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The process

We show you the frame before we cut it.

Here’s one job, start to finish on paper: the proposal you’d receive, followed by the shop drawings we work from once we’re under contract. It’s a real job: a 24′ × 40′ pavilion we built in rural Pennsylvania, not far from our shop. If you’re in the area, we’re always happy to give you a walkthrough.

Design and proposal

What a proposal looks like.

A proposal is a snapshot of the frame we’re going to build and what it will cost. It comes with a 3D model of the frame and a set of schematic drawings.

Schematic sheet: the pavilion from outside, its timber frame under a metal roof, a stone fireplace at one end, black and white
Schematic sheet: looking up into the frame from inside the pavilion, the stone fireplace beyond, black and white
The pavilion’s timber frame model, ready to turn
The 3D modelThe frame from the outside and within, often with enough of the surrounding architecture to understand how it fits the building. We use the model to work through the design together before anything gets cut.
Schematic sheet: the front elevation, the gable truss in front of the stone chimney, with dimensions, black and white
Schematic sheet: the side elevation, posts and braces under the long roof, with dimensions, black and white
The schematic drawingsA set of drawings showing the frame we’re responsible for, including the overall layout, dimensions, and major connections.
Proposal page: the project, the timber package and what is included, black and white
Proposal page: the investment table and payment schedule, the prices blurred, black and white
The proposal itselfWhat’s included, what isn’t, the price broken down line by line, and how payments follow the work. We’ve blurred the numbers here.

Download the sample proposal (PDF, 1 MB) →

Download the sample schematic set (PDF, 4 MB) →

Engineering and shop drawings

From the proposal to the shop drawings.

Once we’re under contract, the design becomes the set of drawings the shop will actually cut from: engineered, stamped, and detailed down to every joint.

Shop drawing sheet one: general notes beside a drawing of the frame, the engineer’s block blurred, black and white
General notes and frame planThe first sheet of the set, with the overall frame and general notes. We’ve blurred the engineer’s block here.
Assembly drawing of Bent A: posts, tie beam, rafters and braces, every piece numbered, with the pegs and screws called out, black and white
Assembly drawingsEvery piece gets a number. The same number goes on the timber in the shop, so the crew can tell exactly where each piece belongs when it reaches the site.
The timber roof plan: rafters, purlins and the four bents, with member sizes, black and white
Section through the frame: rafters, collar and king post over the post and braces, with dimensions and the roof build-up, black and white
Connection detail: a brace tenoned into a purlin and a rafter, with the tenon and housing sizes, black and white
Plans, sections, and connection detailsThe roof plan, building sections, and details showing how the individual connections go together.
The end of a Douglas fir post with its label, number 26, black and white
Every timber arrives on site labeled with its number from the assembly drawings.

Download the sample shop drawings (PDF, 4 MB) →

Raising day

And then it goes up.

On site, the crew raises the frame from those same drawings, one bent at a time.

The crew guiding a bent as the crane lifts it off the stack, black and white
A bent hanging from the crane against the low sun, the crew at its feet, black and white
The bents go up with a crane and a small crew.
The finished Douglas fir frame standing in the snow, trusses and braces open to the sky, black and white
The finished pavilion under a blue sky, its timber frame beneath the roof, a picnic table on the slab, black and white
Then the last pieces go in, the frame stands on its own, and the pavilion is ready for the roof.
Kayle Sickler and his dad, both laughing, in front of a finished timber frame pavilion during a celebration

Tell us where your project stands.

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