Timber Frame Pavilion Raising in Lexington, VA

Posted June 13, 2026

Built by Holly Venter

01 · ABOUT THIS PROJECT

Built by

Holly Venter

I volunteered to help timber frame and raise a custom wooden pavilion for a non-profit organization in Lexington, Virginia. The build involved milling live-edge lumber, cutting precision joinery with timber saws and chain mortisers, and hand-fitting mortise and tenon joints with wooden pegs. Working alongside a dedicated crew, we assembled the heavy timber bents and raised the complete open-air pavilion structure onto its concrete foundation.

SCOPE AND TRADES ON THIS BUILD

Timber Framing

Networking

02 · PHOTOS

Live-edge timber log resting on a portable sawmill bed inside an open workshop shed.

Carpenter using a handheld circular saw to make an angled cut on a heavy timber beam.

Carpenter operating a chain mortiser to cut joinery into a timber beam on sawhorses.

Carpenter making a crosscut on a large timber beam using a heavy-duty circular saw.

Volunteer carpenters lifting and moving a heavy square-cut timber beam outdoors.

Carpenter holding a mallet while standing on a newly assembled timber truss during frame raising.

Carpenter in a blue hard hat and safety harness smiling from inside the timber roof truss frame.

Volunteers resting on the grass while raising the heavy timber frame pavilion onto a concrete slab.

Upward view of the timber frame roof rafters featuring a distinctive curved natural wooden beam.

Detailed view of traditional mortise and tenon joinery secured with wooden pegs in the roof truss.

Assembled heavy timber frame pavilion standing on a concrete foundation with crew and equipment.

Carpenter cutting mortise pockets into a timber beam using a mortising machine under a tent canopy.

Carpenter driving wooden dowel pegs into a timber joint using a wooden mallet overhead.

Created: Jun 13, 2026

03 · DISCUSSION

Dan RobinsonAug 6, 2026

@Holly Venter Keep us in the loop!

Holly VenterJul 31, 2026

@Dan Robinson I absolutely was! It is truly an incredible experience to learn from such talented people! I’m so excited to go back again!

Holly VenterJul 31, 2026

@Ian MacFayden 😂 unfortunately I wasn’t the youngest so I didn’t get to put the bush up, but one day I hope I get to! It looks scary but I think it would be really cool!