Menu
At Winterwood Timber Frames we come to work everyday to practice our craft with passion and build fine structures that please you and make us proud.
We have a symbiotic relationship with our customers, our suppliers and our community. We think it’s very important to grow our business in a way that supports the Vermont environment, employs local Vermonters and provides customers with strong, solid and beautiful timber frame structures. Using the multiplier effect, a study conducted a few years ago found that every dollar of final sales for manufactured goods generating about $1.48 in other economic activity.
We are proud to say that we have close relationships with local farmers and loggers and employ a team of talented and engaged workers who love what they do and work hard to perfect their craft to build timber frame structures that will populate the Vermont landscape for generations. And, in an effort to keep the tradition going, we sponsor a formal two-year apprenticeship for craftspeople who want to learn timber framing and joinery skills.
I’ve always had an appreciation for wood. As a forester and maple sugarmaker, I’ve developed a broad understanding of and involvement with wood and trees, particularly concerning careful harvesting and utilization. Timber framing represents a wise use of a sustainable resource and pays homage to our past while securing our future through the comforts of our homes.
My interest in timber frames began more than 10 years ago when I bought an old 1835 farm in central Vermont with a farmhouse that needed lots of work. Fortunately, the timber frame under the old plaster and lathe was still sound in most places.
Having been interested in the “old style” buildings for some time, I knew I had a good frame to start from. Gutting the house was a project, but the best part of the rebuilding process was getting to know the frame that was the heart and soul of the farmhouse.
Inspired, and with the farmhouse frame still fresh in my mind, I decided to build my first real timber frame structure, a 20’ x 42’ sugarhouse with a loft and shop space. Using chisels and hand planes that are so sharp you can literally shave with them, was a new experience for me. The tactile connection to the wood and tools is powerful – and much more engaging than pounding nails through 2x4s.
I was hooked. What better way to spend the next chapter of my life than building these beautiful buildings across the New England landscape? So I hired a couple of talented carpenters and began Winterwood Timber Frames.
In addition to building high quality structures at a fair price, we now offer services beyond building that allow us to offer kiln-drying and building custom cabinets, trim, flooring, built-ins and just about any detail in wood that our customers dream of.
Our Winterwood Team includes skilled craftspeople who can take raw timber and process it into strong beams to build structures, woodworkers who can build anything from fine furniture to creating specialized trim, flooring, doors and more, and drafters, designers and engineers. We have a team of 14 men and women of all ages and skill levels, including our apprentices who are participating in our two-year apprentice program.
If you were to drop by our shop & showroom in East Montpelier, Vermont, you might meet our owner, Andy Harper and the rest of the team, who combined, have over 45 years experience in the timber framing profession.
Building Traditional Homes and Outbuildings
© Winter Wood Timber Frames. All rights reserved.
Website by Gail Carrigan, westcoast/east