An old, deteriorating water tower on one of the oldest properties in Stonington, Connecticut is now reborn thanks to a total renovation by Great Country Timber Frames. It’s always fun to see how unusually shaped structures come together from the first building stages to the final touches, and the family-owned builder documented the process of constructing this 42-foot-tall timber frame tower on its website. The water tower is now made of gorgeous Eastern White Pine, and once complete, it’ll feature shiplap siding, tall windows and a spiral staircase inside.
“This is one of the oldest properties in Stonington, dating back to the 1700s, with an original colonial-style timber frame home. As one of the first homes in the town with running water, water pressure was created by gravity feed via the original water tower. When the old water tower was no longer structurally sound, we were called upon to build a new one in the same style as the old one. The result is accurate to the time period, and should it be located on the shore, could pass as a lighthouse.”
“Beginning with a detailed, historically accurate design, we cut all the timber frame joinery to exact specifications on our CNC machine. Next, we assembled four of the eight sides in our shop. Those four sides were raised on site, one by one, and connected together with a combination of wood joinery and concealed steel. Two stairway landings were installed inside at approximately 9′ high intervals. The top of the water tower was assembled on the ground and raised in one piece, with window purlins installed at the very end.”
Great Country Timber Frames is owned and operated by the Skinner family and headquartered in Ellington, Connecticut. The company designs and cuts its timber frames and timber components for post and beam barns, garages, homes and other structures at its 12,000+ square foot facility, which hosts a state-of-the-art CNC timber processing machine. Many of its projects make impressive use of Eastern White Pine – check them all out at GCTimberFrames.com.
