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Posts categorized as Timber Framing 101

Red Steel tie rod in a cidery

How To Incorporate Steel In A Timber Frame

By Margaux Friant on September 05, 2016

How To Incorporate Steel In A Timber Frame This post is for people interested in timber frames that incorporate steel. The decision of whether or not to use steel in a frame is made during the conceptualization & design process. Timber frames with wide-spanning trusses, hammer beam trusses, or softer woods […]

Timber Details & Customizing A Frame

Timber Details & Customizing A Frame

By Margaux Friant on May 25, 2016

Do you ever look at a timber frame and think to yourself, “I love that one,” but you’re not fully sure what you love about that frame in particular? Well, that’s why I wrote this post. It lays out some of the different ways timber can be detailed to make […]

Post and Beam Joinery on a Timber Storage Shed

Timber Framing vs. Post and Beam Construction

By Derek Folsom on July 23, 2015

Timber Framing vs Post and Beam Construction Something that is commonly confused is the difference between timber framing and post and beam construction.   The major difference, really the only difference, is the type of joinery that is used.  A timber framed building uses traditional joinery, like mortise and tenon, […]

What's a tree doing up there?

What’s a tree doing up there?

By Derek Folsom on February 09, 2015

Have you ever been driving by a construction site and thought to yourself, “Why is there a tree on top of that building? It seems like a very odd time to be celebrating Christmas? Furthermore, why would they go through the trouble to get it up there, they’re just going […]

Douglas fir Logs

Douglas fir–a versatile species

By Mike McLaine on September 19, 2014

Here at Vermont Timber Works we pride ourselves in being able to use any species of wood that is commercially available.  Douglas fir is one of the species we use, and is a great species for timber framing. Douglas fir is available in several different finishes:  rough sawn, S4S (surfaced […]

Joinery and steel plate detail in the entry way for the DoubleTree Hotel

Understanding The Basics Of Traditional Joinery

By Margaux Friant on August 05, 2014

Now that I’ve written the dovetail post, it has occurred to me that I may have jumped the gun a little bit. The dovetail is an incredible, beautiful joint, but it’s just one of many. So for this post, I’m going to zoom out and break down the basics of […]

Timber Frame Engineering

Timber Frame Engineering

By Sandy Connolly on July 21, 2014

There are endless ways to design a timber frame!  For each design, there are certain things an engineer has to think about. Some designs give the engineer A LOT to think about. At Vermont Timber Works, we love a challenge.  We design, engineer, evaluate, and detail every timber joint. We […]

Steel Gusset Plate Detail and Glulam Beams in the 57 State Street Restaurant

Laminated Timber

By Sandy Connolly on July 14, 2014

Laminated? Glue what? But why? Well, let us tell you about laminated timbers. Natural timber can almost always be used in typical residential timber framing. There are wood species available in the sizes needed to pass engineering codes and to get the preferred look. Commercial timber framing with large clear […]

The Dovetail Joint: A Traditional Timber Connection

The Dovetail Joint: A Traditional Timber Connection

By Margaux Friant on July 03, 2014

A timber frame can seem complicated, but really it’s just like a big 3 dimensional puzzle with different shaped pieces that fit together. In order to better understand the big puzzle (a timber frame), I thought it might be fun to find out more about its specific parts. The first […]

Exposed Beams in Von Trapp Family Lodge

“Summer Beams”

By Sue Baldwin on May 15, 2014

What is the proper definition of a Summer Beam? a.  A ray of light coming from the sky on a sunny day b.  A timber beam harvested in the summer months c. A large horizontal timber used as a load bearing beam If you guessed “b”, you are absolutely incorrect!  […]

Octagon completion

Hand-Crafting Frames Without A CNC Machine

By Sandy Connolly on May 11, 2014

Some timber framers use a CNC machine to cut their timbers, some do not, and some offer both hand cut timbers and CNC cut timbers. Offering both would seem to give you the most flexibility, but these machines are quite an investment. CNC machines are great for simple timber designs […]

Curved Timber Frame Pergola

Timber Posts

By Mike McLaine on March 06, 2014

The thing I love about timber framing is that there are so many choices when it comes to the look:  do you want your timbers big or small, rough or smooth, chamfered or rounded over on the corners, exposed steel or hidden steel, traditional joinery or steel plates. How do […]

Neely Residence

Principal Purlins

By Sandy Connolly on December 27, 2013

Timber frames aren’t always designed to have a structural ridge carrying the load of roof rafters. In these cases, the design needs principal purlins to support the rafters.  A principal purlin is a beam that runs horizontally from gable to gable and supports roof rafters. In the picture above, and below, the […]

Rafters on

Jack, Common, & Hip Rafters

By Sandy Connolly on December 02, 2013

Why are some rafters called Jack and others just called Rafter?  Do you know?  I do 🙂 At least I think I do, because I asked Rick, but that was a while ago. The jack rafter is shorter than the “common” rafter.  Typically, a jack rafter is used because something […]

The VTel porch with post, beams, and king post trusses, has been fabricated with planed Douglas fir and painted white.

Timber Framing Terms

By Margaux Friant on November 19, 2013

After you admired your first Timber Frame Home or Barn, and became more interested in the craft of Timber Framing and considered possibly constructing one of these beautiful structures for yourself, you probably encountered a lot of terms that you may not have heard before. In this post, we’ve compiled […]

Hand Hewn Pine Beams in the Southern Vermont Welcome Center

Hewing Timbers

By Sandy Connolly on November 10, 2013

At Vermont Timber Works we hand hew timbers for antique, rustic looking beams. We use hand-held tools such as the adze and slick. The process is labor-intensive and time-consuming but creates a unique and beautiful effect on the timber that our clients love in their homes and other buildings. We […]

Complex joinery in a timber frame workout room made from rough sawn white pine

The Aging Process Of Timber

By Sue Baldwin on October 17, 2013

When you purchase a new timber structure and all of the beams finally go into place, the finished product is so beautiful that you can’t stop admiring it.  Every piece of timber seems so perfect, with the exception of a few knots, which give it character, or some different shading […]

Interior of Eberhart Barn, Gambrel Barn with Rough sawn Hemlock

Rough Sawn Hemlock–the Unsung Hero of Timber Framing

By Mike McLaine on October 15, 2013

Here in New England we have a number of species of trees in our forests, which is why we have such spectacular foliage. One of my personal favorite trees is the Eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, a coniferous water-loving species.  Hemlock is one of the species we recommend for a number […]

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