Route 302, Route 16 and the Saco
Bartlett follows its rivers. US 302 runs through Bartlett village and Glen, Route 16 comes down through Glen from Jackson, and the East Branch of the Saco runs through Lower Bartlett toward Intervale. The Ellis River joins the Saco in town.
The White Mountain National Forest surrounds Bartlett, and Mount Tremont is its high point at 3,371 feet. Most houses sit on the valley floor or the lower slopes above it. Bear Notch Road leaves the village and climbs south over to the Kancamagus Highway.
River houses
Houses near the Saco and the Ellis deal with damp ground and high spring water. Stone veneer works on them, but the base matters more than usual. The stone stops well above the soil, and the bottom is detailed so water drains out. If a basement has taken on water before, that gets sorted out first. Veneer is a face on the wall. It does not fix a wet foundation.
Round fieldstone looks at home along these rivers. On a raised house or a deck, wrapping the posts in fieldstone veneer makes the whole underside look like it stands on stone piers.
Ski houses near Attitash
Attitash Mountain Resort is in Bartlett, and a lot of the houses and condos around it are winter places. For those owners a stone fireplace surround, or a fieldstone base around the entry, is a natural first stone job, since that is what they see coming in from the cold.
Snow is the big factor. Shoveled and plowed snow piles against the entry and the foundation, and roof snow drops in the same spots. Stone takes that in stride as long as the pile is not left against it all season. Clearing snow back from the base after big storms helps more than anything.
Rental owners also want work that needs little upkeep. Natural stone never needs paint, and a well built veneer face mostly asks for working gutters and snow kept off its base.
The railroad village
Bartlett village still has its old Maine Central railroad roundhouse on Main Street, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. On older houses around the village, a new foundation face or a set of stone entry steps is often the place to start.
Kevin builds stone steps and walkways as well as veneer, and Jones Legacy paints inside and out, so a tired entry can get new stone steps, a stone faced base and fresh trim paint together.
Reaching Kevin from Bartlett
Jones Legacy is based in Ossipee and works the Mount Washington Valley, Bartlett included. Text photos, the village you are in and a rough size to (603) 581-5350, or call between 7am and 10pm any day.
