Why Brooks Post & Beam?

Welcome to our community of customers, friends, family, co-workers, vendors and tradespeople. With more than 40 years’ experience building quality timber frame homes from start to finish, we are ready to help you build your dreams, too.

We are privileged to be surrounded by so many fair and considerate people, and I believe the reason for our good fortune is that good people are drawn to each other. Company founder Phil Brooks has been building post and beam homes for well over 40 years now. Throughout his career as a timber framer, educator and philanthropist, he has consistently treated people with respect and encouragement, building a network of committed clients, friends, and professionals across the country.

Phil and I met not long after he had built the first-ever automated timber cutting machine in the country, and, most likely, on the planet! My background at the time was as an architectural and timber frame designer. I had recently developed a timber frame design software program with my good friend Ed Levin, an internationally renowned timber frame designer. Over the next few years, Phil and I developed the software we still use today, software that ties computer modeling to our timber cutting machine for full automation from the drawing board to the shop floor. The efficiency of our design-to-shop process is the second-biggest reason for the success of our company, and, when used in conjunction with Phil’s unique and efficient timber frame joinery system, has given us the ability to provide extremely strong joinery with minimal material and labor costs. This helps us pass considerable cost savings, as well as a very high-level quality of work, on to our customers.

From time to time I am still struck by my good fortune to have had the opportunity to take the reins of a remarkable company that has been quietly leading our industry forward over the last four decades. I am indebted to my parents, Robert and Ivy Freeman, Ed Levin, and Phil Brooks for providing me with the opportunities and experiences that have brought me to this place. And, now, I also have people like you to thank for recognizing our ability to help you fulfill your vision of a new home, barn, or business structure.

Welcome to our community. We are well met!

Paul A. Freeman
Brooks Post & Beam, Inc.

Brooks Post & Beam has been designing and building timber frame homes and barns since 1967. Paul Freeman took over the company from Phil Brooks in 2006.
Phil started out by dismantling and recovering old New England timber frame barns, but the demand for frames quickly exceeded the supply of these traditional, heavy timber structures. Before long, our focus was on new, energy-efficient “green” buildings.

In the early days, Phil helped develop and evolve the “Stresskin”, or structural insulated panel (SIP) that makes our homes incredibly energy efficient. Many of our early panel, wiring and plumbing details have been accepted as industry standards; other builders have copied our spline joinery, recognizing its strength and efficient use of materials. Our biggest success has been the development of the first computer-controlled timber cutting machine in the world! Our seamless integration of timber frame model to shop floor increases our productivity and allows our craftsmen to focus on the detailing of the timbers.

Why do we keep saying “timber frame” when our name is Brooks Post & Beam? Back when Phil first started this business, the term “post and beam” described an older way of constructing homes and barns using heavy timbers with mortise and tenon joinery and wooden pegs. Over the years, that term has gradually expanded to include any type of construction using heavy timbers for vertical supports (posts) and horizontal supports (beams). These can include structures in which these components are bolted together with steel plates or brackets. “Timber frame,” as a result, has become the term used specifically for the more traditional kind of mortise and tenon joinery we use to create beautiful, strong and long-lasting structures. Brooks Post & Beam is one of the first and oldest of these “timber frame” businesses in the country, but we honor the legacy and heritage of Phil’s work and vision by keeping the original name of the business he started almost a half century ago.

We are a small company, working on a limited number of projects per year in an effort to maintain a sustainable business, control quality and maintain a more personal relationship with our clients. Our average employee has over 15 years of experience in timber framing. This deep experience brings both efficiency and quality to our work, giving you the highest value for your dollar. Please take a few minutes to browse our website and discover who we are and how we have quietly led the timber frame industry for over forty years. If you are looking for personal service, quality and affordability, look no further – you’ve come to the right place.