Vermont Timber Works began in 1987 designing and building post and beam homes from start to finish as Friant & Kelleher Builders Inc. Like now, all of our homes were custom designed for individual clients. Most of them were high end and incorporated state of the art heat exchangers, custom cabinets, high efficiency windows, cold roof systems and custom finishes.

Since then we have become more & more specialized, and now we focus on the timber frame. We design and pre-engineer all of our heavy timber frames in-house. We encourage our clients to hire and work with architects and builders with excellent reputations. Links to to some of the architects and builders we have worked can be found on our 'Cool Links' page. We build all kinds of timber beam projects, from structural timber frames to decorative trusses.

Please take some time to browse through the thumbnails below and click on the pictures you like. On many of the project pages you can find floor plans, more photos, shop drawings and links to 3d drawings of our frames. Have fun, and thanks for visiting!

This is a king post roof truss dressed up with curved web members. In most residential buildings it can span from 16' to 30'. Click here to see wood species and finishes. It looks great as a decorative or structural truss in any post and beam home. It is easy to pre-engineer in all species of timber including pine, douglas fir, hemlock and oak.

A pretty modified hammer beam roof truss can span up to 40 feet, although 26 feet to 36 feet is more common depending on local snow loads. It looks great where architectural details are important, although it is one of the more expensive truss designs. All of our frames are checked by our in-house structural engineer. Often a modified hammer beam is used to span large distances, like over an indoor swimming pool. The larger spans require the use of douglas fir timber, which is the strongest and most beautiful.

The classic scissor roof truss is a favorite for great rooms and kitchens. It looks nice with a decorative steel gusset plate in the center, where all the web members come together. Scissor trusses commonly span from 16 feet to to 36 feet, although we have done a 60' double chorded scissor truss in New York.

The classic king post roof truss is the most versatile and the most economical of all timber trusses. It can easily span 40 feet or more, and is great for almost any application. A king post truss can be made completely out of straight beams, or dressed up with decorative steel plates and curved webs. They look great throughout a home or in one or two rooms.

A modified king post truss gives a room more vertical space than a classic king post truss because the collar tie is raised up a few feet. It is more expensive though since larger roof rafters need to be used. It looks great with curved webs.