At our core we are builders of fine and sustainable shelter. Timber framing is our most coveted method. We have achieved respect and recognition, one frame at a time, among our peers and clientele over the last three decades. Despite offering no planbooks or garden-variety frames, 70% of our work is either repeat business or word of mouth referral.
Our projects and travels have brought us to some wonderful people and places. We’ve gained invaluable knowledge about the art of timber framing while refining our skills at providing high quality and resource-efficient homes and buildings. After all these years, the sight of a naked frame against the sky still moves us on raising day, and visiting a home we built years back is a special event.
We paid our dues in the early years of timber framing's renaissance, learning to cut the classic joinery found in the saltbox and cape. Adapting all the way, pushing the envelope, unwilling to be bound by the constraints of tradition but still paying homage to the craft and those who passed before us.
The results can be seen in our finished work — laminated curves, massive and long-span trusses, hand-scribed natural shapes, complex compound joinery, the sensitive use of reclaimed wood.
You can get some idea of the level of craftsmanship in our timber frames from the photographs used in this site, but to really appreciate the work our timber framers turn out you need to see it in the flesh, so to speak. If you can find time to visit a raising or an open house we'd love to see you. You can help out by raising a glass with us as we toast the frame.
The Process
The process of timber framing starts with design. If you're already working with a design professional, then you'll need to talk with our engineers; if you'd like to have your own set of plans drawn from your musings, then a chat with our architectural design group would be in order. The design process will produce a set of timber frame shop drawings, and it's these that our craftsmen will work from as they select timbers, cut joinery and finish each piece.
Most of our joinery is roughed out using a CNC machine. As each timberframer moves up through the shop, he's trained to use all the timber frame-specific tools ranging from huge circular saws, to chain-mortisers and planers; the CNC machine is treated in exactly the same way - it's just a slightly bigger, more expensive chisel.
Once joinery is roughed out, it needs to be finished by hand. Each timber is inspected and labeled with additional joinery laid out before being moved to the saw horses where the rough joinery is finished with traditional tools. Once joined, the timbers have radius and chamfer details added, then they're treated to a coat of food-grade finish oil.
Trusses, found-form work and frames involving our signature curved timbers are pre-assembled on the floor of the shop. Before shipping, each frame is stacked and banded for delivery to the client's site.
About two months after you've committed to your design, you'll see our timberframers turning up on your site, prepared to raise your frame. We're adamant that no job leaves our shop without a raising crew (once you see the complexity of the work that goes into a frame, you'll understand why). We actually go one step further than this and will send out the same guys who cut the joinery, so that the knowledge gained about your project while it was in the shop accompanies it to the site.
If you'd like to talk with a real person then give us a call, advice is always available and we like meeting new folks. If it's after hours, feel free to email us, we'll get back to you as soon as we're in the office.
