Category Archives: timber frame homes

Designing for Storage in a Timber Frame Home

August 19, 2010

Timber frames offer opportunities to build homes with no load bearing walls. This same flexibility allows you to design a home that is more efficient and uses space effectively. Halls, notorious for their wasted space, are usually unnecessary. Walls can be moved feet or inches, as best suit the room layout without worries about headers and roof loads.

As you plan your new home, consider how you live and make best use of the space to accommodate your “stuff”. Do you need space for sporting equipment, hobby equipment, or a home office? Design in the storage you need so you aren’t creeping into your living space. This will allow you to design your living space for relaxing and entertaining.

Your pantry should have shelves near the top for larger, seldom used items. That roaster that you use once a year (unless you decide to dine out on holidays) doesn’t need space at eye level. The punchbowl that survived three children, baby showers, and wedding showers…shouldn’t someone else love it now? Open that space up for something you use every day…or at least once a month. Design shelving so the items you use daily are at eye level and easy to reach.

Linen closets may seem dated, but where do you keep towels, fresh linens, extra blankets, and pillows? The space needs to be accessible to the bathroom and bedroom. It doesn’t need to be a deep closet, but it should have plenty of space.

Where will that vacuum cleaner “live”? A closet for the vac and broom is important. It can include a shelf for cleaning supplies or not, but do plan ahead and include this important space.

A closet tucked under the stairs is excellent space for suitcases and seldom used items. Or it can house that seldom used wireless printer… out of the way until needed and then easily accessible.

Roll out shelves for the kitchen cabinets are all but indispensable. Nothing gets shoved to back, never to be seen again. Make sure you have the right mix of short and tall shelves. Baskets on top of the kitchen cabinets offer storage for tablecloths and napkins, even seldom used kitchen tools…I mean most of us don’t use those lobster crackers very often and they take up lots of drawer space.

So, as you design your new home, think about how you will store the necessities of life and about what items you might not want to bring into your new home. A new home offers opportunities to live only with the stuff you love. Lighten up while you have the chance.

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Timber Frames and Energy Efficiency

August 9, 2010

Well, it’s been hot this summer, some say record-breaking hot, but you couldn’t tell it by the energy usage for our timber frame home.   This timber frame, wrapped in energy efficient structural insulated panels, has met and exceeded our expectations.

Timber frames and SIPs are a great combination when it comes to a well insulated home.  Even with walls of windows, which are notoriously inefficient, and an electric dryer, we are not seeing the high power bills that might be expected.

Of course, we have all Energy Star rated appliances and fixtures, use fluorescent bulbs, and are manic about turning off lights when we aren’t in the room.  However, our 2 ton heat pump and fans are keeping our timber frame home cool and comfortable.

Last month we topped out at $74 and this month we went down to $72. We are pleased at the money we’ve saved…and at the energy we’ve saved.   Our home is 1700 square feet and we cook most days (heating up the house) and embraced daylighting and have more than our share of windows.  We do use our ceiling fans and we keep the house cool during the day just because it’s our “model” home.  I guess I can say our “model energy saving home”, can’t I?

All these years I’ve been encouraging people to consider using panels on their home and I am pleased.  I’d like to know how much energy is saved every year just in timber frames with insulated panel enclosures.  That would be a significant number, I’d think.  Sustainable homes are important to each of us.

So, I’ll sit here and not stress over the heat and high utility bills, and I might hope for cooler weather so we can open the windows and go back to our $30 power bills of the spring.

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Timber Frames – Solid and Strong

July 26, 2010

We often sit back and marvel at the beauty of our timber frame home, but it’s easy to forget that timber frames are solid and strong, carrying their loads with dignity for generations.  Wood is a very forgiving building material.  As in nature, it offers strength along with it’s flexibility.

We can look at buildings around the world, building built with wood and joinery, much as timber frames are built today and get an idea of the sustainability of timber frames.

The gingerbread houses in Haiti offer a look at how timber frames handled the devastating earthquake.  The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute found that only 10% of these homes suffered more than moderate damage, while many or  most of the other buildings suffered irreparable damage (13 of 15 government buildings collapsed).  Many of these gingerbread homes had little or no maintenance and still survived better than newer construction.

With better understanding of engineering, today’s timber frames are built to withstand the forces of nature and man.  What a great way to build and a secure way to live.

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Timber Frames and Flooring

July 14, 2010

Your timber frame home offers lots of opportunities to express your individuality.  As you design and build your new home, you’ll gain insights into the flexibility that timber frames offer.  Is your taste elegant?  Does it lean toward traditional or even rustic?  Your new home will be whatever you wish, just make selections carefully and design it to be the home of your dreams.

While many, if not most, timber frames feature wood flooring, the types and finishes available in wood floors are almost as varied as the styles of timber frame homes.  There is antique flooring, fine clear flooring, and everything in between.  You can choose laminates, hardwood, or even softer pine.

