Winter timber framing in northern Minnesota

Blue skies mean cold temperatures….

Upon making the move from Vermont to Minnesota in September I joined Peter Henrickson of Grand Marais to help him cut a frame for a customer far up the Caribou Trail in Lutsen, MN.

We turned many a rough sawn white pine 8×8 into a beautifully textured, hand planed and chamfered post for a garage with a guest apartment above.

Before we knew it the leaves had blown away, and what every Minnesotan knows well would be very clear to me a few weeks later:

Winter is coming.

This is the caribou trail, by the way.

In late December when we raised this frame.

A fair amount of salt and chipping gave us a clean slab to work with.

Here is the owner pegging a mortise and tenon joint in the first bent.

And here he is raising it with the roustabout!

A few assemblies and before long….

…things come together and the frame grows.

Pretty soon we need bigger gear.

Some days are colder than others.

With the cold comes the beauty.

Glorious, glorious red pine tongue & groove sheathing will grace this frame.

On the real cold days we finish up some small pieces indoors.

Panel installation to follow….