Carolina Timberworks

Craftsmanship. Passion. Service.

Videos

Reclaimed Beams in Charlotte: Google Fiber

Where Google Fiber chose to put their Charlotte office was a surprise: they re-imagined the typical high-tech office space by repurposing a more than 100-year-old historic post and beam building. Guess who was chosen to restore the historic reclaimed beams?

That’s right: Google hired Carolina Timberworks to restore the reclaimed wood beams of the Philip Carey Building and create a unique space for Charlotte’s Google Fiber office. Rather than joining the race to build the tallest skyscraper, Google opted to stand out from the crowd by renovating this distinctive brick warehouse, a historic highlight amidst downtown Charlotte’s contemporary cityscape.

Google understands its footprint on the environment, an issue that’s always on our minds here at Carolina Timberworks. Did you know that renovating an old building like this releases 50 to 75 percent less carbon than building a new one from the ground up? We’re all for sustainable timber framing!

Above all, Google wanted our team to develop an office space worthy of Google Fiber’s mission to deliver high-speed internet to Charlotte and beyond. Google prioritizes speed and ambition – and they expected the same from our team. Critical deadlines? Not a problem: we do what we say we’re going to do when we say we’re going to do it.

Of course, our reliability wasn’t the only reason Google contracted Carolina Timberworks for the Fiber project. Our experience using reclaimed wood for structural timber framing sealed the deal.

After all, the average timber frame company doesn’t work with reclaimed wood at all. Those that do usually focus on decorative timber framing due to the challenges of structural timber framing with reclaimed wood. One wrong move can waste a lot of materials and labor, setting back a project significantly. Our team’s skill, experience, and background in structural timber framing ensured that we could deliver this project on time for Google.

After meeting with the general contractor (Pepper Construction Company) and the owner’s rep, they looked at each other and said, “I think we’ve found our timber frame company.” We couldn’t agree more, and we were happy to partner with Lineberry Architectural Group, who produced the drawings.

Carolina Timberworks is proud to add the Google Fiber Charlotte building to our growing portfolio of once-in-a-lifetime projects we’ve worked on across the United States.

Carolina Timberworks 2.0

How did we manage to build a new mass timber building in only 7 months? And what’s a Hundegger ROBOT-Drive anyway? Check out this video for the answers!

The Largest Horse Barn in the United States

No, they won’t let you live there.

This video generated lots of interest and questions in online discussions. Kaitlin Mitton did a great job answering the most-asked questions on Horse Collaborative (now Horse Network):

  1. This is in Wellington, Florida.
  2. It is the home barn of a professional polo team.
  3. Yes there is a state-of-the-art sprinkler system and fire extinguishers.
  4. Polo players don’t need arenas to ride in.
  5. These horses are happy, healthy, and very well loved.
  6. They also host tournaments and polo matches as well as entertain at this facility.
  7. This facility is owned by a very well respected and charitable equestrian family in the polo and hunter jumper world.

Barn Specifications for the Largest Horse Barn in the US:

  • Total square footage under the roof of the entire building: 78,000 sqft
  • Total square footage of horse barn area: 62,267 sqft
  • 130 stalls
  • 10 tack rooms
  • Custom Aquatrainer Equestrian aquatic rehab treadmill and cold soak therapy area
  • Equine Veterinarian Area
  • Two commercial-grade laundry rooms
  • Two Feed Storage Rooms
  • Four Interior Wash/Tack Stalls
  • Eight exterior wash stalls (6 to 8 horse capacity in each)
  • 4,800 sqft Central Courtyard with Banyan trees
  • Eastern White Pine Timber Frame Trusses, Hand-Hewn by Adze

Attached functions:

South Wing
Private Owner’s Suite
Guest and entertaining Areas
Catering kitchen
Argentine Asado Grilling Area
Three Sided Fireplace
Wine room

North Wing
Three bedroom “Pro’s” Living Quarters
1,300 sqft gym with physical therapy room

Use:  Equestrian center for a professional polo team

Location:  Wellington, Florida

Copyright 2015 Carolina Timberworks, All Rights Reserved

Video tour of Carolina Timberworks’ Timber Frame Shop

So, we built a state-of-the-art new high-performance energy-efficient timber frame shop in West Jefferson in 2019.  

On Schedule and in less than 7 months.  

It turned out better than we expected.  For example, you can’t really be in the building anywhere without having a visual connection to the outdoors.

We’d love to show it to you in person. Give us a call at 828-266-9663 to schedule a visit.

Building a Custom Home: The Process

The custom home building process starts with a dream. The Owners find the right architect, who then defines the dream. Their builder manifests the dream.

In what we think is our best video yet, dreams become reality one step at a time.

A Pursley Dixon Architecture English inspired summer retreat perches proudly on a mountainside. This sanctuary, consisting of multiple porches and balconies along with linear room arrangements, ensures breathtaking views of the National Forest and beyond.

From a timber framer’s perspective, it’s a work of art: A majestic cantilevered terrace supported by massive timber brackets and impossibly slender cantilevered joists..made possible by engineered structural steel artfully concealed inside Western Red Cedar timber framing. Supported by pairs of 9′ tall brackets, the timber deck joists taper gracefully to impossibly slender profiles as they reach further and further out over the gorge–making those not privy to the secret ask, “how did they do that?”

General contractor: Paradigm Custom Home Builders.

Roof thatcher: William P. Cahill

Music written and produced by Paul Defiglia | Performed by Mickela Mallozzi.

The Custom Home Building Process: Dream

  • Something inspires the Owner(s) to build something.
  • Owner(s) then looks for an architect.
  • Something makes the Owner(s) confident in their choice of architect.

Definition

  • Architect identifies their program–the Owners’ lifestyle, personality, and budget.
  • What it’s really about: great architects put their ego aside and design something that is a “total reflection of homeowner’s personality and lifestyle.”

Manifestation

  • How to choose a builder: his or her custom home building process.
  • Builder builds. Builder takes 2D architectural drawings and turns them into 3D reality.

how we do it | moving timber

Sometimes you have to do it the hard way: installing timbers when the roof is already in place. Whether you call it retrofitting timber or the hard way to build a timber frame, the idea is similar to building a ship in a bottle–only harder. For starters, you’ve got to figure out how to budge 800 lb. timbers inside the building…