Carpenters Craft New Framing Members

Nearly a decade ago, Mount Vernon’s former master carpenter John O’Rourke began stockpiling white oak harvested from the Mount Vernon estate in anticipation of this project. Given that oak dries at a rate of about one inch per year, this forward-thinking approach allowed some of the wood to season naturally, though much of it remains “green,” meaning that it retains some of its moisture. Knowing that green wood has the potential to slightly settle as it seasons over the years, the Preservation team decided to only use estate wood in places where the effect of such movement would be extremely minimal. For example, the New Room’s inner sills, which carry only the floor joists, were crafted from estate oak.

The exterior sills, responsible for supporting the wall framing, were crafted from reclaimed white oak salvaged from historic structures. These timbers, aged over 100 years, have already undergone their natural drying and settling processes, making them highly stable and suitable for this critical structural role.

The decision to use a “split sill” design—dividing the sill into an exterior and interior part—was a thoughtful adaptation to the challenges of preservation. In the original construction, the sill was a single piece that seasoned naturally over time as the house was built. In this project, the split sill allows for a combination of reclaimed and estate wood, with the exterior sill providing the stability required to support the walls and the inner sill carrying the floor joists. Knowing that the inner sill and joists would be visible in the cellar below, it was important to the Preservation team that those surfaces were shaped using traditional techniques, ensuring a historically accurate appearance throughout the cellar.