BOWDOIN

1. Helen, you said you grew up in Brunswick and now live in Bowdoin. Please fill in the gaps and tell us a little about yourself. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time, etc.?

I was born and brought up in Brunswick, went to UNH for civil engineering, including a semester in London and a summer working for Salop County Council (this is like Maine DOT) in Shropshire, England.

After graduation, I worked on the new paper machine in Madison, Maine, where I met my husband, a mechanical engineer. I worked for Bath Iron Works as a facility engineer, and in Portland for a consulting engineer. Then in 2007 I decided that I should have my own business. One day I thought up a good logo, and shortly thereafter I was in business.

I am licensed in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Hawaii.

In my spare time I work with the Girl Scouts, doing STEM activities, but also doing camping training, including teaching canoeing and setting up a Sioux tepee.

I am also active in the Methodist church, with Friends of Merrymeeting Bay, and on the planning board in Bowdoin. I am an active member of ASCE, SEAM, TFEC and SWE (engineering organizations).

2. How did you become interested in the engineering field? What does a structural engineer do?

It is so much easier in life if you figure out your purpose early.

In second grade I visited one of my father’s job sites and liked the smell, the sounds — and the blueprints. The idea that Dad and his crew took those lines and turned them into something real, and that his desk has just a bit of dust on it, just struck me as a homecoming. His engineering magazines had my fingerprints all over them before he got to look at them.

My goal was to work in construction, and I felt that the only way I’d get hired was to be an engineer, like my dad. I signed up for his alma mater.

Over time, my work has pushed me into the structural engineering field, putting the lines on the blueprints rather than turning the lines into concrete, wood, or steel. I’ve crawled over, under and through all kinds of structures — residential, waterfront, commercial, industrial, helping fix them or make them bigger or stronger.

Structural engineers hold things up. And, sometimes, also hold things down. I am a resource for my clients, to help them get more use out of their facilities for less money.

3. You are the author of “The Graphic Handbook for the Pretty Good House.” Can you explain what that is all about?

I attend a forum for building science once a month in Portland at Performance Building Supply. We came up with the idea of the “Pretty Good House,” one that isn’t LEED Platinum Net-Zero with details that are not going to be cost effective. But after some discussion, our moderator thought we shouldn’t be preaching to the choir. I volunteered to work on this, and when your hand is the only one in the air, then you either drop the idea or you become an author.

“The Graphic Handbook for the Pretty Good House” is not a coloring book, because “grown men won’t buy coloring books,” but it is building science for beginners. It talks about residential construction in Maine, but is applicable to other places that aren’t cold and wet, and to other structures. This was published in 2013, and about a year later I found myself with a list of contents for … Volume 2.

Volume 2 came out this past March in the printed version, and I made an Etsy store so they could sell as pdfs (99 cents each) and people could just download them and pull out their green crayon.

How we build is changing, and it will mean that our homes are not just more energy efficient, but also more comfortable, healthier and have lower maintenance. And wow, the price of solar photovoltaic panels is really changing that part of the energy game.

4. What are some of the projects you have worked on in the Midcoast region?

Two major projects at BIW include the Medical Building (four stories, very tight and busy site) and the Wetlands Roadway (the Maine DEP permit set the wetland fill regulations for Maine, and the retaining wall was the first of that type built on a curve).

I got to evaluate the Knights of Pythias building at the corner of Pleasant and Maine streets in Brunswick for Sylvia Wyler — lots of interesting history there.

My current big project is the Hathorn Block in Richmond, an 1850 brick building originally built with two townhouses for the Hathorn brothers, and two floors of commercial space below. We are going to have to strengthen the large timbers so I can stamp them for modern floor ratings.

5. What is the favorite part of your job? The least favorite part?

My favorite part of the job? I love going into old buildings and barns, and finding their history — and helping their owners find new ways to use them.

I help contractors use new tools, like the engineered wood screws, so that their work is easier and more durable but less expensive.

It’s fun to catch things that make a difference before it could become a problem. It’s great to figure out a problem that had everyone else scratching their heads, and to hand the client an effective solution that was simple to install.

Least favorite? There has been silliness about me being a female — but I have also had extra marriage proposals. There have been men (and their wives) that didn’t want me on the job site — but then they change their minds and tell me I’m the engineer they want to work with.

There are truly yucky crawl spaces, but I go in and figure out what has to be done and the carpenter only has to go in once to get the job done. Carpenters like me.

Oh — and the view from the rooftops — LOVE!

Come on, give it a try

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