Timber handicraft Mark Kilmer and Gordon Gascho are preparing the timber before cutting mortises. Because of the weight of the timber, the shop uses steel sawhorses rather than wooden ones. Most of the timber comes from old barns, but it has also been retrieved from old warehouses and one pickle factory. Comet photo by Jennifer Archibald Old barns from the 1800s are disappearing from the landscape. But some of those vintage timbers are reappearing in the framing and decorating of new high end homes, lodges, and commercial buildings.

D-K Construction of Camden joined that recycling effort by adding a division called D-K Vintage Timber Packages. The timber craftsmen work in a shop at 315 South Sycamore Street (State Road 75), Flora.

D-K Vintage Timber is associated with Timeless Timber Frame Company (TTFC) of Frankfort, a custom home builder, who markets the vintage timber packages.

"This is a high end, specialized market," said Dennis Kuns, owner of D-K Construction/ Vintage Timber. "Ninety-five percent of our business is not local."

On-site work This $3.4 million home features a custom-built log cabin on one end. The cabin was crafted by D-K Vintage Timber Packages, according to the architect's design. It has dovetail (interlocking) joinery. The components were built in Flora and assembled onsite in North Carolina. Photo provided He said prime marketing areas are in North Carolina, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma. The projects are usually clients' second or third homes in the mountains or on lakes.

"These are multi-million dollar homes," added Kuns's son, Darin, who does estimating and scheduling with the business.

Father and son explained that clients are people who like the vintage timber look - whether it's in the framing or in accents, such as doors, trusses, ceiling grids, mantels, woodwork, hardwood floors, lofts, etc.

"We work with designers, architects, engineers, contractors, and home owners," Dennis said.

Vintage Timber and TTFC are on the constant lookout for old barns that were built by the master builders, with hand-hewn timbers. In general, acquiring a barn is a trade-off situation where the barn owner wants it taken down and removed, and Vintage Timber puts in the manhours for disassembly and clean-up.

Mortise Employee Kendal Meador is chiseling out a mortise - the cavity part of a mortise and tenon joint. Photo provided "A frame barn is taken down the same way it was put together," Darin said.

"We get most of the wood around here (Indiana and into Ohio), but ship anywhere," Darin added. "We even had an inquiry from the UK."

Native Indiana hardwood includes oak, ash, walnut, hickory, poplar, and elm.

"If someone wants something special, like chestnut floors, we have to get the wood elsewhere," Darin said.

They don't tear down a barn until they have a call for that kind of wood or design.

When they bring the timbers into the shop, Dennis said they power wash, power brush, and put a finish on them.

The workers start with an architectural drawing of their client's whole structure, with the vintage timber areas highlighted.

Since these are custombuilt homes or buildings, they have to adjust the timbers to the designs, which may include re-cutting and additional joinery work. That's where the craftsmanship comes in.

Tools of the trade Three tools commonly used by the craftsmen of D-K Vintage Timber Packages are shown above: wooden mallet left), chisel, and slick (foreground). The mallet shown is an antique, but still used. The workers make their own mallets when they need replacements, and along with hand tools, also use power tools. Photo provided The craftsmen use a combination of power tools and old-fashioned hand tools, such as wooden mallets, slicks, chisels, cross cut saws and buck saws. The joinery (mortise and tenon) is done with both power and hand tools.

"Our goal is for two pieces of timber to fit together with no more than a 1/16" crack between them," said Levi Kinzie, shop manager.

Darin pointed out that big trusses or other joined timbers will not fit into a semi truck as connected pieces, so they have to be shipped as single timbers, and then assembled on site. That means there has to be careful coding of the pieces so they will all come together in the right way and for the right location in the house. Darin said they use color, number, and symbol coding. TTFC takes care of the on-site assembly.

Timber ready to be shipped Darin Kuns of D-K Construction/Vintage Timber Packages stands in front of a stack of timbers ready to be shipped to North Carolina. Mortises and tenons, used to connect the timbers, can be seen in the photo. The timbers are coded so workers will know how they fit together. Assembly will be on site. The vintage timbers will be used for framing and decorative accents on a multi-million dollar home. Comet photo by Jennifer Archibald To give an idea of the size of some of these timbers, Darin said one of the projects they are working on now calls for a bridge between two upper story sections of a home. The bridge truss timbers are 12 inches wide and 12 inches thick, and each bridge truss weighs 8,000 pounds. The package is being shipped to North Carolina in three loads. The timbers are being incorporated into an 11,000 sq. ft. home.

Another timber frame house project in North Carolina was built by a developer. It's a $3.4 million home with 5,200 sq. ft. One person who has looked at it is a former U.S. Secretary of State.

At one end of this house is a custom-built log cabin with dovetail (interlocking) joinery, crafted in Flora.

Vintage Timber has worked on a total of five projects, including ones still in progress, since it began operations at the Flora site in 2008.

Darin said each project takes anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, from design to shipping.

Besides the shop manager, there are six to eight other craftsmen working, depending on the job. They work Monday through Friday. The shop is located in Sycamore Industrial Park, formerly Briggs Industries.

More can be learned about Timeless Timber Frame Company and the work of the local craftsmen by visiting the TTFC website, www.timelesstimberframe.c om.

Dean Smith, owner of TTFC, says on his website that the search for the right barn for a client can take anywhere from a few weeks to two years. He said while the really great barns are getting harder to find, there are still plenty of suitable barns left. He predicts there will be a scarcity of such barns in 10 years.

Darin said although they can make new timber look old, most clients would rather have the real thing.

"They like to know the stories connected to the old structures," he said, "and they like the idea of recycling timber rather than cutting down trees."