At Cedar Ridge Timber Company, our standard douglas fir timber is of the highest quality as well as the perfect wood species for timber frame structures.
Douglas Fir has historically been a popular choice for exterior timber frame due to its good rot resistance when properly detailed, finished, and cared for. It also has great strength to weight properties. Our timber source, which normally provides fire standing dead (FSD), often includes older growth trees with prominently straight and strong grain patterns for a soft grain wood species. This is only achieved with tree age.
Although stronger than Western Red Cedar (WRC) with considerably less cost and much greater finished color flexibility, Douglas Fir lacks the natural tannins that give WRC its unique natural insect and rot resistance. Douglas Fir, while more costly, is much stronger and rot resistant than Eastern White Pine (EWP). The EWP white/cream color permits much lighter finished stain colors without the natural red of DF that can not be concealed with light colors.
Our goal at Cedar Ridge Timber Company, LLC is to support small, hard working, family ran businesses...
and avoid second rate services and products provided by large corporate owned companies where the main emphasis is the bottom line instead of people. When we call one of our timber suppliers the phone is answered by someone that knows timber and often with the same last name as the company owner. They don’t have to ask someone and get back to me, they know the answers because they most likely have seen more sawdust than spreadsheets in their career.
The coastal DF are a unique subspecies that they often harvest from public land forest fires. These trees have very unique characteristics and enjoy a warmer and wetter climate than the inland DF forests, resulting in larger, stronger trees, ideal for structural timber frames.
Our timber suppliers cut fire standing dead trees when available in an effort to make room for new growth in one of the most beautiful and prolific forests in the United States, so this company is a favorite for us.
You may be wondering why we insist on direct buying all our timber from its source, when DF timbers are readily available in the Midwest from wholesale companies, a faster and more convenient option.
The cost is comparable on small to medium orders, but direct buying large orders costs less with the elimination of the middleman, while always receiving a much higher quality timber. Most Midwest warehouses purchase standard size band-sawn cants (large standard sizes) and then re-saw to order size, normally resulting in a different saw texture when recut. The cants are handled and moved multiple times resulting in additional damage. The cants may have come from different sawmills and regions, with varying natural characteristics, moisture levels and greater dimensional variations, all causing future problems for the completed timber frame project.
They normally come with the option of much preferred circle cutting vs. band-sawn for a beautiful semi-rustic historical timber texture. Hand hewn and distress texture are optional textures for a salvage reclaimed look, without the price and other complications. On larger projects, your timbers may require special orders to be delivered by semi to our little nook in Island City, MO.
We have several reasons for directing sourcing our timbers.
Our timbers are cut to the sizes we use and handled by one company that really knows timber, not just how to sell "a timber."
Douglas Fir is our standard timber frame material of choice, but it's definitely not the only option when it comes to building timber frame. If you're on a tight budget or looking for a primitive look, we have many other wood species available that are sourced locally right here in Northwest Missouri. Click below to explore Eastern White Pine, BH (Boxed Heart) Douglas Fir, White Oak, and Eastern Red Cedar Options.
Please help us reduce our impact on the environment by providing us with as much project lead time as possible. You can help us minimize our carbon footprint by combining any special timber orders with other projects into a single truck load. This reduces project cost by sharing the freight costs with multiple customers; with the rising fuel and transportation costs this is increasingly important. When we work together as a team, we are strong. We can improve our local communities while preserving the fragile environment we all share.
Our Legacy
I picked up the pace as I approached my grandpa's wood shop walking from school, as I knew it would be warm inside. It was a cold, dreary December day with little wisps of snow blowing across the road, one of those winter days when it never really gets light. I opened the door, immediately greeted by the wonderful smell of fresh sawdust and the faint smell of a warm, wood fire. There's the busy hum of woodworking machines at work with the sound of old grass roots country music welcoming me inside. My grandpa's strong callused hands delicately handled a rough piece of walnut, destined to become a piece of furniture. He greets me warmly and quickly resumes his work. I knew that might be the only words he spoke until it came time for a light supper, and hopefully some of grandma's homemade pie, followed by an hour or two of fiddle playing before bed time.
My grandpa knew rough times and hard work; he built homes and repaired barns right through the Great Depression. He worked hard, but more importantly, he was efficient by using his knowledge and what he had available to create a beautiful, durable products for his loyal customers. They would often pay him a little over the standard "dollar a day" due to the quality and efficiency of his work. Some local folks even credit him with the invention of the table saw; he designed a machine powered by an old gas powered washing machine engine to help him finish his products as quickly as possible.
