About Us

History

When does history start?
What we know for sure is that Jeff Arvin and Craig Aument started our company in 1990. Jeff had drifted away from a teaching career and had spent several years learning timber framing back in Michigan. Craig was a self-employed carpenter in the California Sierra. How two such disparate souls met and ended up in Bellingham, Washington is another story!

What we also know is that the ride has been great! We’ve work in beautiful places with wonderful people. There is too much to tell in this space, so here are a few numbers that help describe us:

• Founded in 1990 with 1 computer
• 300+ projects—all kinds; lost count a few years ago
• Our work is in over 20 states plus Canada and Japan
• 20–30 projects per year; size varies widely
• More than 150 people have worked at Cascade joinery since the beginning
• 256* board feet in our smallest frame (a dog house); 81,000 board feet in our largest
• Nearly 1,000,000 times we’ve sparked up against the fun barrier while building great houses!!!

*a board foot is the way wood geeks measure volume: one board foot is 1” thick x 1′ wide x 1′ long

Our Community

For the Cascade Joinery, our community is defined as our team members, our customers, the place we live and the others who practice our craft. As such we have been dedicated to the following organizations and projects:

Kulshan Community Land Trust
The KCLT is dedicated to creating permanently affordable housing in Whatcom County

Whatcom Land Trust
The Whatcom Land Trust acquires and manges land preserved for open space.

Sustainable Connections
We are lucky to have one of the premier sustainable business groups here in our backyard. We are members and are involved in their Green Building program. We are also participants in their “Towards Zero Waste” program.

The Timber Framers Guild
The TFG is dedicated to preserving and enhancing the craft of timber framing. John Miller, our managing partner currently is a member of the board.

The Timber Framers Business Council
The TFBC promotes timber framing, and works with engineers on code issues, the AIA on architect education and numerous others to help bring timber framing into the public eye. The Cascade Joinery was one of the founding companies, and both Jeff and John have served multiple terms on the board and as President.

AIA Northwest Washington
The NWAIA is our regional AIA chapter. Cascade Joinery is an Associate member, and Greg Robinson is a member who has been actively involved in the organization.

US Green Building Council
The USGBC has a mission to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.