%20(1).svg)
-2.svg)
%20(1).svg)
%20(1).svg)
Build a careeryou love
Timber framing is different to other forms of construction. And Heritage Timbercraft is different to building companies. Working here is a way of life; our team embrace life on the farm, community, traditional values, and a service to others.
Following are stories about the journeys which led some of our team to becoming treasured members of the Heritage Timbercraft dream.
Wilson - A kid from Upper Hutt to farm manager, to carpenter.
Wilson didn't enjoy classes at school, except woodwork and metalwork. He was always drawn to the rural lifestyle from spending time on his aunty's farm, despite growing up in an urban environment. At 17 he pursued that feeling he had and did a 1-year crash course on farming, which yielded a job on a farm in Taihape soon as a shepherd after graduating. He worked hard and took on more responsibility, working his way up over three years from being a shepherd on horseback, to assistant manager, to farm manager. He moved to Hawke's Bay at 20 (the year he married his lovely wife), and started working on larger farms - as shepherd again initially, then assistant manager, until he became block manager of a Hawke's Bay farm, a role he held for 4 years until mid-2025 when he felt it was time to make a life change for the better.
He picked up the phone and got in touch with us here: we talked, we met, and realised we had a lot in common. Wilson relocated his tiny home on to the property with his wife and 2 children and has been a valued member of the Heritage Timbercraft team ever since. He walks a few hundred metres to the sawmill each day and sees his wife and kids throughout each day. His wife and young kids love life on the farm, always busy and always engaged in the many activities and things to do in this environment. As well as working with timber in the sawmill, Wilson takes visitors to the farm on horse treks, applying his years of horsemanship as a shepherd and his warm hearted personality to connect with folk who come here looking to refresh in a welcoming, warm environment.
Joseph - guided into a timber framing career by his parents, and never looked back.
Joseph here fairly well typifies the timber framing spirit. His first memory of a timber frame home was during his time as a ranch hand in Montana where his uncle engaged a local timber framing company to reclaim an early settler barn, rotting away but on completion was a masterpiece, “it shines like gold in my memories”. Like most of the guys here in the business though he had a period where he felt directionless - for Joseph, this was a 4-year period after school where he drifted between jobs, becoming something of an urban dweller, which around age 22 he came to realise was not the direction he wanted to head. His parents guided him toward a crafts college in his native South Carolina, where he quickly oriented toward timber framing, which he picked up and ran with, graduating early 2025 a fully qualified timber framer. So, unlike most of our guys in the saw mill he went through a formal timber framing education, “obsessed” with the camaraderie within the timber framing community to the point he became a full fledged member of the Timber Framers Guild of America - which took him to timber framing projects, events and conferences throughout the U.S. and Canada. On graduating early 2025, he traveled for a few months in Europe, arriving here in Hawke's Bay, planning to work here for the summer. Finding he loved it here, he's decided to stay on, which is wonderful - because he's an awesome guy and is a terrific timber framer. For Joseph, nothing compares to working with English Oak, but Douglas-fir isn’t far off.
Want to know more?
If you feel you're ready for a change, and want to be part of our team, start by calling Jared: 0274 266679.