Top 10 Things to Know Before You Build an Outdoor Timber Structure
Planning a backyard timber structure? These ten practical truths will help you design with confidence — from purpose and placement to site needs, style, cost, and future use.
Planning a backyard timber structure? These ten practical truths will help you design with confidence — from purpose and placement to site needs, style, cost, and future use.
Outdoor spaces sing when the structures work together. By blending timber frame style across pergolas, trellises, colors, and architectural lines, you can create a landscape that feels layered, unified, and intentionally crafted. Whether for a home, business, or commercial development, thoughtful design choices make every space feel connected.
There’s a certain kind of structure that does more than cast shade — it creates a stage for life….
Engineered for strength and designed for joy, this two-story timber frame pergola transforms a backyard pool into a commercial-grade outdoor retreat—with a diving deck, waterslide, and handcrafted timber detailing that redefine outdoor living.
Three Daybreak families reimagined outdoor living with Western Timber Frame — building spaces that connect home, nature, and belonging.
In New Jersey, timber carries more than its own weight—it carries stories, firelight, and the rhythm of gathering. Western Timber Frame, with the design leadership of Chase Bronson, created a cabana and pergola in mass and heavy timber that transforms outdoor living into something timeless.
The cabana, framed by stone bases and exposed beams, shelters an outdoor kitchen and fireplace—making it the heart of hospitality. Beside it, the pergola opens the design outward, offering shaded gathering space while keeping light and air flowing.
Though residential, the craftsmanship is commercial-grade timber framing, reinforced by The Dovetail Difference® joinery system and modernized with TimberVolt® outdoor power posts for lights, fans, and charging.
This project proves outdoor living can be both traditional and modern, strong and inviting, enduring and alive.
Learn what to expect from design to delivery when building a custom timber pergola — including drawings, permits, engineering, and real client communication along the way.
This family’s new timber pergola brings privacy and peace to their outdoor walk and patio—proof that the right structure can transform how a space feels.
A small patio reclaimed with a timber pergola and lattice privacy panels—built with The Dovetail Difference® for strength, beauty, and daily outdoor living.
At Weber State University, new heavy timber pergolas showcase the strength and beauty of timber frame design. Built with The Dovetail Difference®, these commercial-grade structures create smarter, healthier environments for learning and community.
This raised outdoor living space doubles what’s possible at home—combining a timber pergola, upper deck, spiral staircase, and lattice privacy panels into one cohesive design. Built from Douglas Fir in Rich Cordoba stain with integrated TimberVolt® power and Dovetail Difference® joinery, it’s a structure that elevates life outdoors in every sense.
A 16×22 timber frame pergola with arched knee braces, upgraded beams, and a custom stone fireplace—showcasing the Dovetail Difference® in outdoor living.