Showcasing expert craftsmanship through custom-built, high-quality woodwork designed to last.
Dave rebuilt a 1850s red pine log house for me in the late 1980s. It was a house that had burned, and David dismantled and stored the logs for me. He re-erected it on a new site with a wooden foundation and then hand built a 12×12 pitch roof for it. The site was vertiginous, and Dave did the work during an extremely cold winter.
In the process, Dave assessed which logs needed to be replaced and using other old logs successfully substituted where they were needed. Where beams had burned he cleaned away the ash and used them in a decorative way.
Dave also supplied cedar board and batten cladding for the gable ends. This wood was milled from old logs as well and fitted in very well with the overall project.
Dave had previously rebuilt a similar cabin using a triangular gable window. I wanted a typical Gatineau-area gable and Dave designed and constructed one on each side of the roof. My children, my wife and I chinked the house using traditional mortar and spoons (as we were not competent with trowels). Dave observed that our work was acceptable. He later finished the inside chinking, ceiling and walls above the level of the logs to a very high standard.
Over the twenty-plus years we have had the house, we have had no problems with it. All of our dealings with Dave were straightforward, his work was reasonably priced and at all times he was exceptionally pleasant. Working with David Lyman gave us a treasured family cottage and a long term friendship. I have since recommended Dave to a colleague and he had an excellent experience as well.
