1. Design Flexibility
Timber frames are strong structural shells that lend themselves to open floor plans with fewer walls than stick built buildings. Typically, timber frame homes feature large windows affording natural light, bringing the outdoors in. The design options are vast and the timber frame itself
can be an integral part of your decor.

2. Durability
The oldest surviving timber frame house in North America was built in the 1640s. Many still functional timber frames in Europe and Asia are over 1,000 years old. So, timber frames are built to last. The combination of large timbers and mortise and tenon joinery creates structures
of strength and durability.

3. Energy Efficiency
Timber frame structures use timbers that are larger than the 2 x 4 lumber generally used in conventional framing. The increased space between the interior and exterior walls allows for more insulation, resulting in lower costs to heat and cool the building. The timber frame creates
the structural skeleton of the building. We usually enclose the timber frame with structural insulated panels (SIPs) which provide a high R-value and a very air tight enclosure.

Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are often used in timber frame building. They are panels consisting of a rigid insulated foam core sandwiched between two structural boards. SIPs are strong, cost effective and energy efficient. While the cost of SIPs themselves may be higher than the comparable materials used in conventional framing, the labor savings to install them is significant. The energy savings is generally thought to have a 3-5 year return on investment, making the long term cost of the house lower.

A hybrid timber frame combines the methods of traditional timber framing with modern conventional stud frame building. You can decide, based on your budget and preferences, how much of each type of construction your project contains. If you’re building a house, you may want timber frame elements in some rooms and not others. There’s no right or wrong, and no all or none – we can help you design and plan the structure that will work best for you.

Yes, we can design your timber frame structure or recommend a designer we work closely with I already have a design; can you use it? Yes, we can. Your design may need to be modified or engineered to be suitable for a timber frame, but we can start with it. Your input is important – we want to collaborate with you so the end result is what you envisioned. Or better!

Structural engineering is done by an engineering and design firm specializing in timber structures and licensed by the state, and may be required by your local building department. The stress loads of timber frame structures are different than in typical frame building. Topography, snow loads, wind velocity, temperature extremes and ground structure all impact any building. A timber frame engineer ensures that the design and placement of the joints in the frame and the size of timbers used are best suited to safely handle all of these factors.

That depends. How big is it? Large projects generally require a crane and a forklift. Are you handy? Do you have strong friends who will be helping? Small frames may be possible to raise yourself, but will be challenging. While we usually don’t recommend you raise a frame yourself we’d be happy to either send advisors, give you advice on how to do it or try to talk you out of it.

Definitely. This is a great way to give your house a fresh look. You can do anything from adding decorative timber trusses to your exterior or the inside of a room, to a timber frame addition to your house or a timber frame porch. There are many options and price ranges for timber frame elements.

No, we don’t build turn key homes. it made more sense for us to specialize. We design the homes, cut and raise the frames, and help line up local contractors to finish the projects. Nowadays, we encourage our clients to hire general contractors directly. As part of our timberframe construction contract, we meet with the contractor to explain our enclosure system and supply them with our “tricks of the trade” construction details, and we give them all the information they need to provide accurate prices to the clients. We are very pleased with how well this works.

Our clients often have contractors that they already know and would like to work with. If, however, you are new to the area or don’t have many contacts, we can recommend several contractors that we have worked with.

In a perfect world, the answer would be yes. In this world, the high cost of shipping makes this more expensive. Custom sawing has a few other inherent problems. Often the trees are not cut by professionals, and logs are selected incorrectly or cut a few inches short. All logs look straight when they are lying on the ground. Everyone thinks the other guy’s trade is easy. Forestry is a trade with lots of room for the devil to hide in the details.

In an average stand, one in four trees have a good timber beam inside. Poor grain and large knots are sometimes exposed with the first slice. Sawmills turn these into 1” boards, 2×4, strapping, etc. You need at least twice the board footage of your timber order. With custom sawing, most mills prefer to take logs from your property, saw them into the size and dimension that is most efficient, and pay you by the board foot, in the form of a credit. This way, they can select your order from a much larger stock, and you will not need to go back to the woods over and over to get the last few timbers.

All this, having been said, sometimes it is practical to use your own trees, especially if the site is near our shop. Of course, it would be great to have your frame built from your own trees, but you need to decide the value that you place on this.