Challenging the status quo

There are brilliant minds behind TRC Timberworks & Natural Homes

TRC Timberworks uses innovative natural materials to make their dwellings environmentally sound inside and out. —

Photo courtesy TRC Timberworks

Current buyers are seeking eco-friendly and health-conscious housing alternatives, and TRC Timberworks & Natural Homes exceeds that demand. Using raw materials such as natural wood and finishes, straw, clay and earthen plaster, this Kootenay company (based near Nelson, B.C.) has taken the market by storm.

The spark of inspiration

Co-owner Tim Reilly spent 12 years in the construction and sawmilling industries. He ran a hardwood flooring business and a carpentry and renovations business before he decided to embrace his dream and create TRC Timberworks in 2009, with his wife, Raina Gardner.

“I first saw a timber frame house when I was 15 years old,” he said. “It intrigued me so much that I dreamed of some day building my own home in that style. I was fascinated by the process.”

Reilly began building his own timber frame straw bale home in 2005. By the time he and Gardner co-founded TRC Timberworks, the couple had a clear goal in mind: to make esthetically pleasing homes that would benefit the health of their clients, as well as the environment.

“One of our goals is to decrease the ecological footprint of the materials we use,” explained Gardner. “Using wood from sustainably harvested forests, sourcing new or little-known green building products, and finding materials such as clay soils and timbers that originate near a building site, are all part of how we accomplish this.”

An opportunity to educate

In addition to supplying a product, Reilly and Gardner have taken advantage of their position to share the knowledge they have gained from their experiences.

“We sometimes find that a local building inspector is not familiar with the building methods and materials that we are using on a project,” said Reilly. “We turn this into an opportunity to educate and inform.”

Peggy Frith, natural building consultant for TRC, added her input.

“Many people are skeptical about building with natural materials,” she said. “Once clients are educated about the science behind natural building materials, they really get excited.” These structural masterpieces are constructed in such a way that they can stand the test of time, and clients can look forward to having a healthy and eco-friendly dwelling for many decades to come.