A History Carved from Wood

People often ask Eric Morley, co-founder of North Carolina-based Carolina Timberworks, how he got into timber framing. After all, he doesn’t look like a lumberjack, and doesn’t have the beard of an Amish framer.

But life-changing events can happen anywhere and anytime. One morning Eric had a cup of coffee with a “sort of crazy” guy he knew, and the rest is history. Well, more or less….

From that conversation, Eric entered the world of timber framing via manufacturing. Together he and his coffee buddy set up a company, leased land, built a 12,000 sq. ft. timber frame shop, and started cutting frames under the roof – even before the slab was finished!

From 1996 to 2003, Eric ran the shop, including importing and installing the third Hundegger K2 (German CNC automated joinery machine) in North America, which required two cranes to get in place. Then life took another turn, and he was fired from his own company. It’s a complicated story and deals not in timber framing but in his decision to do the right thing.

After a week of feeling sorry for himself, Eric turned a spare bedroom closet into an office, and wrote a business plan for Carolina Timberworks.

Carolina Timberworks wasn’t a one-man show, however: his friend and future partner Chris Miller came with him from his old company, one bank enthusiastically supported them, and – best of all – a mentor handed him his first order before the ink was dry on his business plan.

If Eric and Chris are the co-founders of Carolina Timberworks, that mentor, Greg Poole, is the founding client. Not only did Greg hire Eric and Chris to build a new timber frame porch, the footings of which they dug together by hand, he started bringing them new clients. Eric says it often felt like they were on the verge of failing, but then a new project would emerge to help keep them going and growing.

From those humble beginnings, in Eric’s garage and a rented 10×10 storage unit, Carolina Timberworks grew steadily until 2006 when it became clear more space was required.

Eric’s mother was horrified at the building he found – a “unique fixer-upper” – but the price was right.

The Carolina Timberworks team started refurbishing the building in between jobs, incorporating finds from the Habitat for Humanity store, and eventually even paved the parking lot. As Eric says, “It wasn’t fancy or anything. But we built a lot of beautiful timber frames in that building.”

That statement reflects some of the ethos of Carolina Timberworks: Craft and clients always come first, and a “do what it takes” attitude. Visitors to the Boone, North Carolina, shop regularly told Eric they were were amazed the company had been able to build the work they’d seen on the website from within such a small space.

In 2009, the recession caught up with Carolina Timberworks and sales fell dramatically. And in 2010, founding partner Chris Miller suffered a heart attack. When he recovered, he thought he should do something less stressful…so he sold his share of the business.

It seems like something good comes out of every bad experience…

Because of the recession’s effect on the housing market, there simply wasn’t enough business locally, so Eric decided to explore working further afield. He says that while the recession was bad, it was a true turning point for Carolina Timberworks, resulting in new opportunities up and down the eastern seaboard and exciting and interesting projects across the United States.

2019: A New Building…in 7 Months

In May 2019 Carolina Timberworks broke ground on a new timber frame manufacturing facility 25 miles away in West Jefferson, North Carolina (Ashe County).

When they built a new shop, they set out to up their game. And then they said to themselves, let’s not just up our game, let’s go for best in class…

2022: Powered by the Sun

In 2022, Carolina Timberworks invested in a rooftop solar array that produces almost twice the electricity its West Jefferson, NC manufacturing facility uses. 

(press release here:  Carolina Timberworks Announces 95% Net-Zero Carbon Usage)

2024: An Acknowledgement of Our Commitment to Sustainability

Our commitment hasn’t gone unnoticed. In May 2024, we received the 2024 Sustainability Awardfrom the North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NCMEP) in a nod to our construction process and our net-zero carbon usage.Because of the recession’s effect on the housing market, there simply wasn’t enough business locally, so Eric decided to explore working further afield. He says that while the recession was bad, it was a true turning point for Carolina Timberworks, resulting in new opportunities up and down the eastern seaboard and exciting and interesting projects across the United States.