We pride ourselves in working with owners and architects to design timber framesthat are elegant and functional - like the modified king post truss shown on the left.

The timber frame was built for a hotel lobby using douglas fir beams, hardwood pegs and curved braces.

This beautiful hammer beam truss is for the main house in a private estate.

Our network of timber suppliers can provide us with custom wood beam orders of Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Port Orford Cedar, Native Hemlock, Native White Pine, Red Oak, White Oak, Southern Yellow Pine, Custom Curved Glue-lam Beams and more. All the timber we ship is green, S4S or rough sawn. Sizes range from 4x6’s, 6x8’s, 8x10’s, 8x12’s, and up.

We rarely cut the same frame twice, although we often build on ideas that our clients like from previous timber framing projects.

The project shown on the left is a reconstruction of an historic timber frame in Navasota Texas that was lost in a fire, and rebuilt by Vermont Timber Works.

The use of old weathered wood is a feature used in many interior designs. This barn is actually made of new native hemlock timber that was naturally weathered in our yard. It is beautifully antiqued.

Our structural engineer evaluates all our frames to make sure they meet all local and national building codes. Located in New England, we are experts in designing for heavy snow loads.

Along with timber frame homes, we build Dining Halls, Pavilions for State Parks and Camper Cabins: Post and Beam timber framing is a great form of construction for picnic shelters, boat houses, company gathering areas and state parks.

The Project shown on the left is a dining hall frame for the Fresh Air Fund.

We provide Timber Frame and Post & Beam Design Services for Architects. Often architects will design a great space, like a great room, hotel lobby or sanctuary, and then come to us for timber truss design for the ceiling beams.

We also work with builders, home owners and builders to design high quality custom timber frames and post & beam frames for individual houses, homes and commercial construction projects.

Fancy arched beams can really dress up an interior design that features natural wood. This project was for the guest house at an estate where the owner wanted a special look.

Wood Finishes: We pride ourselves on finishing our timbers with the right color stain or paint color for an individual project. We work hard to send out samples and match our clients’ desired finish. Of course, there are natural variations in all beams, which is one of the beauties of timber design. With the right finish, the posts & beams can be made to look like they came straight from an antique New England barn.

Pre-finish: Most post & beam framing is done with green timbers before the wood has a chance to dry, twist and crack – it is the best way. Once a frame is put together with hardwood pegs, the wood and/or steel plate joinery will hold the timbers in place.

Checking is minimized by a coat of pre-finish or sealer applied to all surfaces including the insides of the mortise and tenon joints. Over the years, we have found that two coats of finish are even better, and now we offer a second coat of finish as an option. Please click here to find out more information on wood finishes.

We cut our timber frames the old fashioned way: by hand. While many other timber framers have started using automated equipment, we have found that it is still better and more accurate to use hand tools.

We do use sophisticated design software, and precision mortising machines, drill stands, band saws, and beam saws to make many of the complicated cuts that the automated equipment can't.

Razor sharp chisels are used to shape the custom joinery.

To the left is a hand hewn hammer beam bent for a great room.

Learn more about timber frames and timber framing on Wikipedia's Timber Framing Page.

Hand hewn wood beams look great in this kitchen and dining area.

Architects: We pride ourselves in working with architects to make their timber framing design ideas work.

Log Homes & Timber Trusses: Timber trusses add great accents to log homes, log houses, log cabins and log buildings. Timber trusses can span over 40 feet, and look great in luxury log homes with natural log walls. Timber Framing the roof trusses can really dress up the great room of a log house.

This bath house in Katonah, NY used an open truss design and log posts. It is the pavilion next to the town pool and housed a snack bar, bathrooms and changing rooms and an office.

Our post & beam houses are all unique, beautiful, and interesting - whether we are the supplier of an entire timber frame, a single timber truss or a post and beam entry way or foyer. As heavy timber manufacturers, we enjoy aesthetic and structural challenges that unique post and beam projects bring. Almost any floor plan and elevation design will work for us - as long as we can make the structural engineering work.

