By now you’ve probably noticed we don’t have a tree in our name. That’s because there isn’t one “right” wood for a timber frame, and we work with so many wood species it would have been hard to name ourselves after just one. “Oak-Cedar-Fir-Chestnut-Teak-Cherry-Maple-Cypress Timber Framing” wouldn’t have fit on the business cards very well, either.

We do a lot of Oak frames, and an increasing number using salvaged or reclaimed wood, but we’ve worked with more than a dozen species over the years and can get whatever wood fits your budget, application or style. Species will have a bearing on color, grain, shrinkage, cost, decay resistance and checking. “Checks” are narrow openings along the grain of the wood that appear over time, as the wood dries. Checking does not affect the strength of the timber and doesn’t mean the wood is “flawed.” Riverbend customers tend to think checking gives the timbers character.