Timber Frame Facts

Fact #13 –  People who live in timber frames are happier (okay, so I made this up using my own data).

Fact #14 – Timber frames help to meet green certification requirements.  Building with rapidly renewable timbers, using energy efficient panels, minimizing site waste.

Fact #15 – Timber frames are naturally more fire resistant.  Heavy timber is recognized by fire codes (even in places where fire is a major hazard…like California) as a safer building product.

Let’s continue the list of facts, not fiction,  about timber frames.

Fact #4 – Timber frames, with their point loaded design, allow easier renovation and remodeling, if needed.  There are no bearing walls that must be accounted for in the process.  This flexibility might not seem important, but try opening up a wall in a stick-framed home and you get into headers and engineering.  Not so with timber frames.

Fact #5 – Timber frames can be built with a wide variety of woods.  The timber will be sized according to the properties of that particular species. Decisions should be based on availability, aesthetics, and the design of the timber frame.

Fact #6 – Timber frames are still timber frames, whether they are cut by hand or with a machine.  While there are subtle differences, the joinery is the same joinery used for centuries.

More facts to follow.

While all timber framers want to tell how wonderful timber frames are and how you life will be much better if you live in one, we need to know the facts.  Just the facts, thank you very much. So I will begin a series of short posts with timber frame facts.  No hype and no hyperbole.

Fact #1 – Timber frames are built from a renewable resource.  Wood does literally “grow on trees”.

Fact #2 – Timber frames are built with wood that is minimally processed. This is environmentally responsible.

Fact #3 – Timber frames will last for centuries.

So that’s the start of these facts.   Let’s see where it goes.

Duke Energy in North Carolina offers a discounted electric rate to homes that meet Energy Star requirements.  The homes must be inspected by a third-party inspector, but the 5% savings makes it an affordable option.

The savings, when coupled with the reduced energy cost to maintain a home that meets or exceeds the requirements, are significant.

There are lots of incentives for building an energy efficient home.   We’ll outline some of them in coming weeks.  Stay tuned.

As David and I have researched the products that will go into our new home, we’ve gone back through the articles and ads that drew our interest and looked at products that are often not quite mainstream.   The common denominator to these products is that they are 1) energy efficient, 2) convenient, 3) comfortable.

We are looking hard at LG’s washer/dryer combination.  What a novel idea…put the clothes in dirty and take them out dry and ready to wear.  No more …”oh, I forgot to put that load in the dryer”.  This is a solution that is long past overdue.

Of course, radiant floor heat isn’t new, but we are using hydronic radiant floor heating…heated with an on demand hot water heater.   We will have a separate unit for our domestic hot water (I require lots of hot water), but what a great solution to a comfortable, energy efficient system.  Several systems are on the market…and they aren’t inexpensive…but we believe it will be cost effective and comfortable.

Cable lights.  We’ve seen them, but not often, and have always thought they looked interesting.  We are incorporating them into the timbered ceiling to accent those beautiful beams.

Concrete countertops.  Our son had them installed in his new timber frame (yes, he built a timber framed home before we did) and they are absolutely beautiful!

Salvaged materials.  Our roofing came off of an old chicken house that we tore down years ago.  We used some on our new timber framed barn and loved the look.  Of course, the roofing paper will be more important, but this is a great look.  Our front door and french doors came from a home built in the 1800′s.  They are solid oak and magnificent.  We picked them up for a fraction of the cost of new doors of similar quality.   Ceramic door knobs are really nice.  We bought several sets (including skeleton keys) and will use them in our new home.   We are collecting old six panel doors to use for our pocket doors.   These products haven’t nearly outlived their useful life.  Talk about sustainability!

I did say quiet…the hammers aren’t hammering much, the power tools are still, the construction trades are slower than they’ve been in many years.  The advantage goes to the you.  There are talented carpenters, masons, plumbers, and electricians ready to work.

Two purposes are served.  The first is the opportunity get some very competitive pricing by utilizing the available labor.  The second opportunity comes to the tradesmen/tradeswomen who can continue to work.

David and I are stepping forward.  We see this as an excellent time to build and our home will be out of the ground in a couple of weeks.  We are finding the proposals we’re getting are competitive and we are pleased to be able to reach out to these tradesmen.

Step back and look at where you are and where you plan on being in a couple of years.  Building while there are available contractors may be your best choice.   Building now, and building a smaller, sustainable, energy efficient home will no doubt serve you well.

Green Building, in it’s new and sometimes abused persona, is not really a new concept.  It has always been important to use resources wisely, to build with the materials at hand, and to conserve energy.  New technology has helped us to achieve some of these goals, but if we look back, we see that many before us have built green, without all the hype.  Adobe homes protected Native Americans in the Southwest from sweltering heat, wattle and daub homes used materials at hand to build shelters, skyscrapers built in the late 1800′s made use of urban space.  So while architects, designers, and builders today would like to take credit for this movement, they are truly just making the public more aware of the importance of building green