When a youth summer camp in northern New Hampshire wanted a pavilion large enough to cover a basketball court, but were on a budget, we were able to work with Scratch Builders to come up with an efficient dog-leg design.  European spruce glulams helped keep the project on budget.    The frame is deceptive in size, with a 68'x106' drip line, and over 23,000lf of T&G decking.

An interesting roof-top project in New York, utilizing a nice mix of spruce glulams and CLTs, along with some expressed steel is made all the more enjoyable when there is a great timber team assembled (SCPB, Odeh, KLH, Hasslacher).  

One frame on a larger venue on Johns Island, SC. A meeting hall composed of 45’ span dog leg bents with one bay spaced 23’ apart. Joinery includes triple lightning bolt notches for the strut into the upper rafter. The wind was high enough to induce significant uplift and reversal of internal forces so joints are held with fully threaded screws at an opposing angle to gravity loads.

In a normal structure, one might use a heavy steel girder.  But in this commercial space, a rather stout 54' parallel chord truss fit the aesthetic better.  Complete with 2-1/4" diameter high strength steel rods, the truss has several thousand screws as well holding some hidden steel plates in place.

Designed to have a forest look complete with posts branching out like trees, this Wilmington, DE project really shines.  There was a special focus on ensuring fairly straightforward joinery which allowed the students in this vocational training program to do much of the timber framing and joinery work in their old shop.

A project near Philly, with a very detail oriented design architect (Rayford W. Law out of Marblehead, MA), with a good GC and local architect, turned into a great project.  NordicLam timbers  - a lot of them - some curved - various grades - all come together well with the help of Jean-Paul.  A lot of great custom heavy metal connections as well.  A lot of work, but fun, all around.

A project near Philly, with a very detail oriented design architect (Rayford W. Law out of Marblehead, MA), with a good GC and local architect, turned into a great project.  NordicLam timbers  - a lot of them - some curved - various grades - all come together well with the help of Jean-Paul.  A lot of great custom heavy metal connections as well.  A lot of work, but fun, all around.

A project near Philly, with a very detail oriented design architect (Rayford W. Law out of Marblehead, MA), with a good GC and local architect, turned into a great project.  NordicLam timbers  - a lot of them - some curved - various grades - all come together well with the help of Jean-Paul.  A lot of great custom heavy metal connections as well.  A lot of work, but fun, all around.

Renovations of historic timber structures are always a unique challenge. 1860s era Detroit Central Market Pavilion complete with original pine timbers and unique cast iron columns. Remedies to meet current codes includes many tension rods and custom hangers, moment resistance steel columns, intricate concrete foundations, and upgraded roof beams utilizing composite action with original timbers

When a community farm in TN needed a bit of covered space, the TFG stepped up in a big way.  This is deceptively large, with a proper NBA basketball court being able to fit under roof, without any obstructed shot lines.

Good employees deserve a great break room, even when you have to design for hurricane force winds, like this spectacular FL project.

This 12 sided on-farm classroom has a reciprocal roof with a hip roof over top.

When given a chance, we try and sneak as many fun details into a project as we can.  Keyed beams, dragon ties, curved glulams, space trusses, to name a few. 

Some amazing scissor trusses for a family education center at Hart Square, in Vale, NC.  Timbers were so long, we had to use glulams! 

You'd think building a cabana for a large resort on a Caribbean island would require designing for hurricane force winds.  In this case, earthquake activity actually was more critical (note the volcano in the background).  Although, if the earth shakes that badly from a volcanic eruption – there may be bigger things to worry about (did I mention the volcano in the background?)

A 700lb pick over the top of the building can max out even the largest of cranes.

Some of the Fire Tower crew examining connection details atop a 170' man lift.  Notice the Mustang convertible included for a sense of scale. 

A WWII blimp hangar is the definition of big.  157' high, 234.5' arch clear span, 1000' long building.  (i.e. the roof covers 7 acres and uses 2.7e6 BF of wood)

Our hydraulic equipment was getting a work out, post-tensioning a laminated bridge deck in Tulsa.

Full scale testing of a segment of a much larger hanging porch for a project in northern IL.

Reciprocal roof framing at its finest, in Cannonball, ND.

We have a lot of interesting stories about this project, which consisted of British Columbia logs fabricated and then shipped to a market just outside of Frankfurt, Germany.

We have a lot of interesting stories about this project, which consisted of British Columbia logs fabricated and then shipped to a market just outside of Frankfurt, Germany.

Not much to say, other than three layers are better than two.

Timber framing can spiff up a strip-mall storefront - especially when a few keyed beams are thrown into the mix.

Timber structures go hand in hand with golf clubs.

Turned yellow cedar logs at various angles, acting as cantilever masts to support decorative metal panels on an Ontario college campus.  Adjustability of these base connections is critical in making sure this all fits. 

With a nearly 90 foot clear span in the middle opening, continuous bottom chords aren't that easy to ship, so they were split in half width-wise and length-wise (at mid span) with a few novel connections.  We threw a few boslter beams into the project too, just because.

Timber in commercial spaces can take on a modern feel when properly detailed.

An interesting office mezzanine in an upper floor a Chicago high-rise (helicopter required to get the materials onto the roof...).  The lattice is structural, as it supports Lignatur floor planks.

Larch is one of those species we love working with - great from an engineering standpoint (on par with Doug fir) - but more durable in exterior environments.

Adding a mezzanine inside an existing industrial space can be tricky - especially when fire separation requirements need to be met.  Luckily, timbers can be designed for up to a 2-hour fire rating, making it surprisingly versatile.

20' plus keyed beam cantilever

A barn from the outside, a concert piano hall from the inside.

A barn from the outside, a concert piano hall from the inside.

So much we could say - but, the photo speaks so much more eloquently.