A house of tamarack rises in Millbridge

The resinous scent pervading a job site in Millbridge hints at the unusual nature of the house under construction. The aroma comes from a mix of pine tar and linseed oil, an old-timey preservative used in traditional wood construction. In this case, the tradition is maritime. The timber frame home is sheathed in heavy planks, much as a ship would be.

More interesting is the use of tamarack in both the frame and planking. Tamarack is little used today, but historically its strength and rot-resistance made it the go-to wood for use as shipbuilding “knees” support decks and masts. That’s how the wood came to the attention of home owner Mark Humphrey, who’s worked on and around boats and ships for most of his life. He originally tried to source northern white cedar, but supplies were low and he switched to tamarack after his builders discovered Hopkins sawmill in Hodgdon, which specializes in tamarack. The home’s maritime influences reflect one of Humphrey’s passions.

“I’ve always had an interest in shipbuilding and sailing since I was a teenager,” explained Humphrey, who worked as a deck hand on the Victory Chimes windjammer, on the maintenance crew of the Mayflower II and in many boat yards. “It’s just an interest I’ve always had.”

The home also reflects Humphrey’s affinity for locally-sourced natural materials. The framing sits on sills of black locust, the loft is floored in tongue & grove red spruce, the interior paneling is Eastern white pine, the roof is northern white cedar shingles. The roof insulation is blown-in cellulose and the wall insulation is wet-blown cellulose.

“I like natural materials. With Covid and everything happening this year, we had a lot of difficulty finding materials,” he explained. The primary black locust supplier died, another supplier wasn’t cutting white oak, and mills ran out of northern white cedar last summer.

Steve Hopkins, owner of Hopkins Sawmill in Hodgdon

On Humphrey’s behalf, builders Peter Larsen and Joe Horn went on a wood prospecting tour of northern Maine last year. One of his first stops was a mill, whose only web presence was single pin drop on a Google map. Hopkins Sawmill in Hodgdon turned out to have a large inventory and a passionate owner in Steve Hopkins, explained Larsen.

“I asked about durable woods and he basically replied ‘I don’t do any cedar, but I do have tamarack’ and he went off on all the virtues of it.”

Hopkins specializes in tamarack, but also sells many kinds of hardwoods. His wood is rough sawn, air-dried and kiln dried.

“Tamarack is a phenomenal wood. I like everything about it,” said Hopkins. “We have large stands of it all throughout the county. Loggers tend to bypass it. It’s beautiful. It smells awesome when you saw it, which is a good fringe benefit. It’s strong.” Hopkins framed and sided his own 20-foot by 60 -foot shop with green tamarack and says when kiln-dried tamarack makes good flooring. “It’s full of volatile oils, which makes it rot resistant. The one down fall, and every wood has a downfall, is it can twist.” Hopkins can counteract that tendency by centering the heart of a log when he saws it. “It still has a little bit of a mind of its own.”

Building with tamarack was a new experience for both Larsen and Joe Horn. The wood arrived green and they immediately took measures to counteract its tendency to twist and check as it dries. They placed “stickers” or spacers between layers of stacked lumber to allow for even air drying. It was also kept covered under a lumber wrap at all times. “You got to keep it covered,” said Larsen. “Sun is the enemy.” By taking those measures, the wood has posed no problems, said Larsen. And once the wood is installed, it can dry more in place. Horn notes the wood is especially heavy and almost waxy to the touch. “It smells sweet, almost like juniper.” Horn also likes the dark hue of tamarack rafters against the creamy pine ceiling paneling. “It skews to blue green, which highlights the pine very well,” he said.