Mark decided to pivot from cabinet work to timber framing when he connected with a former Brooks Post and Beam worker who started his own business. It was nearly 6 years later when the pandemic hit and lay-offs hit the entire company.
After several months working around the house Mark happened upon a “Help Wanted” ad for Brooks Post and Beam. Brooks P&B bucked the negative trends of that hard time, with a solid number of client projects in its pipeline. Plus, a fortuitous stroke of foresight meant the company had locked in access to a large amount of domestic lumber just as import tariffs were causing major shortages and price rises for companies importing lumber and steel. Unlike many others in the construction business, Brooks was hiring, not firing.
After two interviews with Paul, Mark was added to the team. “I appreciated the crew I was introduced to immediately. I still had a lot to learn about timber-framing (I have since discovered it is a constant learning process) and these were most certainly the guys I wanted to learn from.”
Mark’s job is cutting, by hand, virtually all of the rafters, joists and braces that go into Brooks frames – he’s glad there isn’t a machine here for that. When blueprints in their thick binder are passed to him, he loads in timbers with a forklift, lays out what he needs to cut; measures, cuts, planes and routs as needed.
“There’s always a different challenge coming down the road,” he says. “I honestly enjoy working here. My wife Linda asked me when I want to retire, and I say I’ll retire when Paul (Freeman) retires. He takes good care of us, and he’s even-keeled.”
Mark doesn’t live for timber framing, though. He also loves his Harley, which he’s ridden out West with Linda. He has his own wood shop where he makes furniture, and he might just risk his life to save an animal. Any animal.
“Sometimes he’s late for work because there was a horse on the side of the road that looked like it wanted a carrot,” Paul laughs. But he’s not kidding – Mark rescued the mare Latte, now 28, who he calls his therapy horse. “She follows me around like a dog,” he said, “we go for walks in the woods every evening after work.”
He and Linda also have parrots. One of them, Barney, was rescued from a pet shop closing its doors. Barney was kept in a cage for 17 years and today he has the run of the house.
“I will rescue anything,” Mark said. “If it’s breathing I’ll rescue it.”