Mike Beganyi, our New England representative spotted the beetle mallet during the raising of a frame in Stowe, Vermont.

Adaptable to all conditions, our timber framers raised the frame amongst sleet, snow, and the swosh of nearby skiers.

This slope-side home is another great project from Shope Reno Wharton being built by Sisler Builders.

Doors are the transitional pieces, the welcoming elements, the room dividers, the barriers against intrusion—be it weather or other diversions. A highly-crafted door is designed to function flawlessly and be in service for decades.

While chatting about the overall presence a home has—how it speaks to family, visitors, and neighbors alike—entry doors became a pointed topic. This sparked a more in-depth conversation with our fine woodworking division, NEWwoodworks general manager, Rob, and Jay, the team’s door guru.

Entry doors, barn doors, interior doors, flat track doors—NEWwoodworks crafts them all. What drives passion for wooden entry doors? Aesthetics, customization, tradition…Jay explained, “You can do a lot more with wood than you can with metal or fiberglass. Yes, they can at times be more expensive and may require more maintenance, but that door is going to be the first thing your guests will see and touch when you welcome them into your home. Wooden doors feel warmer, they shut with a solid feel, and there is so much more character and story in wood than any other material.”

Designing a home for your parents? Charles Patterson was up for the task and created this modern, clean-lined timber frame home for his folks in Pennsylvania.

“It was quite a journey designing a home for my parents,” explained Chuck, AIA LEED AP at Schamu Machowski + Patterson Architects. “Timber framing was a contextual idea; we wanted a simple, clean, modern house but didn’t want to create something that was foreign to residential Pennsylvania. The rich warmth and scale of a timber frame or barn-like structure was logical to serve as the bones of the house.”

The streamlined form of the two-level home is highlighted with crisp exterior materials and tones. White oak timbers were the choice for this frame—they have a gentle texture and tones that grow warmer and softer as the wood ages. Desiring a natural look and feel, the timbers were left unfinished. The frame design eliminated traditional corner braces furthering the clean lines and allowing each post and beam to take center stage.