Reclaimed timbers bring additional texture, aesthetic, and a unique history to every project. This Summer, we’ll be raising residential and commercial timber frames crafted of reclaimed timbers across Upstate NY.

“Reclaimed wood is a top choice for timber frame projects as it is inherently more stable than fresh cut wood. In addition, the history and character in reclaimed timbers is unmatched – clients particularly enjoy the story of their frame,” explains Eric Fraser, Timber Frame Manager.

Reclaimed timbers are part of our culture and history, our team understands antique wood and how to use it to the best of its potential, from our design group, to our engineers, to our joiners and timberwrights. For nearly 30 years, we’ve been crafting frames with timbers salvaged by our sister company, Pioneer Millworks, from outdated agricultural and industrial buildings.

Antique timbers can be difficult to source, like finding a gem in the rough, and challenging to work with due to existing mortise pockets and old artifacts like nails or bolts. Though challenging, the signs of previous life add to the visual appeal, character not found in fresh sawn timbers. Hand-hewn surfaces of old agricultural timbers are often left intact, even using original mortise and tenon joinery where the design allows.

I don’t travel and I really don’t like to fly. However, now that our West Coast facility has been running for 5 years I finally made the visit to the Pacific Northwest. It was under the promise of good food, good skiing, and good company that the visit was sold.

Of course there were important business reasons to visit as well. For one, we have a manufacturing facility in McMinnville. Second, most all of the wood we use in our timber frame division is sourced from the area. This visit was an opportunity to put names to faces, connect with people and see how wood is processed before we get our hands on it.

We started off the visit in McMinnville (MAC) on Monday. It was a chance to see our facility and connect with some of the timber frame guys that live on the West Coast. We also met some engineers, kiln operators, and folks from just across the way that buy and sell a ton of wood. These meetings were all about relationship building.

The MAC shop is nicely setup and fully functional. It is well organized and ready for continued success. I enjoyed re-connecting with Darren and Randy especially as they play important roles in the operations of that facility.

Monday night I was treated to a delicious burger at C-Bar in downtown Portland. I believe the burger was called a Chef Burger and what I remember most about ordering was the “Absolutely No Changes” tag line that was included in the description. I forgot all that was on it but do recall how good it was. This alone met the promise of good food but more on that later.

A few months ago we were contacted by a representative from Timberland PRO. In the process of designing a new boot for professional use, they were looking for some real-world feedback from guys in the field and wanted to know if our teams might be interested in helping. 10 of our folks would be provided with a brand new pair of work boots, and all they needed to do in return was give their honest opinions. We drew names landing on a lucky few timber framers, fine woodworkers, and construction crew members, in addition to mill-workers from our sister company Pioneer Millworks.

The boots arrived yesterday after months in development and we had the chance to get everyone’s first impressions. Even though it’s 90 degrees here, the guys laced up their new “logger” style, tall shaft boots and headed back out to the shop.