The McDougall’s Olive
John and Kelly McDougall are two of our favorite clients and embody the spirit of our company better than any photographs or design drawings ever could. When they contracted us to build them a timber frame home (based on our olive design) no one imagined they’d become such an intimate part of Timberbuilt’s history.
The DIY plan was simple and aggressive. We’d send a consultant, one of our top guys, to be the on-site crew chief. John McDougall would take the reigns and install the timber frame and SIPs along with his own three man labor crew. Then the McDougalls would finish the job as their own general contractor.
We could never be as eloquent as Kelly who shares the details of our collective journey on her (very humbling) blog:
Our timbers are ashes.
A massive fire at Timberbuilt’s shop in North Collins, NY early this morning destroyed the entire building. Inside was a lot of wood, including the timbers for our home that were to be shipped in time to begin our main structure on March 1.
The poor folks at Timberbuilt also lost their very nifty and green office, which George took pride in showing us last summer.
According to news reports, the fire was called in just after 3 a.m…
… As soon as they find an alternate location to work, Timberbuilt will be back on the job and we’ll be able to revise our building schedule.
Those guys are amazing to begin with. In a crisis? Wow… (read more)
Kelly continues, just four days later:
The next time I need an example for my students of what it means to be resilient, I will tell them about a little company in North Collins, NY…
Despite their incredible loss Thursday, Timberbuilt wasted no time finding a place to set up and get back to work.
By Friday morning – less than 24 hours after they shared the news about the fire that destroyed their shop and office – they announced they had already relocated nearby:
Here’s the complete collection of Kelly’s posts regarding our partnership in building her and John’s home.
Our timbers are ashes… February 11, 2016
A lesson in resilience… February 15, 2016
Timbers Day One March 22, 2016
Build Day 2 March 22, 2016
Build Day 3: Top-notch crew March 23, 2016
Time For Timbers March 25, 2016
Build Day 5: The Language of Timber Framing March 28, 2016
Build Day 6: Big Beautiful Views March 29, 2016
Build Days 7-9: Last Dance With Timbers April 3, 2016
Build Day 10 April 4, 2016
Build Days 11-13: Now There’s Our Olive April 7, 2016
Build Day 14: We’re On Our Own Now April 9, 2016
A Chapter In The Story Of Our House April 16, 2016
Build Week 4: Spot The Difference April 22, 2016
Build Week 5: Stain Color Stalemate April 26, 2016
Build Weeks 6-8: Google Timber Frame May 5, 2016
Eviction Notice August 17, 2016
