Traditional handcrafted timber framing -

We like to break up a timber frame project into tree parts - design, timbers and joinery.

Design - Although we can, and have, built anything an architect or home owner has put before us, we prefer to get involved early in the design process to help with details and options that would make the project go smoother or be more cost effective. It is also very enjoyable for us to work with other creative people and see what can come out of a collaborative effort.    

  Timbers - We learned early on that you can not just go down to the lumber yard and order what you need to build a quality timber frame. So by saw milling and grading every timber in house we feel our materials are second to none. We source standing dead, usually beetle killed trees and either circle saw or bandsaw the entire package before we start in on the joinery. We do not like to rule out other viable options so we have also cut through a considerable amount of 100+ year old Douglas fir and even some freshly milled s4s White oak.

Joinery - Our layout and joinery is all done by human power. First joints are cut with the help of some rather large circular saws and a morticing machine to a slightly rough state,  then fine tuned with chisels and slicks to the perfect fit.  If arched and curved members a prominent feature of the frame we have a few bandsaws to expedite that process. Then after the joinery is cut , if not just rough sawn, we add the hand hewn texture with scrub plane, adze or broad ax pretty much the way they have for hundreds of years except we have a bit less material to remove to get to the desired finish.