About

Habitat Post & Beam designs and manufactures custom post and beam homes, additions and commercial/specialty structures, shipped to your site to be assembled by a local contractor of your choice.  We will work with your personal design ideas, your architect's design, or from our extensive library of plans - there is no extra charge for our design services.  We will customize plans to create the style of home you desire, providing engineer-stamped blueprints and the materials for a weathertight exterior shell.  We use high-quality materials such as pre-cut #1 grade Douglas fir timbers and premium Andersen® windows.  These materials result in low-maintenance, energy-efficient spaces that feel bright and open.

About Us

Habitat Post & Beam, Inc. was incorporated in 1972.  Since that time we have shipped thousands of home, addition and commercial post and beam packages throughout the country.  We stand behind the quality of our products with a 20-year product warranty.

You will have a primary contact person who will guide you through the process, and will coordinate everything as your project moves from design and engineering into our manufacturing process and finally shipment to your building site. 

We look forward to working with you on your project.

Our Team

Our average length of employment is over 21 years and counting.  We are all looking forward to sharing our knowledge and experience to help you with your project.

Kim Callicoatte: Sales Representative

Kim Callicoatte is a sales representative who has been working with Habitat since 2017. Kim has a robust knowledge base about building and construction.  She is happy to speak with you about your project.

Tani Wilson: Office/Administration

Tani has been working with Habitat since early 2017.  She has experience in design, construction, and estimation.  While her primary role is pricing and contract management, she also fills in for design work and special projects as needed.

Jason Hunter: Sales Representative

Jason Hunter is a sales representative who started with Habitat in 1999. Jason stepped away for a few years to follow a passion project, then returned to Habitat in 2021. Jason has very knowledgeable about construction and design and can help you throughout your project.

Sharon Drumgool: Office/Administration

Sharon has been working at Habitat since 1987 and runs the front office.  She handles all money coming in and out, keeps track of all contracts and invoices, and handles the 100s of tasks needed to keep a business running.  In addition, she is probably the first voice you will hear when you call in as she helps determine who the best person is for you to speak with.

Casey Goddard: Design/Engineering

Casey Goddard is the lead designer and started working at Habitat Post & Beam in 2007.  Most of the design and construction drawings are created by, or proofed by Casey.  He works with both the 3D design programs as well as the detailed CAD software.

Huckle May: Office/Administration

Huckle has been involved with construction his entire life.  Huckle started working at Habitat Post & Beam in 1996 and established the company with 3d design software.  Huckle is both the president and co-owner of the company.

Olivia Warren: Design

Olivia is the primary designer for our post and beam projects.  We were lucky to bring her into the company in 2021. 

Peter May: Office/Administration

Peter May has been involved in all aspects of construction.  He started at Habitat Post & Beam in the early 1980s and worked at varying positions within the company.  Peter bought the company from the previous owner in 1999 and continues in the daily operation of the company.

Chris Coffelt: CAD/Engineering

Chris Coffelt joined our team in 2021 and has 15 plus years of experience in all realms of the building industry.  He is now working in conjunction with Casey to prepare our final plans for the shop using CAD software. 

Shop

Andy, Cassy, and Morgan are the primary people running the Habitat shop and have a combined 71 years of employment at Habitat.

 

Company History

Habitat Post & Beam was founded in 1972 with a vision to produce high-quality, factory-designed and manufactured post and beam homes to be developed and marketed in the Northeast.  South Deerfield, Massachusetts was chosen for its centralized location, railroad access, interstate highway proximity and local craftspeople who had great pride in Yankee woodworking tradition.  Specializing in timber frames for the second home or vacation market utilizing excellent design talent, quality materials and skilled workers, the new Deerfield shop and office grew quickly. 

Realizing that many people had remodeled the area’s old tobacco barns into homes, and wanting to share some of the local heritage with its customers, Habitat commissioned a well-known architect to develop a primary home design series called The American Barn Home, which was based on the character and charm of the rustic barns.  Having this line of homes in production at that time was fortuitous, as the vacation home industry waned when the 1970s oil embargo seriously impacted the economy.

The Habitat team realized that it needed more than high-quality homes to meet their clients’ needs during the energy crisis.  They immediately started working on a compact, energy-efficient line of homes, as well as dramatically raising the insulation value of the American Barn line.  While the classic designs were fairly limited in variety, this was not the case with the new line of Habitat homes.  Windows were maximized in the south face and skylights with window quilts were utilized.  These designs were so successful they won a major national energy-efficiency contest sponsored by the Federal Housing and Urban Development Program.  The HUD award inspired Habitat to supplement their line of homes with a series of energy-efficient additions. Thus, the Habitat Solar Room was born.  Following the Solar Room design, many other addition lines were developed to complement a wide range of existing home designs.  The British-style Conservatory met with immediate success due to its elegance, and the Palladian room provided homeowners with a flexible great room addition.  The result of this well-rounded addition series was that any home could subsequently benefit from an energy-efficient post and beam room.  Custom additions continue to be a popular option for many of its customers.  The 1980s boomed for houses, solar rooms/additions and commercial structures such as The Yankee Candle Company's first store here in South Deerfield, churches, farm stands and restaurants.

Expansion

In 1995 Peter May, who had been with the company for fourteen years and has had many years of direct experience in the building industry, became President of Habitat Post & Beam, Inc.  Carrying on the tradition of innovation and commitment to the timber frame industry, Peter continues to implement new ways to improve manufacturing efficiency, explore new improvements to material package energy efficiency, increase design and engineering capabilities, and update information sharing in the digital media age.

The facilities have expanded, and now include a detached showroom, a large two-story office building, a 10,000 square foot shop, and thousands of square feet of covered material storage.  New production equipment has been added in the manufacturing shop, including five new cutting stations to streamline timber cutting and dado detailing.  In the engineering and design office, we added two additional full-time designers, new computers and CAD programs, and a large-format engineering copier to make blueprint-sized, sharp, detailed prints.  The use of Chief Architect®, a powerful software package for design, provides Habitat with its preliminary design work and three-dimensional perspectives for enhanced visualization.  The renowned AutoCAD® program is utilized in the later stages of design.

After working in a variety of positions within the company for over 25 years, co-owner Huckle May became President of the company in 2021.

Habitat Post & Beam is looking forward to what the future holds after more than 50 years of its Tradition of Excellence.

Accreditations

Member Of:

  • Better Business Bureau - "Created to promote and foster the highest ethical relationship between businesses and the public through voluntary self-regulation, consumer and business education, and service excellence."
  • National Association of Home Builders - NAHB is an association whose mission is to enhance the climate for housing and the building industry. Chief among NAHB’s goals is providing and expanding opportunities for all consumers to have safe, decent and affordable housing.
  • Home Builders and Remodeler's Association of Western Massachusetts - To promote the housing industry and member success through networking, community service, public policy and social and educational opportunities.

Registered With:

  • Dun And Bradstreet - Dun & Bradstreet maintains the world’s largest business database, containing information about more than 64 million businesses worldwide including 13 million in the United States.

Certifications/Licenses:

  • General Contractor - Construction Supervisor License number 19383. Construction of all one and two family dwellings and all buildings containing less than 35,000 cubic feet of enclosed space must be under the supervision of a person licensed by the State Board of Building Regulations and Standards as Licensed Construction Supervisor.  
  • Home Improvement Contractor - Home Improvement Contractor registration number 127577. All persons, individuals, proprietorships, partnerships or corporations who solicit, bid on, or perform residential contracting as a contractor or subcontractor on an existing one to four unit owner-occupied residential building.