Tilton House

Phillips Exeter Academy planned to renovate and enlarge a two-story timber-framed home to accommodate two faculty apartments. As structural consultant to the architect, HEB inspected the existing structure, provided recommendations on the integrity of the framing, and coordinated with the architect to generate preliminary and final design drawings. Budget constraints demanded solutions that reused as much of the existing structure as possible.

The main section of the house was in fair condition. Much of the first floor framing exhibited extensive decay and was replaced with new framing that reduced the number of members and connections. Framing above the first floor had been reinforced in earlier renovations, which influenced the architect to retain much of the original layout. The existing stone masonry foundation required minor repairs. Exposed floor framing in the middle ell section showed undersized joists often bearing on partitions scheduled for removal. Since the architect’s proposed layout did not provide an efficient means to distribute the loading, and added labor costs of working around existing framing were prohibitive, HEB recommended that the floor framing be replaced by single-span engineered timber I-joists. The exterior frame and roof were retained and reinforced. Special considerations were made to eliminate or raise collar ties to meet the architect’s aesthetic requirements. A small section at the rear of the building required the addition of a frost wall foundation.