it would be ready to pump at a moments notice. The manual switch can be used to test the pump weekly.
Maine – April 2024
The Annual Lobster Dinner on the Maine Island of Frenchboro is in its 61st year!
The event offers a unique one day opportunity to travel on the Bass Harbor Ferry and experience a yesteryear community gathering, the sharing of Maine Lobster, locally made pie, and to breathe in the beautiful ocean and island scenary.
“Proceeds benefit the Frenchboro Congregational Church and its outreach programs to the island community. Proceeds also benefit island non-profits including the Historical Society, Library, and Solid Waste Committee.”
Click on the Lobster Dinner link below for more information and to let them know you are interested in attending.
This link has more information on the community.
Featured Image – Peter Ralston Gallery
The Northport Inn & Lodge has rich history, dating back over a hundred years. There have been a number of renovations to the property and recently, a large first floor space which had been a dinning room and bar, for a past restaurant renovation, was converted back to a first floor suite.
As the demo and remodel progressed, it became apparent that this room had an original bathroom which was removed for the dinning room. A new bathroom was put back in the same location as the original one.
Some construction observations revealed that this room was originally two rooms, possibly a sitting room with the fireplace and another room with the common bathroom on the ocean side. The original residence was built with only two bathrooms.
At the end of the buildout and renovation, a new suite, called the Captain’s Room is once again available for travelers and commemorates the original owners of the home in the early part of the last century.
The owners of The Northport also wanted to keep the room in the style of the period, so measures were taken to retain the continuity of the original materials, trim and doors while providing the modern conveniences of this century.
Some of the completed room photos are below.
The overal project took several months and encountered some delays with materials and contractor availbility, but all came together very well.
Maine – June 2024
A recently renovated barn was in need of a entrance deck. The budget was tight and there was some old pressure treated decking that had been sitting around for years. There was not a whole lot of materials, so this dictated the overall design. The net result was a blend of decking and xeriscape, which served the function very well.
Maine – October 2023
The following are several landscape projects of varying efforts. Some are small trims while others are several day efforts that have taken years to mature.
Banana Grove
“Banana plants are not trees. They are, in fact, large herbs, as they do not have a persistent or woody stem. Although a banana plant has no wooden trunk, it can reach heights of as much as 40 feet, though, making it one of the tallest herbs grown on Earth.”
Trimming a Banana grove for a friend on Maui. Perhaps not trimmed well in a really long time. There is one stalk with a bunch which will be ready in a couple months.
Pineapple Garden
The Mango tree on this small knoll was in a pot for 5 years until I found a permanent place for it. The other landscapes are a before and after picture of the transformation.
The garden is called the pineapple garden because of the pineapples that were found to be growing there when this property was a pineapple plantation. We nurtured the small grove back and they provided several pineapples each year.
The deck landing was just a little off level and caused water to collect between the joists. Over the years, the weather and rain had their way with the trees that had been taken from forests, nature’s way to reclaim the materials for future use.
The project involved some demolition to remove the old rotten material, some innovative design to lessen the cost of the repair and then the rebuild.
Nature doing her best to reclaim the trees.
The final result below.
Rhode Island • August 2020
These two Mango trees live on the island of Maui, HI and are prized by the client. They produce delicious fruit. Mangos grow tall and had been encroaching on their ocean view. They wanted to maintain the health of the tree, still have plenty of fruit and reclaim the ocean view.
Pruning for a view is called vista pruning. Pruning for health is what I enjoy the most. So with those goals in mind, I proceeded to carefully trim them, selecting the younger branches that were reaching beyond what the owner wanted.
Before pruning.
The one on the left was a bit older as you can see from the size. The owner also wanted them to be the same height. This also meant that heavier cuts would need to be taken from the the larger one. This is tricky business because cuts wound the tree and it takes years to heal over a wound. During healing time bugs can get into the tree so cuts are a risk. Cuts less than 4 inches in diameter are best. The smaller the better.
This is a perfect heal from an older cut. You can see how the tree meticulously covered the wound. This healing is only possible by specialized cells that live close to the trunk. This part of the branch is called the branch bark ridge. When cutting, one must not damage the branch bark ridge, but they also must cut enough of the branch to allow the cells to generate the covering. Arborists are tree surgeons. This is one of the reasons the title exists.
After the trimming of the two Mangos, which I now call the Mango Twins, this is the result below. Some considerable clean up will be required. No debris should be left under a tree. This would invite pests who chomp on the decaying wood to climb up to the open wounds. A layer of mulch is best. Mulch that contains micro-organisms will nourish the earth where they can do their magic in the soil. The mulch also allows water to remain near the tree and not evaporate quickly.
A final photo of the happy Mango Twins. When I prune, I like to prune such that the tree does not look like it has been trimmed. This is difficult if one waits too long between prunings.
After pruning.
Some welcome sun for the center of the tree will stimulate new growth and fruit production. The Mango is a ferocious sunlight consumer and the leaves become so thick that the lower branches are starved and die away. Regular pruning helps maintain a healthy tree in the space that it has.
With the ocean view restores, the happy mango twins will continue to reach for the sunlight, drink the water from rain and produce one of the sweetest fruits I have every tasted.
Hawaii • July 2017
There is a restaurant and home in Lincolnville that dates back to the year 1777. A large ground floor fire place, possibly used as a primary heat source stands over 4 feet tall and nearly 5 feet wide, easily accommodates 4 foot logs. The owner wanted a lean-to to store the large logs and be easily accessible during the winter months.
Given the size requirements of the logs, an ample building design was presented with three open bays. A bay for kindling, a bay for seasoned wood and a bay to store wood for the following year. The only other requirement and as it turns out, the most important one, was that the owner be able to fully stand inside the building to fetch wood. He did not want to have to duck to get the wood. He is 6 feet 2 inches tall.
The project was started a bit late in the season, a week before Thanksgiving, and the cold had started to take hold. Working temperatures were in the low 30’s and below at times, but the sun and ample clothing kept us warm. The owner and his son helped build it, and together, we completed it just before the first snow fall.
And, as most building projects go, the first step is setting a line and digging the holes.
The total build took a few weeks, over the span of a month’s time. A spring painting is planned.
So there you have it, 244 years in waiting, the fireplace now has a place to house the logs. The title of this project is so named “The Lincolnville Lean-to”, because it is one of a kind and will serve the Whale’s Tooth Pub for years to come.
If you find yourself in Lincolnville Maine, do stop by to have some great cuisine, sit by the fireplace and enjoy your stay in this historic place, The Whale’s Tooth Pub with oceanfront dinning at its best!
Maine – November 2021
Nautico Star 