Roger’s Farm Supply is one of our trusted partners in  the business- Like them on Facebook. We can            always count on Roger to pick up the frame and get it  to the site on time. Over the years he’s carried our  frames into some pretty tight and hard to get to  places, and we definitely owe him one or two. Roger is  a supporter of the local 4H club in Millbury, MA and  needed help with a float for the Millbury bicentennial parade and when he called us for help with a parade float, we immediately said yes. 

The pictures below document the creation of a miniature gambrel barn frame, constructed from douglas fir heavy timbers with true mortise and tenon joinery. This little beauty will ride proudly on Roger’s trailer in the Bicentenial parade, as a part of a 4Hfloat illustrating the evolution of farming. The float is rumored to include live animals, so stay tuned on June 27^th to see what happens to our little barn! 

Also in the shop right now are parts of an oak timber frame porch addition in New York state and a retirement lake house. On the design side of things we are working on prints for a 5000+sf post and beam house in southeastern Massachusetts and schematic design for residential projects in New Hampshire and Norway. With a dusting of snow on the ground this morning between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are grateful to have good and exciting projects in front of us!!! 

Volante Farms will soon have a dramatic new retail space at its Needham, MA farmstand. Volante farms is a beloved fixture in Needham, with a great location for selling their produce, christmas trees, and other farm products. They needed more retail space, and this project will provide it in abundance. 

We are partnering with Sage Engineering on this 10,000 sqare foot timber frame and steel hybrid commercial building. The completed building will include true timber frame mortise and tenon joinery by Hardwick Post & Beam as well as conventional trusses, woodwork, and steel structure provided by Sage.

We custom cut the joinery for this frame out of large hemlock timbers sourced from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire.  For a finish we planed each timber and finished the corners with a rustic drawknife finish, in keeping with the barn style of the farm stand. Next we applied a custom mixed stain to the pale hemlock, giving it a darker look in keeing with the customer's specifications. 

Finally we brought the timbers to Needham and erected them with a crane, fitting together the wooden joints and fastening them with sturdy wooden pegs. The completed central timber portion is a tall and vaulted space that feels like the central portion of a cathedral. Workon the site continues as the roof is put on, the sidewalls go up, and the steel and conventional truss elements of the project are integrated with the timber frame. 

Stay tuned for pictures as the project moves toward completion!