We decided we needed a durable hardwood that would withstand not only people, but dogs without looking worn.  So what better choice than to distress the floor before it went down and not dread that “first scratch”.   Pam and Neal had installed amazing hickory floors in their new timber frame and they guided us on the techniques used so we could enjoy a similar floor.

Starting with a utility (economy) grade hickory, we ended up with an amazing floor that looks as though it has suffered through generations.  It is warm and inviting and handles traffic easily.   The cats, dogs, and human traffic only add to the patina.

The dark color compliments the clary sage walls and lighter timber.   The contrast is stunning and grounds each room.  With rugs (chosen with Pam’s input) defining the different living spaces, this flooring is never overlooked.

While we opted for tile in the bathrooms and mudroom, this warm flooring is used throughout the rest of our home.   It works well even in the kitchen, where spills don’t cause concern.

In using utility grade material (the stuff that didn’t meet the grade for “real” flooring), we feel that we made a step in the sustainable direction.  These trees didn’t die in vain.  Finished with water based stains and polyurethane, the floor offer a non-toxic alternative to many of the products available on the market today.

So, begin thinking about your flooring early on and know all of your options. Go with the floor that will compliment your home and your lifestyle.  There is something out there for everyone and your wood floor should last for a long, long time.  Why “wood” you use anything else?

For some other ideas on designing and building your timber frame home, check out Timber Frame Magazine .

See you soon.

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You Can’t Beat a Timber Frame Porch

June 28, 2010

Timber frame porches offer shelter from the sun, wind, and rain.  They also offer much, much more.  The space extends your living area outdoors, expanding the space you live in and making it comfortable to live in a smaller space inside.Timber Frame porches offer shelter

The front porch on our timber frame serves as a place to drink our morning coffee…and a glass of wine with friends in the evening.  As we sat and worked on green beans from the garden, it brought back memories of grandmothers and mothers sitting on front porches in aprons as they prepared food for canning and freezing.

Flowers, both those brought from inside after a long winter of sunshine through the windows, and those planted in the spring, thrive on the porch.  They fill the air with fresh, natural scents and the vibrant greens and amazing color lift the heart.  These plants, sheltered by the timber frame of the porch, bring a smile to everyone who comes up the steps.

After a long, hard day, sitting on the porch swing (just swinging) is a nice way to end the day.

Whether you porch is large and grand and opens to views of mountains and lakes or whether it’s smaller and reminiscent of your grandparents’ porch, it connects you to the outdoors…to life larger than yourself.

So, stop on by, sip a tall glass of iced tea, and swing or rock for a while.  We’ll be waiting.

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Timber Frames and Smart Cars – A Common Thread

June 18, 2010

Timber Frame and Smart CarTimber frames have been on the cutting edge of sustainability for far longer than there has been a “green building” movement.    Building with minimally processed timber, using minimal embodied energy, and building homes that will be in place for centuries without degrading is pretty much a definition of green.

As we designed and built our timber frame home, much thought went into not only what went in, but what might come out in the future.  We understood that while nothing lasts forever, timber frame homes should last darn near that long.

Recently we received an email that stated ” The Smart ForTwo is 95% Recyclable”. I had to step back and think about our timber frame homes.  Can we make the same claim?   Are we doing everything possible to build homes that will not only sit lightly on the land today, but will not be a burden in a landfill in years to come?

The choices we make today as we build, and as we live, don’t only impact us, they impact generations.  So think about each step you take and remember that the footprint you leave is there forever.  It won’t wash away with the next rain or be covered over easily.

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Designing Timber Frames

May 1, 2010

Designing timber frame homes is a very personal journey for homeowners.  We started designing our own timber frame almost fifteen years before we actually built it.  The design we ended up building was not even close to the early designs.   We built a smaller, more charming home.   We traveled many roads leading to this design, discussing simplicity and complexity, weighing the size and scale options, and always, style.

We poured over books of very old home designs.  The kit homes from Sears, Wardway, Aladdin, and Van-Tine offered a sense of history.  Stickley’s craftsman homes were charming.  Many of these designs offered character that would work well when translated into timber frame construction.  So much of what made them special and unique actually carried from one design to another.  They were designed to a human scale, something missing in many homes today.

The Creekside was designed to fit our lifestyle and to be comfortable.  It sits on a small footprint and is energy efficient.  The living space is open and flows well, but not overwhelming.  We designed in smaller, cozy spaces for the office and reading nook, while making sure that this home will age in place.   Designing a timber frame home that brought all of this together was important to us.

Sharing this experience with people who visit us at Goshen Timber Frames is important to us.  We want to help them design a home that works for them.  We see many clients who are interested in the older character and style similar to our home.  Whether they want smaller or larger, they are looking for a sense of shelter in their new home.

