As nearly the last thing for the year, TimberHomes delivered two timber frame Picnic Shelters to Westerly, Rhode Island. Given the distance and time of year, TimberHomes and Westerly’s Parks and Recreation Dept. agreed to have the units delivered fully assembled. Doing so necessitated the use of machine with fork extensions (pictured below) to lift the picnic shelters on and off the trailer from the units’ central Cherry tie beam.
Picnic Shelters Being Loaded
The Picnic Shelter was first designed and produced by TimberHomes for a project for Local Motion, Vermont’s advocate for walkable and bikeable communities. Like most of TimberHomes’ work, the units utilize the local and regional wood products from the Northeast. The roof units are a combination of White Pine and Eastern White Cedar, capped with channel drain roofing metal.
Picnic Shelters Being Unloaded in Westerly
Below the roof section, a central curved Cherry tie beam holds White Oak posts in place along with a second tie beam below which is also used to hold up the Eastern White Cedar table. Thru tenons, both at the top and bottom of the posts, hold the posts in place in the side-to-side direction. A pair of Cherry braces on each side, fastened with stainless steel Timberloks are installed for additional security.
The Picnic Shelter posts rest on 6″x10″ White Oak skids that also support the White Cedar benches. In between the bench slats, there is a White Oak board that is attached vertically to give the benches resistance against a heavy load. The skids, and indeed the entire shelter, rests on four White Oak feet which are a carefully attached with four long Ledger Lok screws (per foot) for durability.
Maybe Too Cold for a Picnic!
TimberHomes, like with all of its outdoor products, has chosen the materials for the picnic shelters carefully. Being an open structure, there’s no question that the lower portions: the bench, skids, and feet, will see some amount of rain, snow, and ultra violet light. Both White Oak and Eastern White Cedar are renowned for their rot resistance.
May they remain in their Westerly locations for a long time!