Cedar Ridge Timber Company strives to follow in his footsteps, designing the highest quality products for our customers. Our home rests on a timber covered ridge overlooking what was once the small, bustling village of Island City, Missouri, established in 1857 by M.S. Couch. Our horses can be found grazing peacefully on the ridge or wandering through the timber and whitetail deer often frequent our salt block. We believe in using what we have at hand and re-purposing old materials when we can, just like my grandfather using that old washing machine engine. That's why our inventory is made up of fire standing dead trees that withstood forest fires in the Pacific Northwest. We believe in recycling these into a new product to display in your home for years to come.
Our History
I went to work for a local construction company in 1983, and started my own business in 1988 - Wiederholt Custom Homes. While Susie was in college at Northwest Missouri State University, I took any carpentry related work I could find to support us. I realized quickly that our success relied on a narrowed focus, so we began shifting our target to building custom homes. As our business grew, we went to a Chicago trade show where I purchased one of the very best residential computer aided drafting programs, SoftPlan. Custom design has always been the foundation of our business. We have built and designed over 60 custom homes over the past 30 years.
We launched this business segment, Cedar Ridge Timber Company, to fill a need in our client base that can't be found in this area. This is a shop-based production company that focuses on timber frame trusses and timber frame accents as you have explored on our website. I work alongside my trusty GSD, Rambo, and a black cat, Stink, who showed up one day, claimed the shop as her home, and never left. We have applied our 30 years of experience designing and building homes into this business segment to provide our customers with quality products built to last a lifetime. Please contact us with any questions you might have; we look forward to being on your team.
Our Newest Addition
We added a new addition to the shop gang in November 2023 after losing our beloved GSD, Rambo. Jagger is full of energy and has been a joyful addition to the family, even if we've lost a few days of timber frame construction ensuring he learns the safety protocol and expectations of a timber frame shop dog.
Thank you to my daughter, Savana (Sav Creative), for building my website as part of her rebrand of Cedar Ridge Timber Company. Check out her portfolio website, savcreates.com, and contact her for all your web design and brand design needs.
Thank you to my daughter, Lindsey (Of the Elements Creations), for the many beautifully creative and intricate wire woven pieces she has made for me. She specializes in custom stone and wire woven jewelry and decor. She can take a rock from your adventures or even your birthstone and weave it into a piece of jewelry you'll treasure forever.
It was the best part of the day, when the pink in the eastern horizon contrasts the night’s darkness, to be outdoors on a walk with my constant and faithful GSD companion. I don’t like to miss this time of day and seldom do. It’s early Spring; the mournful hoot of the owl and howl of a coyote is soon replaced by the deafening chirp of a thousand happy birds and the gentle whinny of our ranch horses reminding me they’re ready for breakfast. I pause at an old Island City homestead, and while my GSD carefully examines some smells from a nightly visitor that passed through, I decide to pick a couple flowers for my best friend and school teacher wife. She makes a difference in so many little lives teaching them to read more proficiently, and taking moments here and there to listen to their important spoken words of life goals or struggles. I think of the hands that planted that flower, maybe a 100 years or so ago. What was that day like for them I wonder; what was the day’s work for them and what was life like in those times?
Small things matter, like a few flowers on the table when a loved one returns home - similarly to a small peg in the right place on a timber frame matters. The structural integrity of each individual joint leads to the strength of the entire timber frame structure, which often supports the load of an entire porch or home.
My hope is for future generations to look at a peg in a timber frame I’ve provided and wonder about my day, just as I wondered about that Island City resident of days gone by when I picked those flowers.
I’m blessed to be able to support a family through the work I love; the work that allows me to appreciate the little things while wood shavings drop to the shop floor in the face of a perfectly sharpened chisel. The wonderful smell of wood, a sleeping four legged friend at my feet, a sunrise to another day, the whinny of a horse, a good cup of coffee, the beautiful smile of a happy daughter, a hug from my wife, family pitching in together to meet a goal, a happy customer - these are some of the things I cherish.
My goal is to be my best every day - to do my best work, striving to learn more and be a better steward of the bounty we’ve been given in this country. My hope is that my timber frame might endure as long as that fragile flower planted so many years ago by those loving and caring hands. Thank you for supporting my business, my family and my way of life.
Sincerely,
Tim, Susie, Lindsey & Savana
