The Timber Wall

My enthusiasm for carpentry, building, and all things old began when I was six and my parents bought a 100-acre farm in Ontario. Besides the creek, pond, woods, rock bluffs, and meadows that a newly transplanted city kid got to romp through and over, the property had a circa 1890s farmhouse and two timber-framed outbuildings. The drive shed, with ‘1887’ carved into its gable siding, was crude from a craftsman’s point of view, probably erected in a rush to get winter feed, animals, or perhaps the settler family under cover for the first winter or two on the farm.
The barn, however, was built for both utility and longevity. Tightly fitted joints, expertly hewn logs, traditional joinery, and bent design all point to a structure that was built to protect the settlers’ livelihood and to function for generations. The settlers of yesteryear did not foresee the immense technological and social advances we would make in such a short period of time. They presumed that succeeding generations would maintain and use the buildings that were so painstakingly erected. For several generations they did so, but a steady migration to the city in the early twentieth century became a flood after World War II, and most people entered the urban reality of demolition and rebuilding in cycles of less than a lifetime while the structures of the countryside were neglected and fell into disrepair.
I left that farm and its buildings when I was 15 and met the girl who became my wife. At the same time I discovered hewn log cabin restoration in Virginia’s Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains. During the next 15 years I restored numerous cabins, raised many a timber frame, and brought many other building projects to completion. My wife Jenniey and I became the parents of three boys. We lived in and still love the mountains of the south, but we have always been drawn back to the solitude found in rural Ontario. We feel lucky that at such an early point in raising our boys we have found a place where we can do the work we love in a land we love equally. It feels like home here north of highway # 7; the woods and fields, the remote lakes like the one pioneered by my grandparents, and the peace of the North. The timbers of my family’s neglected barn are being raised once more; others like it can be returned to use and the labour expended on them passed on to further generations.
At my company, Traditional Timber Works, building for longevity is our priority. We design, locate materials, and manage projects with a focus on creating buildings that have a minimal impact on our planet. Through a careful evaluation of site location, the use of recycled or renewably sourced materials, thoughtful generational design, and efficiency in construction management, we create buildings in harmony with their surroundings that will stand for hundreds of years and yet cost little more than conventional buildings.
I believe that the places in which we live have importance beyond mere protection from the elements and therefore strive to construct spaces that nourish the spirit and have the potential for reuse rather than replacement.
The dedicated crew at Traditional Timber Works appreciates your willingness to consider alternatives to conventional building and truly looks forward to working with you on your project.

Chris Tallman
Timber Wright and Founder
Traditional Timber Works