Timber Frame Building Entrances

The St. Charles Catholic Church a beautiful local landmark, was built in 1908. All of the sandstone blocks were quarried along the foothills of the Salmon River. A local architect and I designed this entry featuring hammer beam trusses (see glossary). The beams are douglas fir, also milled locally. I'm very proud to have had the opportunity to add my entry to this historic building. Design by Bob Wilkerson and David McCampbell.

The Wolf residence is a small entry that helps to enhance the front of the garage and home in a more subtle way. The owner felt the entries needed some depth and character. I milled beams to cover the existing laminated beams, which now gives it a timbered look. Design by Dave McCampbell.

Idaho Adventures, a local river company, approached us to design an entry for their river business using salvaged timber from a pile of beams they found behind a barn. Mark Troy, the owner, gave me the sizes and asked me to come up with a design that would utilize these beams for an entry to his business. It can be fun to work within boundaries and develop a look that is both pleasing and functional. Design by Dave McCampbell.

The Meyers residence, a 3200 square foot home, put to use these incredible beams reclaimed from the historic Lucin cutoff railroad trestle which spanned the Great Salt Lake in 1904. All the beams were left with the gray weathered look. The salt is even still visible in the beams. We used a wire brush machine to remove the loose materials. When I was laying out the joinery on these beams, it was like drawing a line on a Ruffle potato chip! The ridge beams in the main house are 8" x 16" x 24" with just a few knots. Just a beautiful frame to work on. Design by Ken Loucks.

Moose Creek Estates is a high-end, self-contained developement on the Idaho/Montana border. The timbers on this project were standing dead douglas fir, thinned from the estate. Design was dictated by the existing 40 year old home. Materials from the stud walls to the cabinets and house doors were milled from the land. Embellishments around the peg holes and the wide chamfer refine the look while retaining the overall rustic appearance of the 8" x 10" beams. Design by Darell Bidstrup.