Timber Frames

A timber frame project can be completed in as short as 2-3 months. However, the more lead time the better, because our production and installation schedule always fills up for the summer time.

Timber frames are largely maintenance free! Occasionally exterior structures may need to have oil re-applied. But otherwise they will stand for hundreds of years without any issues!

Timber frames are very sustainable: timber is a carbon-store, which reduces a project's carbon footprint. The timber goes through very little processing, and often comes from Vermont. Because timber frames are fabricated off-site in our shop they can reduce a project's overall length while maintaining a higher build quality.

Timber framing utilizes a few different joinery styles in different configurations to hold the structures together. Mortise and tenon joinery, scarf joinery and lap joinery compose the majority of joints used, with many different iterations depending on the build. Timber frames prioritize wooden joinery construction, as few steel plates, screws or other styles of hardware are used – they are an expression of wood’s natural beauty, strength and infinite malleability.

All of our timber frames are checked and stamped by a structural timber frame engineer. We believe that in order to have a successful project engineering is a core part of the design process. Engineering a frame allows all the stakeholder’s to know the project will be safe and sturdy for centuries to come. Value engineering also allows us to reduce timber sizes, which in some cases, can reduce a project's overall cost.

We offer many different species of timber. The most common are: Eastern yellow pine, Hemlock, Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar and White oak. White pine and Hemlock are two of our favorites because they are local woods that we source directly from Vermont, this allows a project to be as local and carbon neutral as possible. We source White oak from New England, so this is also very local and sustainable! White oak has the longest lead time of any of the woods we use, so projects utilizing it need ample pre-planning. Douglas fir is a popular species from the west coast because it is strong, straight, and beautiful, and is readily available in very large lengths and timber sizes. White oak and Western red cedar are two naturally rot-resistant species, so we use these in outdoor settings, in which rot is going to be an issue. White pine and Douglas fir are the easiest species to kiln-dry, so we favor these two for projects that call for dry wood.