A Timber Frame Kiosk Kit, Ready to Install

Here’s our TimberHomes Classic Kiosk. The design and material choices make it a great fit for natural areas, trailheads, and public spaces. Whether your project will be installed by experienced builders or a small group of volunteers, the traditional timber frame joinery comes to you in an easy-to-assemble kit. See below for details and options for customizing our Classic Kiosk.

Pricing for Standard Classic Trailhead Kiosk

Single unit: $3,000

2-4 units: $2,900 each

5 or more: $2,800 each

Note:

  • Credit Card transactions will add 3.25% to the total price.
  • Prices do not include shipping. We are happy to provide you with a quote! Site preparation and installation are NOT included in unit cost.

To order: Send us an email » or call: 802-685-7974

Lead time: Ranges from 4 – 16 weeks depending on the season and demand.

Classic Kiosk Specs

What’s in the Kit:

  • Two posts
  • Six pegs to secure the joinery
  • Fully assembled roof
  • Signboard, which is affixed to horizontal framing
  • Installation Directions

Details:

  • Posts: 5-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ Black Locust, which offers excellent durability from a local timber species without using treated wood. Planed smooth.
  • Framing: Eastern white pine crossbars and roof framing.
  • Principle Timber Joints: Secured with Black Locust or White Oak pegs. All edges chamfered (eased).
  • Roof: Channel drain metal (standard) over rough sawn pine sheathing.
  • Signboard: Eastern white cedar tongue-in-groove boards, 42″ W x 32″ H. Unpainted comes standard. See customizations tab above for available plexiglass covers or to change this size of the display.

Standard options for Classic Kiosks

  • Roof: 
    • The Classic Kiosk comes standard with a channel-drain metal roof in a choice of the following colors:
    • Upgrade to eastern white cedar shingles with a copper ridge cap, as shown above. Add $400, or $500 for a stretched version.
    • For standing seam metal or asphalt shingles, inquire for pricing.
  • Signboard Cover: Standard display area is tongue-in-groove eastern white cedar boards, unstained. The standard size plexiglass cover is 24″x32″ plexiglass. This can be held in either of these style frames:
    • Lockable top-swinging door framed in cherry, two sizes available:
      • 24″W x 32″H – partial coverage, leaves 18″ uncovered: $385
      • 42″W x 32″H – fully covers signboard area: $400
      • For doors larger than our standard size, inquire for pricing.
  • Stain: Signboards will be unstained eastern white cedar, which will gray in time. We offer solid stains by Arborcoat in their Mission Brown, and Arborcoat Imperial Grey for $75 per display panel.
  • Benches: Back to back benches made of eastern white cedar slats on a white oak frame (in photo block below, see top left photo) are $550 per side. The bench comes with additional installation instructions.
  • Location Signs: A hardwood locust board is sanded and oiled, and letters are routed and painted – see photo at top of page (“Sunset Rock”). The location sign hangs above the signboard. $250 for up to 40 letters.
  • Stretched Version: Extend the signboard area up to 72″ x 48″ (in photo block below, see top right photo) for an additional $400. For display panels that are 72″ wide or larger, the additional cost is $550.
  • Double-Sided: Put another signboard panel on your kiosk and double your display space for $300.
  • Customizing: We are happy to make any adjustments you have in mind for an hourly labor/design rate plus materials.

Add a Brochure or Registration Box to Your Kiosk

Do you need storage for maps or a registry? These simple, weather-tight boxes can be purchased to install on your kiosk. We send them with pre-drill bits and screws, so that our clients can install them on their kiosks wherever they like.

Brochure Boxes: These boxes will store a tri-fold brochure or map, displaying them through their plexiglass front. See middle row of photo block below – $275 ($300 stained)

Registration Boxes: The front of these registration boxes folds down to reveal a sturdy writing surface with a clasp to hold a small stack of 8.5″ x 11″ paper. See bottom row of photo block, below – $300 ($325 stained)

Classic Kiosk Installation

Our kiosks are simple to install and the work can be readily done by a group of 4 people following our instructions. With your kiosk purchase, we will provide separate installation directions including an exact center-to-center post hole dimension.

We recommend calling DigSafe before digging. It is free, fast, and safe.
Four people are needed to assemble the kiosk, and safely raise it. After the holes are dug, installation should take only about one hour

Classic Kiosk Installation Instructions:

  • Dig two 16″ holes, 4′-3″ deep, 4′ 6″ apart on center for a standard kiosk.
  • We recommend the use of a 12”x4’ (or larger) tube, such as a sonotube or culvert, installed at the post hole locations.
  • Install the signboard assembly into the posts and peg them together.
  • Insert the posts and signboard assembly into the tubes and backfill with clean gravel. Be sure to check the unit for plumb and level. We do not recommend backfilling with concrete.
  • After the posts and signboard assembly is installed, lift the roof onto the top of the posts with four people or a tractor. You may need to install a plank or use a ladder to get adequate height to lift the roof.
  • TimberHomes can supply brackets to attach your kiosk to a concrete slab or piers. Please inquire about pricing.

Transportation Options

Our prices assume pickup from our shop in Vershire or Montpelier, Vermont. For a standard-sized Classic Kiosk, most pickup trucks can accommodate all of the components of a single unit. Please discuss vehicle requirements with us depending on your order.

  • Pick-up: Pick your kiosk up at our shop in your own vehicle, and we will help you load.
  • Delivery: We charge a loaded mileage rate of $1.70/mile round trip to deliver.
  • Shipping: For single units to be delivered more than 200 miles from Vershire we will ship by common carrier, in which case the units will come on two pallets, enclosed by plywood–one for the posts, the other with everything else. Please contact us for a current packing and shipping quote. There must be a forklift available at the delivery address.

The Nature of Wood

Our products are built using natural timbers from our local forests. We strive to choose timber of the highest quality for your project. However, trees are unique and, as such, are not perfectly uniform. The wood used for our handcrafted timber frames may have knots, wormholes, blue stain, or wane.  Typically none of these features pose any kind of risk to the structural integrity of your product.

The wood we use is also green (meaning recently cut) or air dried, and comes from our local sawmills. It is not kiln dried wood from a lumber yard. As green wood dries it may develop checking or cracks, it may shrink or twist, and like all of us, it will grey over time. These characteristics make natural wood products unique. None of these characteristics affect the structural integrity of the wood or the kiosk. Nevertheless, we strongly recommend that you inspect your product on an annual basis for signs of deterioration, and be in touch if you have concerns.

The Black Locust Challenge

For kiosk posts that are installed directly into the ground, we  have moved to using strictly Black Locust material (Robinia Pseudoacacia). Some other timber species have some natural rot resistance (white oak, cedar, etc), but locust is the incomparable gold standard. Ask any old farmer. However, it typically does not grow very straight, which makes getting a 12’ long kiosk post difficult, and meaning that our kiosk posts are almost guaranteed to have some of the defects listed above. We have chosen to value the longevity of the product over a straight-grained, knot free look.

Kiosk Post Care/Inspection

We strongly recommend installing your kiosk post into a tube, such as a culvert or even a Sonotube. With ideally 3-6” of gravel at the bottom of your hole, install the tube at the prescribed post center and lightly back fill with the native soil. Install the kiosk posts/display assembly into the tubes. After the unit is leveled and plumbed, use clean gravel to backfill the post.  Be sure to keep the gravel around the post bottoms clear of soil and other organic matter. Doing so should ensure decades of service from your kiosk.

We strongly recommend that the posts bottoms are inspected annually. If your organization has an annual maintenance check list, please add kiosk inspection to the list.