So, my advice as you research your new timber frame is to design and build what draws you, what engages you, and what works for you.  Don’t think about the current trends, but design a home that fits with your land and your lifestyle.  You will be well rewarded.

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Spring is Upon our Timber Frame

April 23, 2010

Spring has sprung.  Well, almost.  There was frost on Thursday morning (April 22), but the flowering cherry tree says it’s Spring as it smiles on the new timber frame home it didn’t get to greet last year.

Timber frames work easily with Spring weather.  Windows come open and sunshine fills the space.  The timbers stand proud and strong and welcome the fresh air. We open the windows during the warm days and close them as evening nears, saving the warmth in our well insulated home.  Heat hasn’t been on in several weeks even though some nights have been near or below freezing and we’ve had frost several times.

We are looking forward to having our windows open and a fresh breeze at night, breezes to bring us dreams of faraway places and wondrous things. Those days will be here soon enough.

Now, the planting has begun.  Garden, flower beds, cleaning up the winter debris…there are plenty of tasks for every day.  I do see how folks worked from sunup until sundown without ever going to town.

But, I need to head to the office, leaving behind this bloom-covered tree and my sheltering timber frame.

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Timber Frame Bedrooms – Shelter for Sleep

April 3, 2010

Over the years I’ve been part of the design process in many, many timber frame homes.  Timber frames are a joy and a challenge to design, but I’d never thought about the bedrooms in more than terms of size and space.  Living in a timber frame has changed my perspective.

As we’ve settled into our home and spent at least some of each season, the importance of the design of the bedroom space has become more apparent. We have two bedrooms.  One is on the first floor, our guest room at this time, but designed so that we can “age in place” and live on the first floor if we are uncomfortable trekking up stairs every day.  This bedroom has timber ceiling joists and posts.  The master bedroom, (that’s a grand name for the smaller space that we chose to include), is upstairs, vaulted with timber posts and beams.

While both are decorated in “early old”, they each have a unique character and feel about them. The first floor bedroom evokes a sense of age and peace.  Our sons refer to it as “Granny’s bedroom”, even though she isn’t with us any longer. They say it reminds them of her and they believe that she would have been comfortable in it.  With her old Bible, a bed that belonged to David’s Grandfather, and a lovely cedar chest built just for us by Harold, David’s Dad, it does have a sense of ancestry.   The lower ceiling (9′) also offers a cozy space to rest peacefully.  The cocoon effect is evident as you rest in this room.  You are sheltered and sleep comes easily.

The master bedroom upstairs is smaller, but the high ceilings add volume to the room.  It lives (and sleeps) like a much larger space. With it’s quirky screen door for the closet and salvaged door headboard, it isn’t exactly the average room.   Sleeping in it is much like laying under a star-filled sky or in an open field.  You relax and let sleep come to you.

Since we usually sleep with open windows during much of the year, we’ve even considered having a “summer” bedroom and a “winter” bedroom.  The upstairs room is warm and cozy on cold nights.  We haven’t even turned the heat on upstairs…and it was a cold winter.  However, we are thinking that the bedroom downstairs might be cooler this summer.  We’ll see what happens.

Our timber frame has lived up to all our expectations, offering shelter (as timber frames tend to do) and, being small, making us think about how we live and what we consider important.    We realize we just don’t need as much “stuff” as we thought.  We love it.

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Timber Frame Friends

March 22, 2010

Our new timber frame home came years after we made the decision to build. Building timber frames is a passion, a business, and a way of life for us, but we had much to do before we could build our own.  Today we enjoy it (note the new quote at the top of the page) and rest easily knowing that we’ve built our own timber frame home.

The past week we’ve shared our home with many who came to visit and talk about building their own homes, but we’ve also been able to sit back and enjoy our timber frame with friends.  What a great experience!

Wednesday evening Rick, Debbie, and Tucker stopped by on their way north. David cooked up a great St. Patrick’s Day dinner with all the corned beef and cabbage that we could eat.  Clay and Levi joined us for the great meal.  Rick and Debbie stayed over and we shared breakfast before they went their way and I went to work.   We always enjoy their visits and look forward to many more.

I do need to mention that Levi and Tucker were actually there to visit Pearson, being dogs and all.

Sunday night rolled around and once again we broke bread with friends.  Mike and Jordan, Bill and Cheryl, Banks and Robin, Gerald and Liz, and Corey joined us for a hearty dinner of cioppino (voted the best on Burnintown) and fellowship.  With spirited conversation (politics, gossip, the economy, medicine, and life in general), some spirits, and a finale of Cheryl’s wonderful cookies, it was a great evening…all within the timber frame that will absorb many such gatherings over the next century or two.

Living in a timber frame may be no different than living in any other home, but I’m not sure about that.  I just know that David and I are certainly enjoying ours.  I also know that over the years we’ve made many friends who came in the door to talk about timber frames…some built homes, some didn’t, but what wonderful people they are!

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