Our Crew
Maine Heritage Timber Frames is more than timbers and tools. We are family and friends. Our crew varies in size based on the scope of projects, but our core team consists of Mark Casad, Ariel Burns, and Ken Voorhees. We also wanted to extend our warmest gratitude to the contractors, craftspeople, and various crews we get the pleasure of working with.
Mark Casad
Mark took his first timber framing course in 2003 at Fox Maple School of Traditional Building. He has had the fortune of working in several shops all over Maine, apprenticing with as many timber framers as possible. In 2012, Mark joined the ranks of the timber framing crew located at Bickford Lumber in Lisbon Falls, and the rest was history!
This sawmill crew of talented builders and artists delved into everything from restoration and preservation, mastering all phases of building. He finds passion in vernacular architecture of buildings, with a keen interest in exterior trim details and the charm of traditional Maine barns.
Mark enjoys goofing off with his kids, climbing rocks, and every once in a while, you might catch him showing off his cool moves at the discotheque.
Ariel Burns
Ariel has been finding a home in the building world since her introduction to it in 2012 while living in the mountains of North Carolina. She has explored different realms of construction, including backyard DIY natural building, home renovations, high-performance & green building, and natural plaster finishes.
In 2016, Ariel landed herself in Maine and was introduced to the hardworking timber framing crew based at a local sawmill, Bickford Lumber.
She enjoys sharing knowledge of the building trade by instructing classes with regional craft schools. When not at work, Ariel teaches yoga, DJs dance parties, and rides her Harley around the back roads.
Ken Voorhees
Ken had the fortune of growing up on a working farm in New Jersey. Ken also admits to not realizing the "fortunate" part of this early arrangement until many years later. Working on the farm, which was a wholesale greenhouse operation, meant developing skills, both physical and managerial, that have served him well in the world of construction.
From the greenhouse, and after a few years of college, Ken ended up in Maine where he helped raise a couple of kids that has now expanded to several grandchildren. The need for housing grew into a joy of building. Ken learned his chops stick-building and along the way discovered the thrill of cutting and standing up a timber frame.
With the roots of building conventionally firmly established, Ken enjoys looking at the whole picture of putting up a frame and even finishing it off to the last piece of trim.
Rich Lee
Rich Lee lives in Richmond, ME. He grew up in New York City and hasn't looked back since moving to Maine in 2011. He is a lifelong learner, having worn many hats as an environmental educator, a horse farmer growing vegetables for the last decade plus, to more recently becoming a builder. He loves to create things with hands and use his body in smart ways to get things done!
Rich has been a part of the MHTF dream team for several years, enriching his passion for all things homesteading with a newfound love for Maine’s timber frame pastime. His mentors include the previous generation of hardworking farmers and timber framers who taught him skills to work the land with horse power. He considers making shavings at the shop among his favorite things to do with his time. When he’s not swinging a mallet, he’s growing nutritious food, perfecting a new fermented food recipe, playing outside with his 2 kids, hiking, and cross country skiing.
