Verified record
Ellison Timberframes is a Brewster-based timber-frame shop on Cape Cod, run by Ian Ellison. Its name turns up less in customer reviews than in local reporting about the Cape's oldest wooden buildings — traditional timber framing, and the assessment and repair of antique structures, is what the public record shows this shop doing. The most recent and most concrete example is in Chatham. In December 2025 the Cape Cod Times covered the piece-by-piece rebuilding of the historic 20-by-20-foot barn on the Nickerson Family Association's North Chatham campus — believed to be the oldest barn in Chatham, donated to the association in 2021 — and named Ian Ellison of Ellison Timberframes as the contractor on the project, photographing him and his son Tanner setting posts and nailer boards. The rest of the track record is editorial in the same vein. The Cape Cod Times quoted Ellison in 2021 dating a 19th-century wooden sluiceway uncovered at an Orleans beach, describing him as a member of Carpenters Without Borders. The Sandwich Historical Commission wrote in 2014 that he had visited the Hamlin barn in the Town Hall Historic District, and a 2026 write-up of a Cape-wide historic preservation workshop describes him presenting slide after slide of timber-framed structures. A 2001 Cape Cod Times story about a school building project referred to the company as "Ellison Timberframes in Harwich". What this file does not hold is the part homeowners usually lean on: there are no first-hand customer reviews on any platform, so nothing here speaks to pricing, scheduling, communication, or how a residential job ran start to finish. Five third-party mentions, none of them a hiring account, are the whole comment record. Before booking, treat the preservation work as the evidenced strength and ask for the rest directly — references from recent residential clients, a written scope and price for your own frame or barn repair, insurance, and whether the shop's current schedule fits your season. Worth confirming the base too: the recent record points to Brewster while that 2001 article placed the business in Harwich.
Typical Greater Boston range for this kind of work, from regional averages — not a quote from Ellison Timberframes. Use it to sanity-check bids, then get the real number in writing.
A typical single-level deck is 12×16 — about 200 sq ft.
Estimated range
$7,750 – $14,500
Typical carpentry project around $11,100
“In slide after slide, Ellison shows images of timber framed structures”
“Ellison, of Ellison Timberframes and a member of Carpenters Without Borders, dates the wooden pipe to be built sometime in the 1800s.”
“Ian Ellison of Ellison Timberframes, meanwhile, has visited the Hamlin barn, which is situated in the Town Hall Historic District and remains a part of Sandwich history.”
“Bissell, who works for Ellison Timberframes in Harwich, has a son, Cameron, a sixth-grader at the charter school.”
“rrily CassidyDec. 18, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ETIan Ellison, left, and his son Tanner Ellison look at one of the posts where they will put in a nailer board. Work continues on the historic 20-by-20-foot barn on the Nickerson Family Association's North Chatham campus. Ian Ellison of Ellison Timberframes is the contractor on the project. The barn belonged to the son of William and Anne Nickerson, who are known as the “father and mother” of Chatham. The barn, believed to be the oldest in Chatham, was donated to the association in 2021. It was found that some of the timbers date back to variou”
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Re-analyzed rating 3.2 → 3.3
Established 3.2 rating
Exterior renovations5.0
Broad carpentry range5.0
Additions & remodels4.0
Both owners run every projectNot yet rated
Big rebuilds4.4
Stabilized a 180-year-old barn4.1