Jordy Pattar is thirty-two years old, a father of two, and lives in Genk, Belgium. He is a certified woodworker, a carpenter by training, and today a timber framer. For him, woodworking has always been part of life. “If I see it as a job, it’s not good anymore,” he says. “I go to the workshop to play. That’s how I look at it.”
At twelve, Jordy was taking the bus for an hour each way just to get to woodworking classes. He graduated with a technical diploma in furniture making, spent time working under carpenters, and then, after buying his own farmhouse, discovered the beauty of timber structures. His first joint , for a small shed he built for his mother-in-law, he has found his passion. “I was in love with it,” he says. “That was the moment I knew: this is what I want to do.”
What is Timber Framing ?
Timber framing is a traditional method of building with heavy timbers, using joinery instead of nails or screws. The most common connection is the mortice and tenon joint, locked with wooden pegs. Other joints, scarf, corner, cross, and T-joints, allow beams to be lengthened, crossed, or locked together in different ways. Frames are raised as a skeleton, and the walls and roof are then built around them. It is slow, physical work, done with axes, chisels, and hand saws, but the result is a structure that can stand for centuries. Each beam carries the marks of the tools, and no two pieces are exactly the same.
According to studies at the University of Ghent, timber framing has deep historical roots in late medieval Flemish cities such as Ghent, Bruges, and Ypres. Between 1200 and 1500, builders shifted from simple earthfast posts to timber-framed houses set on stone foundations. These structures were not cheap substitutes for masonry but carefully crafted façades that served as status symbols. Archaeological evidence shows regional variations in materials and techniques, revealing timber framing as both a practical method and a marker of urban identity.
Most of what he knows today, he learned himself. He studied books, watched videos, and practiced until the cuts made sense. Mistakes happened, but he always found a way to repair them. “So far there has never been a mistake I couldn’t fix,” he says. Later, he travelled to Latvia to spend time with Northmen, a group of traditional woodworkers. The visit gave him reassurance that he was on the right path and sharpened techniques he already used. He is still in touch with them today, sending questions when he gets stuck on a tricky mortice and tenon detail or a scarf joint to lengthen beams.
Jordy’s style of building is slower than most. He prefers hand tools over machines. The chisel is the tool he uses every single day. With a broad axe, he converts logs into hewn timbers; with a plumb bob, he checks that everything is perfectly vertical. A rafter square helps him mark compound angles, and a simple handsaw is never far from reach. He owns power tools; a chainsaw, a drill, a circular saw, but uses them sparingly, only when there’s no other choice.
Working by hand leaves marks. Not just on the wood, but on him. “It’s blood, sweat, and blisters,” he admits, holding up his hands. Each project takes time and wears on his body, but he doesn’t see that as a downside. It’s part of the work, proof that the frame was built honestly.
His current project has been underway since July 2024. It began with raw chestnut logs, cut down just a couple of streets away, which he shaped into beams by hand. Apart from a few smaller side jobs, this project has been his focus for nearly a year. The frame is already standing, and next he will put up rafters, plaster the walls, and build the gates. The client even came to help him raise the structure, a moment Jordy still remembers clearly. “He was amazed,” Jordy says. “When you stand under it and see how it all fits together, it’s insane.”
Most of the projects he takes now are small outdoor houses for private clientele, all built in natural wood with traditional joinery. Nails and screws are avoided whenever possible. Instead, T-joints, cross joints, and corner joints hold the structures together in the same way they did two or three hundred years ago. He did one small project recently using screws, just to remind himself, and was surprised by the speed. But speed isn’t what he is looking for. “I don’t want to change that,” he says. “This way is slower, but it’s better.”
Restoration is something he has tried, but it’s not his preference. It means working on-site, traveling with more tools, and sometimes realizing the one tool he needs was left behind. “If I could move the restoration to my shop, I’d enjoy it more,” he admits. “But it doesn’t work that way. Restoration is always in the field.”
Craving out the mortice and the tenon
The shop is where he feels most at home. His dog often lies nearby as he works, and sometimes his daughters wander in to see what their father is building. Though he often works alone now, Jordy has had apprentices in the past. Teaching is something he imagines doing in the future, but not yet. “I still need more experience,” he says. “I’m young. I want to give this knowledge to the next generation, but I’m still learning myself.” Working solo allows him to keep control. Mistakes in timber framing are costly, sometimes setting him back days.
Crafts are a part of his family. His uncle was a carpenter in a small workshop, and recently his mother began working leather, probably inspired by him.
For now, he is focused on finishing his long term project and the pool houses that keep him busy. But he does have bigger dreams. Lately he’s been drawn to the idea of towers : dovecotes or church spires, tall structures with character. “Next week it might be something else,” he says with a laugh, “but right now, I’d like to build a tower.”
Asked to describe his work in one word, Jordy answers simply: passion. Not the kind you shout about, but the kind that shows up in long hours, tired hands, and beams that will stand for generations.
Chiarra Gianina Fernandes
Joints & Connections
- Joint : when two timbers are marked, cut, and fitted together.
- Mortice & Tenon : one timber has a cut opening (mortice) that receives another with a shaped end (tenon).
- Scarf Joint : used to lengthen timbers.
- Corner Joint : keeps two beams together at an angle.
- Cross Joint : when timbers intersect and continue on both sides.
- T-Joint : when the end of one timber meets a continuous timber.
- Meeting : the point where two timbers touch before the joint is cut.
Essential Tools
- Chisel : Jordy’s daily tool for shaping joints.
- Mallet : used to drive chisels and tighten joints.
- Broad Axe : used to hew logs into beams.
- Plumb Bob : a weight on a string to find the perfect vertical.
- Rafter Square : a carpenter’s square engraved with tables for angles and compound cuts.
- Handsaw : for cutting timber by hand.
