Building Timber Frame Homes – THE PROCESS

Green Mountain Timber Frames provides personalized service from start to finish on every project.

Step 1: Exploring the Possibilities
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Each new building project begins with a conversation. We will listen carefully to your vision to understand what sort of post and beam structure matches your dream.

We will then invite you to Middletown Springs, Vermont for a meeting and a tour. We begin the process by showing you a variety of projects that we have worked on, from old and new timber frame homes, to barns, outbuildings, guest houses and modern homes. This personal tour is meant to inspire the creative juices and help you explore the range of possibilities that a timber frame can offer. It also helps us get a sense of the kind of property you are looking for.

​Step 3: Restoring the Timber Frame​
 

We inspect each frame for structural integrity before carefully restoring it piece by piece. As part of our assessment, we assemble the frame to ensure that all of the timbers fit together properly and that the corners are square. We replace any fatigued pieces with similar restored wood, using hand hewn and vintage materials.

While Green Mountain Timber Frames does restore some barns on site, we bring most frames to our workshop where we erect and restore them. Each piece is carefully labeled. We then dismantle the frame for transport and re-erect the restored post and beam structure at the site of the new construction.

​Step 4: Designing Your Historic Property​​
 

Once a match is made with a frame, or if a new timber frame structure is desired, we will work closely with you to draw up the initial plans for the project. Based on your desires, Green Mountain Timber Frames will design floor plans and living spaces that meet your family’s needs. We want the home to be all you dreamed of – and we will work with you on the plans to transform your vision into reality. We are also happy to work from existing plans for a new frame if you already have something prepared.

​Step 5: Building Begins – The Barn Raising​
 

While we expertly restore the timber frame, the foundation is poured at the site of the new construction. Once the restored frame is ready for transport, we bring in a crew of 12-15 people to assist in the barn raising. (Depending on the size of the frame, we often need a crane to assist in raising the frame.) The barn raising is an exciting moment and whenever possible we invite the home owners and community members to join in watching as the new historic structure emerges.