Development of a Timber Framed Project

Timber frame projects begin with a phone call. The conversation usually goes like this: “I am planning to build soon and I have been looking at your website. I would like to ask you a couple of questions.” We answer questions and ask questions of our own such as, “When do you plan to build? What size home are you building? Where is your building site?” There typically follows more phone calls and e-mails back and forth. The client visits with us and we visit the site. Everyone decides that the building budget is adequate and that we are capable of producing the work. It’s time to get down to business.

All families who plan to build a home have a shoe box. And in that shoe box resides clippings and photographs of things the family wants in a new home. The contents of that shoe box are different for each family. The trick is to combine a bunch of not always compatible things into the home the family wants. These “things” include: space requirements and relationships to each other, the demands of the building site, the architectural style, the timber frame design complete with structural demands and joinery techniques required, utilities, the budget, and the contents of the shoe box. We fit all these elements together, make compromises and suggestions, and produce the first preliminary drawings. These drawings are shared with the family for consideration and critique. We make requested changes and provide pricing along the way. It is never a good idea to design without the client having an inkling of what things cost. The process is not well served if the client requires oxygen after receiving a price late in the game. Here are samples from a current project.

(Graphics courtesy of Courtesy of Homestead Timberframes, By Allen Stoker.)
There are numerous ways to timber frame a particular space. Here are examples of different timber arrangements for the same house.

(Photos from Benson, Ted. Timberframe Home: Design, Construction and Finishing. Taunton Press: 1997. )
The exterior dimensions and shape are the same. The roof pitch is the same. The timber frame differs to complement the floor plan configuration, the traffic flow, the open-to-above areas desired, the site, and utility systems.
(Graphics courtesy of Courtesy of Homestead Timberframes, By Allen Stoker.)
Our next step in the process is to schedule the work through our shop. We do this by working backwards from the family’s move-in date. We help work out a realistic time line and remind that all things good are worth waiting for. With a move-in date set, we project when the timber frame would be delivered and raised. That date tells us when we should do our shop work and, earlier still, when the timber must be ordered. It is almost time to make chips fly.