What should I check before buying a timber frame company?

A timber frame company is part workshop, part design studio and part construction crew. That mix is why a checklist for a general contractor, or for a factory-built home company, misses things. The items below follow the money and the skills. Ask for documents for each one, and have your accountant and lawyer review what you receive.

The shop, equipment and plans

Walk the shop with someone who knows the machinery. Ask what is owned, leased or financed, how old it is and what maintenance has been kept up. Cranes, saws and joinery machines matter to output. Then ask who owns the designs and plans library. If a designer or contractor created them, ask your lawyer how ownership was documented. The Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s guide to copyright gives background.

Crews and the owner’s role

Hand-cut joinery and frame raising are learned skills. Ask who leads the shop and the raising crews, how long they have stayed, and whether any of them would stay after a sale. If the founder sells and designs every job, see what happens when the owner is the business.

Backlog, deposits and timber supply

Ask for the list of signed jobs, what has been delivered and what is still owed. If customers have paid deposits before timber is cut, match the deposits held to the bank records and to the contracts. Ask your lawyer whether you would take on the work still owed. Also ask where timber comes from, how it is seasoned and stored, and whether supplier terms would change under new ownership.

Warranty on frames already raised

Ask for a list of past jobs and any claims, repairs or callbacks. Read the warranty wording the company gave its customers. Ask the seller how open claims will be handled after closing, and have your lawyer reflect that in the purchase agreement.