A newly raised frame at dusk, before the walls went in.

Heriot Island Timber Frames: Timber frame homes, cut by hand on Quadra Island

We design and build homes, saunas and shelters across Quadra and the Discovery Islands. Every frame is drawn, cut and raised by the same small crew.

We build homes the slow way: joinery cut by hand, frames raised on the site they were drawn for, on an island we know rock by rock.

One crew, start to finish
The same small crew draws the frame, cuts the joinery and raises it. Nothing is handed off to strangers between the sketch and the keys.
Cut by hand
Every mortise, tenon and brace is marked and cut in the shop, so the frame goes together on site the way it was drawn.
Rooted on Quadra
Ferries, barges, island trades, well water and winter rain: the logistics that stall off-island builders are our everyday.
Built for the coast
Deep overhangs, protected timber and assemblies that dry out: details chosen for salt air and sideways rain, not a catalogue.

Custom timber frame home

A braced timber frame home on a rock outcrop above the water, with a wraparound deck and a great room open to the islands.

Timber shelter & cedar deck

A timber shed roof and cedar deck sheltering an Airstream among old-growth firs: a small frame that makes a forest camp feel like home.

Timber carports & pavilion

Open timber carports and a pavilion at the edge of the firs: braced posts, exposed purlins and deep shed roofs beside a working garden.

Wood-fired sauna

A wood-fired sauna lined in clear cedar, with benches wrapping a corner window to the forest and a skylight overhead.

Have a site that deserves a frame like these?

A finished house hides most of what makes it good. This is the whole walk, start to finish.

Cut and raisedPost, brace and beam, joined and pegged.
Closing inCedar shingles on and the lights wired. The porch is still a workshop.
HomeThe same house from inside: the kitchen under the gable window.

The first step is a walk on your land.

Ferries and barges, winter storms, bedrock and waterfront: building here takes knowledge you only get by living here.

Ferries, barges & island logistics
Everything that becomes your house crosses the water first. Long timbers, trusses, glazing and machinery all run on the ferry schedule, and water-access sites need a barge and a tide table.
Coastal weather
Winter here means months of rain blown sideways off the strait, salt in the air and storms that find every weak flashing. We detail for that from the first sketch.
Local suppliers & trades
Island building runs on relationships: the excavator who knows the rock on your road, the electrician who answers the phone, the mill that will hold a timber for you.
Waterfront & rocky sites
The best sites on Quadra are often the hardest: bluffs, bedrock, steep driveways and exposure to open water. We read the rock, pin to it, and design so the house looks like it grew there.
Local permitting
Quadra building permits run through the Strathcona Regional District, alongside well, septic and any shoreline approvals. Knowing what is needed, and in what order, keeps a project moving.
Building on Quadra Island