Joinery

Joinery is given considerable attention with regards to aesthetic criteria, engineering requirements and overall structural integrity.

We use traditional wood to wood connections of historical worthiness.  These timeless joints may include mortise and tenon, dovetail housings, splices (simple, tabled, keyed), tyne joints, and keyed laminated beams.  We take pride in utilizing other archaic, but highly effective joinery when suitable for the design, load and objective. 

Secured by oak pegging is our preference, but given the extreme loads possible in a strong seismic (or wind) event we are in favour of supplementing concealed steel as needed.  Our log post and beam work may use our efficient hidden bolting system exclusively, but the main point of this is to consider the structure as a whole, analyze secondary strengths (e.g. plywood sheer walls) and work with the engineering.

Fabricated knife-plates (e.g. at column bases) used discreetly, and off the shelf hidden fasteners (Simpson Strong Tie has some good ones) can be used to the best advantage of the project and we have extensive experience with their installations. 

To ensure optimum thermal efficiency we suggest a conscientious approach to sealing structural connections at exterior perimeters.

As you can see we're purists at heart, practical by nature.

Finishes

We promote pre-finishing prior to transporting to your site - keeping the wood clean is our first concern and a good quality coating does just that.  As well, we know the wood, where it's going in the building and care a great deal about the final product.

After many years of applying, or seeing the results of various timber finishes, currently we would recommend Penofin as an oil-based preference.  If temperatures were at the lower end-10 degrees celsius or less, Defy's epoxy latex would set up properly and do the job.

We build post and beam ready for trades to commence and complete their work efficiently.  We also have the experience in other facets of woodworking that result in a quality job.