Reshaping the world around us
by Peter Briccetti
When Larry Dodier looks at an aging structure, he doesn’t just see what you or I might see. To Larry, old structures hold stories, friendships, and opportunities. Antiques are frame-works for the future, and by looking at them in the right light, we can catch a glimpse of what is possible. Saving the soul of a structure isn’t an easy task, but it is a rewarding one. Larry is one of those rare people who is able to reshape the world around him while keeping its most essential essence intact.
“It’s rare to find someone whose craftsmanship is paired with the quality of really having their word mean something. Everyone I’ve put him in touch with has been blown away.”
-Dr. Jordan Zignego, Director Community Design Center, MSU School of Architecture
Originally hailing from New Hampshire, Larry is familiar with the practices of updating, repurposing, and restoring buildings that are hundreds of years old. While renovation may not be the first thing that people think about when New England is brought up, the northeast U.S. is a hub in the art of preparing the past for the future.
Typical farmhouses often go through multiple stages of renovations over the course of their lives. Properties are renovated and improved over time, as people fix them up and modify their uses. The trick is in maintaining the building’s character. Buildings need to be renovated with the same time-honored craftsmanship with which they were originally built. At the same time, construction techniques and materials evolve and skilled carpenters know how to balance the old and the new.
Bozeman certainly has its own collection of historical buildings, including old farmhouses. There’s a style to the town that is unique, perhaps because of Bozeman’s geography. To the west lies high alpine desert, the north and south present towering peaks, and in the verdant land between is an oasis of farmland. Each biome has affected the design of the structures here differently, resulting in rugged yet spacious and colorful architectural themes.
Larry stands in the foyer of a house, examining a diagram on his iPad and surrounded by his crew of three carpenters. They’re chatting about the next step of the trim installation that they’ve just finished milling for the living room of the place, a modern, two-story single-family home near Highland Boulevard. They have spent the last two weeks milling the ash in their mobile shop trailer, which is currently parked in the driveway. While it is strenuous work, they’re back on the job today with renewed focus.
“We’re extremely proud of how much we can do in-house, without the need to call in outside experts.”
-Larry Dodier, Owner Stoked Old Home and Barn
“I’ve always loved meeting and getting to know people. That’s part of the reason that I decided to start my own renovation company, instead of working for a larger organization.”
-Larry Dodier, Owner Stoked Old Home and Barn
Working on a project requires Larry’s full commitment, and he doesn’t often consider having more than two active sites at a time. It isn’t so much that he and his team couldn’t handle a higher volume of work, but that they’ve found that they get a better result by being fully present in each space they work on. Larry’s forte lies in getting to know each client well enough to really see their vision. This takes a significant investment of time, but it’s also one of his favorite perks of the work he does. By understanding each client, Larry can see their vision and better bring that vision to life.
“I’ve always loved meeting and getting to know people,” says Larry. “That’s part of the reason that I decided to start my own renovation company, instead of working for a larger organization. This way, I have the ability to meet with the client each and every day.”
Larry shows me around the house, which is stripped to clean, white drywall. They’re at the apex of their renovation, just at the point where they begin to reconstruct the interior of the space. He explains that the projects he loves most are the ones that are full home renovations, or even doing an entire building all at the same time. With the ability to produce custom cabinetry and in-house millwork, Stoked is able to connect the project’s big-picture concept with detailed craftmanship. They make everything of a piece, resulting in a more unified finished product.
Stoked Old Home and Barn takes full advantage of their small team size to do precision work on unique client projects. Last year, Larry and his team were presented with a challenge: incorporate an antique mid-19th-century door from a Mormon church into a renovation job. The door contained sections of extremely fragile stained glass set into the wood with iron frames, making it a unique challenge to refinish. It also featured intricate woodwork and carvings, all of which required precise craftsmanship.
“When I’m working on a project, I’m there almost all the time. I tell clients that they’ll most likely get sick of me.”
-Larry Dodier, Owner Stoked Old Home and Barn
The finished product now sits comfortably in the entryway of the house, looking like it was made for the space. In another sense, it was. Larry, a master carpenter, was able to modify it to fit the space just right, swinging perfectly into the door frame without a single sound of complaint.
“We’re extremely proud of how much we can do in-house, without the need to call in outside experts,” Larry says. “The more we can do as a team, the more cohesive each project ends up being.”
Brandon, one of Larry’s carpenters adds, “It’s a really great feeling to put the final touches on something that we did from scratch. Giving clients a final product that they’re really happy with is what makes it worthwhile for me to be here.”
Dr. Jordan Zignego, Director of the Community Design Center at the MSU School of Architecture and owner of a small architecture firm, hired Larry to work on some projects – and then started recommending him to other clients. “I first hired him personally to work on a smaller scale job, and found that he treated it with the same professionalism and honesty that many contractors reserve only for large projects,” says Zignego. “It’s rare to find someone whose craftsmanship is paired with the quality of really having their word mean something.” Zignego continues to connect Larry and Stoked with friends and contacts, adding, “Everyone I’ve put him in touch with has been blown away.”
Stoked Old Home and Barn isn’t about just one aspect of remodeling or custom building. Instead, their main priority is to collaborate with the client, fully harmonizing their goals. At every step of the decision-making process, Larry is in communication with the owner. He says, “I’m not there to persuade them or convince them to do anything in a particular way, but get a sense of what appeals to a homeowner both aesthetically and functionally. I truly relish this collaboration.”
Stoked brings a truly custom approach to a process that all too often can become depersonalized. The importance of human touch is not lost on Larry, or the clients with whom he works. While some renovators don’t always feel like they have to be onsite while work is taking place, Larry feels differently. “When I’m working on a project, I’m there almost all the time. I tell clients that they’ll most likely get sick of me,” he shares. “But at the end of the day, I’ve become good friends with each and every one.”
While many builders avoid remodels and prefer new construction, Larry Dodier and his Stoked team relish the work. Through the process they reshape a small part of the world and are rewarded by re-creating cherished spaces and building personal relationships along the way.
