Ipswich, MA
Share this post With Microsoft pushing everyone to scrap their perfectly good Windows 10 computers for their new AI-powered Windows 11 systems, why not move to something familiar that is free and better? Replacing Windows with Linux is a great choice for keeping your older computer alive and on the web. On October 14, 2025,… Continue reading Install Linux On Your “Unsupported” Windows 10 Computer.
While Linux Mint Cinnamon and KDE Plasma are both great desktop environments, a primary difference is their file attachment dialog windows. When you want to attach an image in a document or email in Linux Mint Cinnamon, the attachment window displays a thumbnail for only one image file at a time. This makes searching for… Continue reading Comparison of File Attachment Dialogs in Cinnamon and KDE Plasma
With the end of Windows 10 support approaching in October 2025, I've been experimenting with various distributions (versions) of the Linux operating system as a free and open-source replacement. One of the complaints about Windows is that the desktop environment (DE) changes with each new version, with no options. For example, when Microsoft introduced Windows… Continue reading A Comparison of Linux KDE Plasma Distros
Full-extension 100-lb. drawer slides The client has an 1829 house with a small kitchen and asked me to create a base cabinet with shelves above it in a corner. The back wall is about 35 " and the walls are not plumb or quite square to each other, but with careful measurements, I was able… Continue reading Cabinet With Sculpted Shelves
In January 2024, the new owner of this 40-year-old contemporary house asked if I could install balusters and risers that would complement the open-design stairs, which are beautiful but inherently unsafe. This was a fun winter project! The stairs before the risers and balusters were added View of the new balusters and risers from the… Continue reading Balusters For an Existing Stairway
The owner of the First Period Jonathan Lummus house in Ipswich aske me to make railings similar to the Parson Barnard house in Andover.
This mid-century home has a small modernist" fireplace with a brick surround, floor to ceiling, and the client contacted me about adding a traditional fireplace surround and mantle.
This old house began as a one-room blacksmith's shop. The post and beam construction and low ceilings indicate that it may date to the 18th Century.
My client is an artist and asked me to construct two 8' x 8' rolling display walls for her studio. The frames are constructed of regular 2x4 lumber to which I applied painted 1/2" Homosote boards. The two units can be connected as a single 16' wall.
In his previous home, the orchestra conductor had shelves created to hold his collection of hundreds of scores of sheet music. In 2023 when he and his partner moved to their present 1740 house, the ceilings were lower, and he asked me to resize the shelves to fit. I removed the top row on the… Continue reading Sheet Music Shelves
In the winter of 2023, Bud and Julie, owners of the restaurant Heart & Soul in Ipswich delivered some boards to my shop and asked me if I could build a bar for customers to sit and look out the front window. Heart and Soul co-owner Bud sitting at the new counter the day I… Continue reading Heart and Soul
The Allen Perley house was constructed in 1784. In early 2018 the new owners began an ambitious plan to renovate the interior and I was hired as the carpenter.
The owner of a 17th Century house in Topsfield designed a picket fence and had it constructed several years ago. I made this exact replacement.
The owners of this house asked me to help them find a place for their kid's jackets, shoes and caps when they come in from outdoors. My first thought was to turn this little nook into a closet, but a wall would have made the usable space even shallower. We decided on an openable bench with space for shoes, a shelf with coat hooks, and a small cabinet at the top.
This fireplace wall was built with three sets of bricks sticking out to support a beam. I purchased a 7 1/2" x 5 1/2" fir for the 104" beam, with the intention to cover the double upper and single lower bricks. The beam weighed over 100 lbs., and I decided to trim it down to… Continue reading Fir Fireplace Mantel
This project was delayed because of COVID-related materials availability and prices, but I was happy with how it came out. The lower unit is 16" depth; the upper units are 14" depth. The shelves are 5/4 primed pine, and the counter is 1 1/2" maple with a combination of slate gray and red oak Minwax oil stains, finished with polyurethane.
The owners of this house asked me to design something that would make the small back porch more attractive and help hide the propane tank on the left. I installed a combination of matching composite vinyl railings and and picket fence gates from Weatherables. The railings, stair kits and gates come in components with several height and width options, and can be cut to fit the application before assembly.
I constructed bookshelves, cabinets and a new closet for the1720 Foster Grant house in Ipswich. I salvaged the 4-panel inch-thick doors and refinished them.
The posts and frame for the landing and stairs are pressure treated and just needed joist hangers under the deck. I replaced the risers with PVC trimboard and the treads with Centurion Paramount PVC decking. In order to get the correct rail heights, I screwed 4" x 4" pressure treated blocks to the tops of the posts and covered the joints with trim.
These Simpson performance doors are constructed of fir, and the exterior has a thin Medium Density Overlay Water Barrier that provides excellent durability and resists moisture absorption. UltraBlock and Weather Seal technology adds a water-resistant composite block in the bottom of the door stiles
This bookcase consist of three units, shelves and trim that I made in my shop and assembled on site. The kickboard, casings and crown mold are installed after the units are mounted.
This client requested self-supporting shelves for his collection of unopened vintage record albums.
To restore this front porch I replaced the deteriorated finger-jointed risers, post sleeves and skirts with PVC trim boards; replaced the rotting mahoganey decking with Fiberon Paramont decking; scraped, sanded, primed and painted all surfaces, replaced the post caps and extended the steps.
I built this set of landscape stairs to provide access from the driveway to a finished basement, replacing a rocky temporary path that the owners had been using.
For this custom office I constructed the shelves and desktop to match file cabinets that I purchased. The shelves and frames are pine, and the desktop is birch plywood.
