The Look of Aged Wood Aged wood is a look that a lot of people enjoy. For years, we’ve offered an aged wood finish at Vermont Timber Works. This would involve lying the timbers out in our field for a few months and letting them age naturally. As with all wood products, this couldn’t guarantee how the timbers would age or look, as wood is a natural product. But as our workload increased, and clients’ timeframes decreased, not many people want to wait months for timbers to age naturally in a field. Especially if it might not turn out exactly as they had in mind. We found that we were able ..read more

Another View of the Fire Damaged Church Timber Framing is a historical building method that has existed in Europe and Japan for hundreds of years. Because of this, Vermont Timber Works is sometimes called upon to assist in the historical reconstruction or rehabilitation of historical timber frame buildings. We have also built on additions to historical buildings that need to keep with the historical style and traditions of the original building.   History of Timber Frames Timber frame construction was designed in a time when iron was expensive and nails were difficult and time-consumin ..read more

What is a Timber Frame and Why You Should Consider Building with One?   You’ve probably seen Timber Frames before and didn’t even know it. Often people have an image in their head of what they’re looking for before they have the name to describe it. When I try to describe timber framing to people who don’t know what timber framing is, I describe the large wood trusses that are typical in timber frames, especially the king post truss. Everyone has seen the king post truss before and can imagine that style of building, they just aren’t aware that’s it’s a king post truss and that it’s apar ..read more

  Most people don’t consider steel when thinking about building a home. But for people building a barn or commercial space, they first have to decide whether they’re going to build with steel or wood. Today we’re going to go over some of the considerations for both building materials.   Strength and Durability of Wood vs Steel Both wood and steel are strong building materials. Wood is a strong enough building material that structures made from wood, especially timber framed structures that benefit from strong traditional joinery connections, can last for generations. However, steel ..read more

On Saturday evening, September 21st, 2019, Vermont Timber Works suffered a devastating fire. Vermont Timber Works before the fire Even though fire crews battled the blaze for hours, the whole building and everything in it ended up being destroyed. It is believed the fire was started when rags soaked in stain and sawdust in a dumpster spontaneously combusted due to hot and humid weather conditions, and the flames from the resulting fire jumped onto the exterior of the building. While losing our building and all its contents in the fire was horrible, thankfully no one was hurt. It is surreal a ..read more

Today I thought we’d take a closer look at the Pegs that are used to secure the connections of our Timber Frames.     When using traditional joinery to make connections in a Timber Frame, the pegs are there to stabilize the connections and keep them secure.   Driving Hardwood Pegs   Unlike nails, that are used to hold the wood together, after the Tenon is inserted in the Mortice, the connection should be tight and strong, and then the peg is inserted so that it goes through both pieces of wood to further strengthen and secure the connection.     Our Pegs are m ..read more

Construction of the Napa California Barn and Recreation Center   California is a great state for timber frames. There’s beautiful scenery, mountains, the ocean, vineyards, sunsets, and warm weather perfect for enjoying the outdoors. California combines the rustic, warm beauty of the West and the high-end elegance of the rich and famous. It’s a place of duality. Timber frames are similar types of structures. Timber Frames can be used to build rustic hand hewn barns as well as gorgeous homes, and the natural beauty of wood can at once feel simple yet refined. California is also a place to ..read more

Vermont Timber Works has worked on many church and chapel projects since the company was founded in 1987. We’ve been involved in a variety of religious building projects which have included new church construction, church renovation, and historical church reconstruction, as well as expansions and additions. Designing trusses, beams, and arches for church and chapel interiors have become one of our areas of expertise and one of our favorite kind of projects to work on. Grand structures with expansive trusses, cathedral ceilings, and beautiful interiors are the result of these design requests. A ..read more

People often call us asking for Post and Beam Barns, Pole Barns, or Timber Frame Barns, oftentimes using the terms interchangeably. While it’s understandable how people could get all the terms mixed up or think they were the same thing, today we’re going to break down the differences between the Pole Barn and the Timber Frame Barn so that you can know exactly which type of barn you’re looking for and can describe it accurately to whoever you chose as your builder or designer. Read More: Timber Framing vs. Post and Beam Construction   A Pole Barn. Photo By https://www.flickr.com/photos/13 ..read more