Home Construction Classes

which Our company is
& What We Do

Since our founding in 1978, Heartwood students have actually built dozens of homes, improvements, cabins and other jobs when you look at the Berkshires, along with the rest regarding the nation with this taking a trip workshop system. Most of our homebuilding projects feature wood framing and mainstream light framework building, super-insulation practices and passive solar design, additionally the usage of resource-efficient materials.

The Heartwood Schoolhouse is situated in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. Built by the staff and pupils in 1978-79, the building houses our workplace, spacious class room, greenhouse, well-equipped woodworking store, collection with 500+ building books and videos, and dining location where we serve delicious and bounteous home-cooked lunches.

Our Students

People who attend Heartwood consist of teachers, truck drivers, architects, social employees, retirees, real estate professionals, and high school students, and most have little or no past construction knowledge. They range in centuries from 12 to 75, gents and ladies join more or less equal numbers, and lots of come as partners or people. Our programs are designed to be of good use as well for experienced designers who want to expand their skills and deepen their particular knowledge of energy-efficient residence design and building.

Within comprehensive Homebuilding training course and specific one-week programs, registration averages ten pupils, generally there is plenty of opportunity for concerns and private attention in an environment that's stimulating, friendly and academic.

Our Teachers

Our instructors tend to be technicians and tradesmen and women who take care to share and communicate their love of their particular craft. These are generally people that are not merely competent at their particular trades but in addition good instructors, and now we tend to be lucky to have all of them.

Will most likely and Michele Beemer will be the administrators of Heartwood programs. Will helps instruct many of our courses and has now been designing and building homes for over 40 many years. He has got been a construction foreman within Arcosanti project in Arizona, design trainer at Cornell, and served as co-Executive Director of this Timber Framers Guild for eleven years. He has arranged and taught building workshops throughout the world, including timber framing courses at Palomar university in north park, North House Folk School and Colorado State University's Mountain Campus. Will features presented seminars on roofing framing and timber framing at "JLCLive" the annual meeting sponsored because of the Journal of Light Construction. He's written for Fine Homebuilding, Joiner’s Quarterly, Wood Design & Building, and Timber Framing. He is an important contributor toward best-selling guide wood Framing Principles (published because of the Timber Framers Guild) and it is presently working a unique timber framing book learn how to Timber Frame because of out in 2016. Michele is company supervisor, on-site instructor and a talented and imaginative spinner, weaver and seamstress. Her daily lunches tend to be delicious and memorable, along with her cozy personality helps make the incoming pupil feel welcome and comfortable. She actually is the author of Lunches at Heartwood.

The Carpentry for Women staff is led by Karla Kavanaugh. She actually is owner of Octagon Builders, a women's construction company, and is a contributor to Fine Homebuilding. Dave Carlon, Dave Bowman, Neil Godden and Jack Sobon, whom teach-in the Timber Framing curriculum, have traditionally been partners in producing many special timber frameworks. Jack is an architect and author of Timber Frame Construction, historical United states Timber Joinery, and Build a vintage timber-framed home. Other checking out teachers include some of the most experienced people in the Timber Framers Guild, including Brad Morse (wood Framing) and Josh Jackson (Scribing), Jon Santiago (planet Oven) and Kevin Kiwak (Country Woodcraft and Windsor Chairmaking).

Mike Paulsen and Greg Bossie from rock Soup Concrete teach the Concrete Countertops program. Bill Girard leads the overall game of signing inside our Converting woods to Timber program.

Kirk Fox shows our Woodworking programs and has now already been a furnituremaker and cabinetmaker for over twenty-five many years. He has got written for good Woodworking mag and preserves their own look for private commissions inside our town of Washington.

Mike Beganyi (SketchUp classes) features wandered through the design, woodworking, and timber framing world for the previous 14 years. He has played sculptor, carpenter, structure student, instructor, barn restorer, wood framer, designer, project manager, and mover of heavy objects. He currently lives and works in Vermont, pressing pixels as a completely independent fashion designer, and is the newest The united kingdomt design consultant for New Energy Works Timber Framers.

"It was great to start learning this craft from people that are getting it appropriate. " — Randall, Indiana

"I was really impressed with regards to power to communicate their understanding and ideas, along with fantastic attitudes. " — John, Alabama

Our Location

The surrounding Berkshire Hills supply a perfect environment for a discovering vacation. Cultural and recreational activities are plentiful. Nearby is Tanglewood, the summer residence associated with Boston Symphony, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the Stockbridge Playhouse, Hancock Shaker Village, the Norman Rockwell Museum, the celebrated Dreamaway Lodge, the Appalachian Trail, picturesque New The united kingdomt villages, ponds, streams and miles of forests to explore. Our Schoolhouse is located on a beautifully wooded yet bright hillside, offering relaxing and large surroundings for the Heartwood tasks.

See also:

• Construction Materials