My client had a tabletop, provided a set of turned legs, and I made the skirt. I set a stop on my radial arm saw and raised the blade to cut a kerf 1/4" deep for the apron brackets.
I build to the DCA-6 Prescriptive Residential Deck Construction Guidelines. This deck has Fiberon Paramount PVC decking, Tiger Claw TC-G Hidden deck fasteners, Royal S4S PVC trimboards and treated railings with black aluminum balusters.
The owners asked me to design and build a new doorway, deck and stairs that would give them access to the rear yard.
For this 18th Century house in Ipswich I built a set of stairs from the deck to the rear patio. Design and construction meet or exceed the International Building Code and the DCA-6 Prescriptive Deck Construction Guidelines.
I laid out the frames on my bench and installed the lattice and trim with trim-head stainless screws. All surfaces received a coat of oil base exterior primer and two coats of white exterior acrylic paint.The units are mounted to 1 1/4" heavy duty angle iron, painted with white Rustoleum, and driven 3' into the ground.
I replaced a 20-year-old deck that had collapsed under the weight of snow due to faulty construction. The frame had been nailed over the siding without flashing, causing damage to the house as well.
I created this opening to bring light into the living room from the south side. Second-floor weight is supported by the beam and studs, transferred to the center beam in the basement.
I enlarged a tiny closet into a mudroom by extending it into the porch. A window to the porch provides natural lighting. I built custom cubbies, shelves, and a bench.
I converted the unfinished basement doubling the living area of the home. How this is done is crucial in order to prevent mold and water damage.
The photos below are a job we did in Beverly in May 2014. The fir porch flooring and pine trim were quite rotted and would not hold paint. We replaced the tongue and groove floor with 5/4 PVC decking, and the pine trim was replaced by pvc trimboards. The new scotia moldng is also PVC. Hidden clips hold the slotted deck boards in place, and color-coded deck screws are used for the leading edges and "picture frame" edging.
A large deck, 3 season porch, and new portico addition on this house in Topsfield; a deck in Richmond, MA shaped like a grand piano; a white cedar deck in Vermont's Northwest Kingdom; a raised deck and walkway around an above-ground swimming pool in Williamstown.
The 4000 series storm doors have mechanical locking tabs hidden in the door frame that are operated by the handle. Simply push the safety button up, allowing the handle to be raised to a vertical position. This disengages the tabs, and the glass or screen panel comes out by simply leaning it toward you. Put the other panel in place, and turn the handle back down to its normal position. You're done-- it takes less than a minute.
I receive this cry for help quite often. The old growth pine on the historic houses for which Ipswich is famous is very durable, but much of the finger-jointed farm-grown pine on new houses begins to rot almost as soon as it goes up.
I constructed these cabinets for the owners of an historic house to fit hand-made doors from old cabinets that were removed when the house was being renovated.
Dust collection is important for shop cleanliness as well as protecting our health. While no system is 100% perfect, the assortment of methods shown below that I use in my shop does capture 99% of the dust. A Delta two bag dust collector handles the larger ports, while I use shop vacs for tools with smaller orifices.
Effective April 22, 2010, remodeling contractors working on residential homes, home day care centers or any other “child-occupied facility” built before 1978 must be certified to perform any work affecting more than 6 square feet of interior or 20 square feet of exterior surface. Failure to comply can generate very serious penalties for contractors and painters.
The easiest way to determine the swing of a door is the hinge method. Open the door and stand with your back against the open hinges (not the butt of the hinges). If the door is to your left, it is a left-hand door. If it’s to your right, it’s a right-hand door.
Carefully drill holes for very long 1/2" hex-head bolts, then screw the bolts into the wall. Cut the heads of the bolt off and make sure that they are level and square to the wall. Then drill holes in the back of the shelf board and push it on to the bolts.
Removed: inexpensive vinyl windows had been installed many years ago This week I'm installing Andersen architectural windows in a house from the 1800's (as many homes are here on the Massachusetts North Shore. Years ago the owner replaced a few of the windows with Andersen 200 series (available from Home Depot) and installed vinyl window… Continue reading Andersen Woodwright Architectural windows
Andersen offers exterior trim kits for their 400 series Woodwright and Architectural series windows. The pieces are constructed of fibrex in a variety of shapes and sizes, and are designed to snap into the special nailing flanges that are used to secure windows in place.
Hand-built spiral staircase and rustic rough cut railing in a West Stockbridge guest house. The stairwell was first framed in a circle on top of nailer plates cut from plywood. 1/4″ AC plywood was used to line the inside of the stairwell. A 4×4 Douglas fir post secures the steps at the center.
I used Tiger Claw Hidden Deck Fasteners TC-4 Exotic Hardwoods. With the supplied application tool, you pound the sharp teeth of the fasteners into the side of the deck board, then screws the fastener into the joist.
The stretch code appendix offers a streamlined and cost effective route to achieving approximately 20% to 35% better energy efficiency in new residential buildings, and 20% in new commercial buildings, than is required by the existing base energy code.
I picked up some freshly cut locust boards and ran them through my planer, still green and wet, and screwed them to the treated frame, using bar clamps to take out curves. When dry, locust is so hard that it is difficult to work with; my hope was that the boards would stay straight if secured to the frame, and it was an experiment that proved successful.
I built new top and bottom railings in my shop and then installed ¾" x 30" round black balusters attached to internal hidden baluster connectors in the railings, spaced 4 ¾" on center. After all the units were complete, I installed them at the client's location.
Gordon Harris 