Ryan Deane, of South Portland-based Deane Design & Build, creates homes and other structures that incorporate salvaged wood he’s rescued from barns and buildings destined for demolition.
Maine Center, 7 Custom House St., Portland. — PHOTO / TINA FISCHER
Ryan Deane, of South Portland-based Deane Design & Build, creates homes and other structures that incorporate salvaged wood he’s rescued from barns and buildings destined for demolition.
He recently took down a 200-year-old barn at Gilsland Farm in Falmouth, which was beyond repair.
One of his current building projects is a cottage on Long Island, in Casco Bay, for a client who appreciates wood with a heritage. He’s weaving reclaimed material throughout the house, adding character that he says, “you can’t buy off the shelf.” The flooring, stair treads and beams in the kitchen ceiling are all salvaged wood, along with a custom bathroom vanity and a few accent walls.
“Using reclaimed lumber at those touch points gives the cottage a uniqueness right away — people see and feel the history in the wood — while the underlying structure and systems are all brand new,” he says.
Deane, 49, has worked in construction for more than two decades. He started salvaging and repurposing wood about 20 years ago, after the take down of multiple buildings at a farm in Harpswell. He had intended to use the wood to build himself a small cabin, and was surprised at the steady stream of people who stopped by, neighbors who had history with the farm and wanted to buy a board or a beam to remember the place.
“I ended up leaving with a new business — and a real appreciation for how old material holds the stories and lived experiences of people.”
The experience culminated in Deane Design & Build, a company dedicated to building detail driven, small footprint cabins, cottages and accessory dwelling units.
“I really enjoy building smaller footprint custom homes,” Deane said. “When the square footage is modest, every detail matters, and that’s where reclaimed material really shines.”
Construction news from around the state
Cottage Advisors Home Builders LLC, based in Kennebunk, has under construction the first phase of a 24-unit market-rate condominium project, off of U.S. Route 1. Square footage of the homes will range from 1,525 to 1,895 square feet. Scott Brown Architects, out of Newburyport, Mass., is the designer. HH Construction, based in Wells, handled site work.
Landry/French Construction, of Scarborough, has started the first phase of a $7 million renovation to the Maine Center at 7 Custom House St. in Portland. The work will transform a third of the 60,000-square-foot building by adding an entrepreneurship and innovation hub, and redesigning classrooms and event and meeting spaces, for the University of Maine. The renovation is being designed by Portland-based Harriman Architects and Boston-based Goody Clancy.
