Our work with heavy timber has always been about efficiency, craft, and stewardship. Prefabrication for qualified commercial projects is a specialized aspect of our mass-timber services.  

Our prefabrication for installation services assists our clients to develop a heavy timber structure that not only celebrates the beauty of wood, but provides efficiency and accuracy in the cutting, joinery, and logistics of their project.

As the timber for your project is cut for shipment we’re developing a roadmap for the project. Every single beam is milled, every joint engineered, and each component clearly labeled so that unloading and installation are clear and efficient. Because beams and panels are manufactured off-site at our shop using digital fabrication tools as well as hand finishes where appropriate they arrive ready for the site crew to assemble.

At our McMinnville, Oregon production facility, our NEWBeamery is armed with a six-axis robotic arm CNC machine giving us the capability to cut 12" x 48" in cross-section and 60' in length. With these cutting-edge capabilities, we are able to produce timber frame and glulam’s for any project no matter the scope.

A recent residential project on the Columbia River in Washington was kept on track with commercial style 50-foot curved glulam’s. New Energy Works West coast General Manager Dave Dean explains, “This Rivershore project was a good cut and ship candidate. We worked really closely with the contractor to figure out exactly what they needed.”

We asked Daryl Hood, the energy behind a recent and super fun project in the salt marsh off North Carolina’s Outer Banks, to tell us his story.  Here’s what he had to say:

“When you mention telling a story, this is one hell of a story , my whole life is one hell of a story. This project and the relationships built are at the top of my list, I will cherish forever.

From the very beginning when I called you with this problem I had I just felt right dealing with you, there was something in our initial conversations that made me feel good about where it might go, never called another company which isn’t my normal way, I’ve often wondered what were your thoughts about this and with a knucklehead like me to boot. The idea that together from all the way across the country people who have never met and we’re all in uncharted territory could come together and pull off a project like this seamlessly is good stuff. 

To be completely honest, due to repeated disappointments and complete lack of confidence in people doing good work much less pulling off miraculous stuff like this, I had my doubts pretty much all the way up to the time I put the girder together at which point I knew we were golden.

This project for me was a lifesaver as I had been feeling like all the fun of building the really cool stuff was over and I was just cutting boards and driving screws or nails just for money. My wife knows what this project did for me, it was a revival of sorts in that the people that had forgotten about the shit I have done and the people that weren’t around here back then to see it for themselves put me back in the conversations around this small island town and gave me that feeling of pride again. My wife’s proud of me.

Well, this shit, they pulled it off, man. And it's beautiful. It is beautiful. And the tongue and groove that came out of New York, that's just badass, too. It was the collaboration between the two of us again, me and what my specialties are and Jonathan and what his specialties are.

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Over the past couple of decades, the construction industry in America has begun incorporating a structural material that is both old and new: mass timber. As this building technology has proliferated, New Energy Works has evolved alongside it and incorporated mass timber into our work. We’re obviously huge fans of building with wood for a wide variety of reasons. Now with mass timber, there are more possibilities than ever. Here’s what it is, why it matters, and why so many architects and developers are embracing it.

What Is Mass Timber?

Mass timber refers to a category of engineered wood products made by bonding layers of wood together to create large, solid structural panels, beams, and columns. Unlike traditional “stick framing,” which uses small pieces of lumber assembled on-site, mass timber components are manufactured in a controlled environment and delivered ready to install.

Common mass timber products include:

• Glue-Laminated Timber (Glulam) – Beams or columns formed by gluing together layers of lumber with the grain aligned in the same direction. Glulam members can be straight or curved.
• Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) – Large panels made by layering boards in alternating directions and bonding them with structural adhesives.
• Nail-Laminated Timber (NLT) and Dowel-Laminated Timber (DLT) – Panels assembled using nails or hardwood dowels instead of adhesives.
• Mass Ply Panels (MPP) – Similar in concept to common plywood, these panels are built out of many layers of wood veneer and adhesive.

These products create structural elements that rival steel and concrete in strength and stability, while offering unique architectural and environmental advantages.

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“I love structure that is gorgeous, and the timber work on this project is form and function at its best,” says Kevin Beland of Wood and Clay Fine Homes.

There are three buildings located on the expansive New Hampshire compound where two new timber frame structures will be raised. The property includes the client’s main home, a new garage, and a new timber frame party barn. While the client’s main living quarters is getting an update from Wood and Clay, the two new structures are being raised to complete a master plan that mimics the existing aesthetic detailing found around the property.

“The idea is that all of the structures are going to speak to each other. We try to have things have logic to them,” says Beland. “The garage sits between the main house and the party barn. The garage and barn are brand-new buildings and we’re giving the main house a facelift to bring it together with the other structures. 

Shannon Robinson-Beland, co-owner of Wood and Clay, adds, “The party barn is going to be a family space for entertaining. There will be a ping-pong table, a lounge area, and a bar. Just like the name says, it’s a party barn! Adjacent to that structure there is a garage where there will be a few of the client’s favorite cars on display and an additional gym space. The garage space is more functional but still has a high level of finish both in terms of the timbers, the butternut siding on the walls and stained wood details on the ceiling.”