Headwaters Barn and Timberworks grew out of an apprenticeship of nearly eight years with Bring Back Barns, a small restoration company based in Colebrook, Connecticut. It was an apprenticeship in the old sense, centered around working and learning alongside a small crew. We worked primarily on 18th- and 19th-century barns throughout Connecticut, learning how they were built through the practical work of repairing them and keeping them in use.
It was a hands-on, history-informed education, and it gave me a lasting appreciation for the ingenuity and skill embedded in these old buildings: riven braces, continuous pentagonal ridge beams, draw-bored and pegged joinery, adzed reductions, and hewn jowled English tying joints. Just as important was the understanding that these buildings were not museum pieces. Many belonged to working farms or families who relied on them every day, and our job was to preserve what was significant while making practical repairs that allowed them to continue being used.
That experience still shapes the way we work at Headwaters today. Much of our work is focused on historic barns, churches, steeples, and other timber-framed structures throughout Vermont and the surrounding region. We look closely at how a building was constructed, how it has changed over time, and why it is failing before deciding how best to repair it. Whenever possible, we retain original material and use traditional joinery and locally sourced timber, while incorporating modern tools and methods where they make the work safer, stronger, or more durable.
We also take on new timber-frame and custom residential work, carrying the same attention to materials and craft into new buildings. These projects often combine traditional timber framing and handwork with modern, high-performance building practices. We work with a small crew and collaborate closely with homeowners, designers, builders, and other craftspeople, staying hands-on from the early stages of a project through completion.
Whether we're shoring and repairing an old frame, cutting and raising a new one, or working through the details of a new home, barn, or other structure, the goal is much the same: to understand the materials, build thoughtfully, and leave behind work that feels appropriate to its place and made to last.
Historic Timber-Frame Restoration
Restoration of barns, churches, steeples, and other historic timber-framed structures, including structural stabilization, shoring and jacking, in-situ repair, and traditional timber joinery.
Conditions Assessments
Documentation and evaluation of historic structures, with prioritized repair recommendations, planning guidance, and cost estimates where appropriate.
New Timber Frames
Design/build timber-frame homes, barns, and other structures, from frame design and joinery through raising and construction.
Custom & Collaborative Building
Select residential and adaptive-reuse projects combining traditional craft, locally sourced materials, and high-performance building practices.
(347) 303-3367
headwaters.barns@gmail.com
645 Adams Crossroad
Marlboro VT, 05344