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Portfolio

Commercial
Residential
Testing
Trusses
Outdoor Spaces
Fun Connections
Raisings
Barns
Restoration
Bridges
Great room
Ontario Lakefront
Smith Timberworks

A good one with Smith Timber Works, were they were able to steer the design from the onset with the client resulting in a great timber frame, and, also did the panelized wall framing.  

Minka
A real Minka - in Boston!
I-Kanda Architects, Enishi Construction, and Thoughtforms

It’s not every day that we get to put our hands on a 200+ year old authentic Japanese timber frame in the U.S.. A Minka frame repaired in Japan and brought to the U.S. to be rebuilt by the same Japanese carpenters.

nonagon
Kirby Nonagon
John Hutton at Next Genesis Design, LLC

An extremely unique and complex nine sided reciprocal roof frame in Ashland, Oregon. Exterior walls are insulated with hempcrete and sheathed in a proprietary manner for shear capacity.

We love reciprocal frames!

 

Timber framer: Jiri Vrsek Deep Spring Timberworks LLC

Project Manager: Ryan Kirkby 

Pool House
Pool Pavilion
Timber Artisans LLC

A 50’ x 50’ Caribbean inspired Pool pavilion made from Southern Pine timber on Johns Island South Carolina.

Trusses have clasping and spliced double bottom chords with single columns and top chords.

Oak timber frame
A Baronial Delight
Hardwick Post & Beam

When you’re building a 23’x68’ pool house  – and with 15’ eaves with 14:12 pitch - you really better be sure the reflected ceiling plan is worthy of that spatial commitment.  Hardwick Post & Beam, working with Oliver Cope architects and (vacuum) kiln-dried oak, even had fun building this during the Covid Crunch.  A ton (maybe more) of steel was (discreetly) involved in getting these high-tied and bladed roof “trusses”  to stay in place.  Thankfully, the designers prevailed in most of their many negotiations with the engineers over how they might make this easier to build.

Picture of a partially finished house
Hemp insulation
Kaja @ youarethecity

Hempcrete  (along with hemp batt & blown-in insulation), coupled with a compound roof framing, add a bit of flare to what is otherwise conventional stick framing. 

clt house
Calling all walls
Anderson Anderson

An upstate NY residential CLT project, where all of the walls, interior and exterior, were framed with CLT.  And good thing.  With the rather interesting floor plan, pretty much all wood fiber in the building was put to use.

carport
King Post Carport
Smith Timberworks

So what to do with a big carport, with substantially undersized (sagging) ridge and eave logs?  Hang the middle of the eaves off a king post truss... and then turn the ridge into an inverted king post truss as well.   Amazingly efficient - I only wish we had come up with the idea.

CLT house
Your average garage
Wooden Haus Supply

CLTs are a hot topic in commercial construction lately, with a few clunky designs built here and there.  But on a residential front, they are being well employed in a variety of structures, including living space above a 3-car garage.  "Mass timber" isn't just for massive projects.

chrry
A cherry job
Woodjoiners

Most think of cherry as a furniture wood, but, we can use it for timber frames as well.  But make sure you have a frame that is interesting enough to justify it!

Residential project
L'il Eilliot
Travis Anderson with Placetailor

A wonderful second generation client with two young children wanted their existing corner minimart to serve as an art studio, and, of course, have the new living quarters upstairs cantilever over the existing brick walls. 

decagon roof
Decagon
Canadian Timber Frames

A large clear span decagon roof is a fun challenge in its own right, but when you need 11 posts around the perimeter to make room for a fireplace, you can have some interesting connections at the "Y".  We won't tell all our secrets.

CLT
Red Lodge CLT
Wooden Haus Supply

Functionally, CLTs aren't any more exciting than giant sheets of plywood, but, with some fun good design and detailing, they can make for some pretty dramatic spaces.

stairway
Going Up
Smith Timber Works

Steel stringers supporting wood treads can be an effective paring, especially when you are looking for a thin profile. 

rafter scarf
Rafter Scarfs
Smith Timber Works

The best spot to break lower and upper rafters isn't always over the support.

cupola
RCP
Holder Brothers

We sometimes tell people our primary business is reflected ceiling plans.  And cupolas fit in quite nicely.

candler
Georgia woods
Holder Brothers

It is nice to work on real timber frames for real people. 

big timbers
Big timbers
Fraserwood

Full dimension 11x17 rafters seem a bit bigger in person than they do on the screen.  Curved glulams, anyone?

snow
Snow country

Building a house in the winter in a ski town is a snap, if you first build a scaffold tower over the entire site. 

curves
Curves in a Bunk House
Kettle River Timberworks

Fun juxtaposition of some curved grain-matched glulams (each side of the hallway) with a sawn curve tie beam.

Outdoor patio
Outdoor living
Kettle River Timberworks

Everybody needs a grilling porch overlooking a lake in Whistler.

sunshine
Coastal BC
Kettle River Timberworks

A spectacular project, and not just because of the site, but, the framer, the wood, the client.  With hidden framing under the bench to help brace this wall of direct glazing, there is a lot going on behind the scenes as well.

great room
Minimal bracing
Yankee Barn Homes

Sometimes less is more.  Using timbers to define the space, with minimal bracing, keeps the timber frame being overpowering.

Floor framing
Loft framing
DIRTT Environmental Solutions

Floor framing for a loft needn't consist of rectalinear grids.  Using European spruce glulams fits with the non-traditional look.

Bedroom with large windows
Nelson Island
Kettle River Timberworks

When you have this view, living indoors and out meld together.

Cantilever stairset
Nelson Island
Kettle River Timberworks

A small cottage on a rocky bluff in British Columbia required plenty of glazing, and a unique solution to cantilever stair treads.

Keyed bolster beams
Costa Rica Residence
Natura 51

Just because you can't get FSC certified South American hardwoods to your site that are long enough doesn't mean you can't have big spans.  As long as you are creative with bolsters and keyed beams.

Termite moat
Termite Moat
Natura 51

When building in termite prone regions (like Costa Rica), putting your post bottoms in a moat of oil to keep termites from crawling up the timbers isn't that far fetched.

Exterior of a house
Sunshine coast
Kettle River Timberworks

Great bracketry on this BC residence.

Moretown, VT
Mad River
Yankee Barn Homes
Moretown
Mad River
Yankee Barn Homes

How We Work

Leading authorities on pegged mortise and tenon connections and mechanically laminated beams, our team has been responsible for some of the timber frame community’s most impressive projects, while also advancing the science and capabilities of heavy timbers.

See our work

Where We Work

US licenses:
AK, AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NC, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, USVI, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

Canadian licenses:
AB, BC, ON, SK, AND YT

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