BUILDING HOUSES ©
THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY

A local tradesman revives timber frame construction

s

During the past two decades the

ancient art of timber-frame construc-

tion has been enjoying a revival in the
eastern United States and Canada.
Now there is.a local small. business

. specializing in timber-frame building.

Pete Norberg of Western Timber-
smiths says he first became interested
in this style of building after reading
articles in home and woodworking
magazines a few years ago. Norberg,
who has a background in carpentry
and cabinet-making, was fascinated by
this building technique and began to
research further by finding several
books on the subject.

Norberg defines timber-framing as,

"Post and beam construction using |

traditional joinery techniques such as
mortise and tenon and dovetail.

_"T like to think of these buildings
as big furniture," says Norberg. "There
is the same degree of craftsmanship
involved."

Because of the beauty of the wood
timbers, these structures have a ‘great
aesthetic appeal. Norberg says’ this
building technique utilizes free-flowing
floor plans with lots of open space...

“The timbers themselves define the |

different rooms. Timber framing also
easily accommodates the use of a lot of
windows and lends itself nicely to tak-
ing advantage of views," says Norberg.

a onli,
nna Tate