Pennsylvania Sawmill Company was established in 2011 with the goal to make timber frame structures more accessible to homeowners. Our company founders have over 50 years of combined experience in timber framing, carpentry, and construction management. While working in construction in Centre County, our owners saw a need for easier access to heavy timber beams. By establishing connections between small local sawmills and local craftsmen, Pennsylvania Sawmill became a more efficient source of this material, serving the builders of Centre County. Since our small beginning, we have grown to offer design services and a variety of softwood architectural elements that have shipped across the greater Northeast and beyond.
Why Design Your Custom Structure With the Pennsylvania Sawmill Company?
Our roots in timber frame construction allow us to speak the language of homeowners, builders, architects, and engineers to create long-lasting and beautiful structures that leave every party involved feeling satisfied.
What Is a Custom Structure?
By our definition, a custom structure is any heavy timber structure that is free-standing or integrated into an existing structure. We often design trusses, pergolas, pavilions, and covered porches – however, we have gone as far as to design heavy timber gates, lamp posts, crosses, and arbors!
What Does Our Design Process Look Like?
Our design process begins with you. We often begin by discussing your vision, and budget, and providing an estimate based on existing plans. If you don’t already have plans, do not despair! We are happy to start from scratch and provide a comprehensive set of plans for the design and construction of your structure. Whether you have an existing concept or need to generate one, we will make design and structural recommendations to ensure your structure is durable, safe, and will last you a lifetime.
What Is Included in a Structure Kit?
Every structure kit starts with a set of shop drawings produced by the Pennsylvania Sawmill Design Team. These shop drawings act as a common document for the review and approval of the customer, whether that be the homeowner, builder, architect, engineer, or a combination of the like! They also serve as the fabrication documents for our craftsmen. Every structure will require engineering to ensure the stability of the structure and the safety of the structure’s occupants. Our team can facilitate engineering through our trusted third-party engineers or can work with an engineer already established for your project. After the drawings are reviewed by all appropriate parties, we move on to fabrication. Our structures begin with a base of Eastern White Pine, Eastern Hemlock, or Douglas Fir beams. All framing members are processed and cut to shop drawing specifications. Often included are custom-designed powder-coated steel plates and concealed heavy timber lags to tie the structure together. We do NOT include or offer conventional building materials as part of our packages, simply because these materials can often be found at local department stores at a more affordable cost to our customers. Once we have all elements of your structure fabricated to the agreed specifications, we wrap it all up and ship it to you using our own fleet of trucks, or – depending on where you are – with one of our trusted third-party shippers.
All in all, it is the goal of our entire team here at Pennsylvania Sawmill to provide you with a heavy timber structure that exceeds your expectations and brings you joy for as long as it stands. It has been our privilege to touch the lives of our customers with these unique structures (and help to raise their property value)!
Give us a call today to bring your heavy timber structure to life.