About Mel

Since 1969 Mel Shakespeare has been designing award-winning homes in the tradition of early 19th century Ontario. The company name, Tradition Home, is now synonymous with period homes of distinction.

Chinking a Log House

Chinking is the stuff you put between the logs to keep the weather out. That’s why we like to build an insulated sandwich in the spaces to insure against a Canadian winter barging uninvited into our livingroom and making itself at home. The ideal space to work with is about three inches of height by [...]

By |2017-08-28T09:22:47-04:00August 17th, 2017|log homes, Vintage Homes|Comments Off on Chinking a Log House

Why buy a Tradition log home from Ontario Canada

For fifty years so far, I have loved old log houses, particularly the hand-hewn square-timbered ones that I find superior to all other styles. I love restoring these log houses for families who also appreciated them. And I’ll go anywhere to find a vintage log house. They seemed easy to find back in the 60s [...]

By |2017-10-10T14:38:58-04:00August 17th, 2017|log homes, Vintage Homes|Comments Off on Why buy a Tradition log home from Ontario Canada

Meeting a Bear at a Log House

Sometimes in our business we run into creatures big and small. One or another of them seemed to think these old abandoned houses would make a lovely home and why not? They weren’t being used were they? We’d often start with the dirty business of cleaning up after them since their natural tendencies precluded our [...]

By |2017-08-28T09:24:37-04:00August 15th, 2017|log homes, Vintage Homes|Comments Off on Meeting a Bear at a Log House

Moving a Log House?

Some log house enthusiasts think we can move the whole house in one piece. You can’t. Well, most of the time you can’t for lots of reasons…reasons why we disassemble them a log at a time, numbering each one and noting its placement on our rebuild plan. I know it sounds laborious and it is. [...]

By |2017-08-28T09:25:36-04:00August 15th, 2017|log homes|Comments Off on Moving a Log House?

A Log House From Quebec

 I’d just finished building one of our log homes near Cascades Quebec and came to admire the early buildings there, particularly the ones with the curved overhangs over their porches. Inevitably, I found one to bring back to Ontario. It was large, being 35 ft. by 28 ft. with the customary piece-sur-piece method of cornering [...]

By |2017-08-28T09:26:30-04:00August 14th, 2017|log homes|Comments Off on A Log House From Quebec

Chance Encounter on a Log House

My bride and I were on the way to Hawaii on our honeymoon, comfortably (well, not quite comfortably, I was 6’ 4” then and legroom was in short supply) ensconced in our seats. I couldn’t help but notice the guy beside me was reading one of those articles from a magazine inserted in the pocket [...]

By |2017-08-15T11:04:11-04:00August 14th, 2017|log homes|Comments Off on Chance Encounter on a Log House

Half a Log House

I was called out to inspect a log house in the country near a hamlet called Canton. No, we were not in China …closer than that. It wasn’t quite a log house. It was half of a log house. A huge old maple had crashed through it during a recent storm. It certainly was a [...]

By |2017-08-28T09:27:30-04:00August 14th, 2017|log homes|Comments Off on Half a Log House

Mrs. Harrop Builds a House

Someone advised me to see an elderly lady in the hospital in Lindsey, I forget just who now. All I was told was that she was very interested in history and antiques and wanted to share something with me. I did go to see her and I’m glad I did. She was supposedly gravely ill [...]

By |2017-08-28T09:28:24-04:00August 14th, 2017|post & beam house, Vintage Homes|Comments Off on Mrs. Harrop Builds a House

Midnight Phone Call

The phone was ringing. But it was the middle of the night. Must be an emergency. I rolled out of bed to answer it. It was someone in an agitated state for sure. When he right away asked me what my log buildings cost I figured him for a nutcase. I told him anyway. I [...]

By |2017-08-28T09:29:10-04:00August 14th, 2017|log homes|Comments Off on Midnight Phone Call

About Art

If I were to consider the greatest gift of my youth, it may not have been the English sheepdog I met when I was adopted at the age of four or that tricycle when I was five. Now that I think back from my current perspective that has spanned about seven more decades I’d say [...]

By |2017-08-14T10:16:59-04:00August 14th, 2017|Uncategorized|Comments Off on About Art
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