PAUL TULLER

In the summer of 1987, The Brattleboro Museum and Art Center staged a summer of events focusing on Japanese culture and art. One highlight was constructing and erecting two timber frames side by side in front of the museum, one a a traditional New England design and the other Japanese. The Japanese house was designed by Karl Bareis of Santa Cruz, California. Carpenters Moriyasu Wada and Satoru Okazaki, traveled from Japan to work on the project as well.

After the exhibit of the two houses was closed, the Japanese frame was packed up and stored in a Vermont barn for 16 years. The frame was then given to the Farm School in Athol, Ma and stored in another barn. In 2004 the Farm School contacted Paul Tuller to have him evaluate the frame parts for possible sale as a fundraiser for the school. Paul found the frame in a jumbled dust-covered pile of 300 pieces. He wanted to see the building erected with care so he made an offer for the frame "as is", not knowing if all the parts were viable. The Farm School accepted the offer and the parts were trucked to Dublin, NH. After carefully washing and sorting the pieces, he determined that some frame parts would have to be remade due to excessive twisting. In July of 2005 a raising party of friends came together to put the frame on a solid foundation after 18 years in storage. Roof planks and shingles were added as well as concrete wall board which will receive a layer of stucco.

This ongoing project will next get a veranda added to protect the front of the building from the weather, and then stucco will be applied to the exterior. The interior walls will be plastered.

Some of this work will be done as public events. If you would like to be notified about events related to this Japanese house in New Hampshire, please send an email telling us about your interest.