Get To Know The Guild

Hidden Trace Farm Community Building Project, 2021. Photo by Eric Morley.

Founded in 1985, the Timber Framers Guild is a non-profit educational membership association dedicated to the craft of timber framing. We serve as a center of timber frame information and design for professionals, aficionados, and the general public.

The Guild conducts national and regional conferences, sponsors Community Building Projects, coordinates regional gatherings, offers professional development and education, and publishes a member magazine and a quarterly journal.

Guild members also participate in the following groups and programs:

• Timber Frame Engineering Council (TFEC) 
  The Timber Frame Engineering Council was formed in 2005 at a Guild conference in recognition of the considerable number of structural engineers among the Guild and in response to a felt need for systematic research, discussion, and codification of timber frame joinery and structural practices. Our members are dedicated to advancing the technology of timber frame engineering. 
   
• Traditional Timber Frame Research & Advisory Group (TTRAG)  
  Membership in TTRAG is for those Guild members who actively pursue a better understanding of historic timber-framed structures and techniques. TTRAG members meet annually in a location rich in historic timber structures, present illustrated talks to each other, and follow a historic buildings tour. In addition, the group produces an annual public conference that includes speakers from outside the Guild and tours of local historic buildings.
   
• TFG Companies 
  Craft, and the craft of business, are deeply intertwined. Our goal is to build a vital timber frame community with a strong market where all can thrive. Well-run companies are the key to a prosperous industry. The Guild assists TFG Companies by offering educational opportunities for developing business skills and creating collective public outreach programs designed to increase awareness – we tell the story of timber framing.
   
• Community Building Projects 
  We are committed to connecting with communities and people, sharing the story of timber framing, and learning and teaching through doing. To that end, we work with localities, non-profit organizations, and coalitions of organizations to build beautiful timber frame structures that will benefit and strengthen the people and places where we work and live - as well as those far from our own homes.