Interior Designs: More and more, interior home designers and builders are turning to wood beams to add special touches to their house design projects. Beams can be rough and rustic, have a French country look, blend into a southwestern adobe post & beam home, or fit perfectly into an elegant English manor home. An interior design doesn’t have to encompass an entire house or building.

Structural Engineers Designing Timber Frames and Post & Beam Projects: With 20 years of experience designing complex residential and commercial heavy timber projects, our company is an excellent resource for structural engineers looking for timber design solutions.

Heavy Timber Trusses – Division 06130: We design, pre-engineer and manufacture heavy timber commercial trusses that range from the very simple to the most elegant spanning from sixteen to sixty feet.

Often we can help find simple solutions for complex design problems, and are happy to help. Many times, joints that appear to require steel gusset plates can be done with traditional timber joinery and hardwood pegs. Or, an architect, builder or owner will prefer metal plate connections, that we are happy to help design. Please give us a call or send us an e-mail.

On most commercial jobs we work as a subcontractor to the general contractor, but sometimes we work directly for the owner or architect.

This barn project was done in Grafton, MA for a non-profit organization called "Food for the Needy, Inc.".

Churches, Chapels and Monasteries: We love to timber frame churches and have worked on many post and beam church and monastery projects over the years.

Often, we can value engineer beautiful frames ranging from simple king post truss designs with curved knee braces to complex scissor truss or hammer beam designs for the most elegant sanctuaries.

Horse Barns & Stables: Post and beam framing is perfect for the spans needed in horse barns and stables. We have manufactured rustic frames out of native hemlock beams for country barns; and elegant stable frames out of smooth and highly finished Douglas fir wood beams. Hemlock and Douglas fir are the best choices for wood species as they are less prone to rotting and because the horses don’t like to crib on them (horses eat native white pine like candy).

This is one of our favorite projects - a sixty foot free standing octagon timber frame for the Chapel for Holy Apostles.

A graceful arched timber truss with a steel tie rod is shown to the left. There are very few visible steel gusset plates in this design.

Before a timber frame is erected, the bents, or main carrying sections, are assembled and stacked on the ground. A crane then lifts them up and our skilled craftspeople secure them in place.

Maple Beams, antique brick and an old coal stove were used for the interior design of this timber frame great room.

Southeastern Vermont Welcome Center on Route 91 North is shown on the left. It is a beautiful rest area and local museum built by the State of Vermont and proudly framed by Vermont Timber Works.

This porte cochere was built for Founders Lodge at Stratton Mountain in Vermont.

A 40' Modified Hammer Beam Truss being lifted by a crane.

Wood Ceiling Beams: Using real natural wood ceiling beams is a great and inexpensive way to dress up living rooms, dining rooms, entryways, foyers, great rooms and more. We are happy to supply wood accents for any house, home or project. Antique barn beams also look great. Why use faux wood beams when you can have the real thing?

Pergolas are built for shade and beauty. this one, at Lake Taghkanic State Park, used douglas fir timbers and glulam beams.

Often, we will fabricate custom trusses and ceiling beams for a single room, porch, entry or Porte Cochere. Sometimes an indoor swimming pool is perfect with natural timber beams above it, and a few posts and beams make a simple living room into a home's ‘great room’.

A simple scissor truss can be used in a great room, or any open space, to dress up a ceiling on a budget.

Traditional wood joinery as well as metal plated connections are used. Common truss designs include: king post trusses, queen post trusses, hammer beam trusses, scissor trusses, modified trusses, and girder trusses. Click here to see typical truss designs.

We are also a Heavy Timber Supplier: From time to time, our clients need some beams for their projects that they plan to fabricate and install themselves. Please give our sales team a call for more information, and keep in mind that all our orders are custom so please allow for 4-6 weeks delivery time. A completely pre-fabricated timber frame will take 10 to 12 weeks to deliver after shop drawings have been approved.