A simple sketch or rendering can help you start to visualize your project.

A pavilion built by volunteer labor and materials for the Naples (NY) Community Park. Timber Designs joined with other timber framers and community members over the course of several weekends, Fall 2003.

Making shavings!

And more shavings!

Peter Osbourne and other volunteers working on the Naples pavilion project.

Pulling together – professionals and volunteers on the Naples pavilion project.

Scene from the Venezia raising, July, 2003

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Vermont build the entire house?

No. Our role is basically that of a subcontractor to a general contractor or an owner-builder. We supply the timber frame / structural insulated panel system. We also offer a full service design staff that can work alongside your architect or develop a full set of drawings to your specifications.

What style of houses do you build?

Timber frame construction is suitable for nearly every architectural style from Colonial to contemporary. Timber framing was the type of construction used to build most of the historic residential styles and continues to be very adaptable. It is not just for rustic buildings.

Do you have standard plans?

We have many home plans for which firm costs have been calculated. Our design primer, Planning the Timber Frame Home, highlights many of our most popular home plans. Minor changes can be made to these designs at no extra charge. More substantial changes requiring structural modification or significant design time will be priced accordingly.

Can you adapt a timber frame to an existing floor plan?

Yes. Floor plans are probably the most flexible element in timber frame design since the need for load-bearing interior walls has been eliminated (all loads are carried by posts). However, since we must balance the structural capabilities of the timbers with the requirements of the floor plan, we ask that you allow us a bit of flexibility to make necessary changes or adjustments; you wouldn't want to end up with a post in the middle of the dining room.

Can I do my own design?

Sure, but please don't underestimate the importance of a thorough design or the amount of time required to produce it. A change can be made on paper with an eraser, but a change on site after construction can cost thousands of dollars. A designer's experience with construction not only can help you avoid such expenses, but should also enable you to take advantage of the most economical methods for building your design.

You will also want to consider the amount of time required to produce an adequate set of drawings. Remember, these drawings are more than pictures of a house. They are documents that must communicate the details of construction to financiers, general contractors, subcontractors and anyone else involved in the project. They must be prepared thoroughly and accurately, and doing so takes time. An experienced designer will typically spend 40 or more hours at the drawing board after conceptual details have been worked out. So it is reasonable to expect that a person with less experience will spend significantly more time preparing a design, perhaps up to 300 hours. If you are working full-time and expect to work on the design in the evenings, say two hours per night, four nights per week, that's 150 evenings spread over 37 weeks or nine months.

Do you have that much time? How much do you really know about construction techniques, engineering and costs? Can your time be spent in more profitable ways?

Certainly, developing your own design for your own home is a worthwhile undertaking. But since planning is probably the most important phase of the construction project, be willing to invest a significant amount of time in the development of your design skills, and then devote a significant amount of time to the development of your design. And again, be flexible and willing to listen to the suggestions of people whose knowledge of design and construction may surpass your own.

Is timber framing the same as post and beam construction?

Post and beam is a type of construction in which vertical members (posts) are connected by horizontal members (beams) to create the structural framework of a building. The posts and beams can be wood, steel, concrete, plywood, laminated solid wood or any other suitable material. The pieces are connected with any number of methods - screws, nails, through-bolts, or joist hangers.

Timber framing, on the other hand, refers to a specific type of post and beam construction in which solid wood timbers are joined by means of traditional wooden joinery: mortise and tenon, dovetails, and scarfs secured with hardwood pegs.

Why do you insist on the traditional joinery?

We believe that the traditional wooden joinery is the best way to construct a durable and inherently beautiful framework. This type of joinery has been used for well over a thousand years, and there are hundreds of ancient timber frame structures that stand in testimony to its strength. Other methods may be faster and require less skill, but these advantages are to the manufacturer, not the structure.

What kind of wood do you use?

Most of our frames are made of oak. Many species are suitable for timber framing, but we inventory oak because it is the best, most plentiful, locally available species, and therefore it is the least expensive material we can use. We often supply frames in other species upon request, including Douglas Fir, white pine, cedar, maple and salvaged timber.

Do the timbers ever warp or twist?

Solid, natural wood timbers cannot practically be kiln dried. Traditional timber frames have always been crafted from green timber and a certain amount of movement and shrinkage is to be expected. We take a number of precautions to minimize the amount of movement. Timbers are individually inspected for spiralling grain and large knots - the two main causes of undue wood movement - and unsatisfactory timbers are rejected.

We also specify that sawmills supply us with heart-sawn hardwood timbers - that is, timbers that have the heart of the tree in their centers. (Softwood timber is generally better cut free of heart, that is, cut away from the center of the tree.) In addition, to minimize checking and splitting in the key joinery areas, we specify that suppliers seal the end grain of all timbers delivered to us. This helps control the rapid drying that would occur at these points. After the joinery is cut in the shop, we again seal all new exposed end grain to help stabilize the timbers at these critical joinery locations.

What is “checking”?

Checks are the grain separations that appear on the surface of the timbers. They are caused as the timbers dry and shrink. When wood begins to lose the water that can account for over seventy-five percent of its live weight, it shrinks in size. As the shrinkage occurs, the timber pulls itself apart in isolated areas along the grain lines. Occasionally, they can even produce a loud bang. It's nothing to worry about, the timbers are just making themselves at home, acclimating to their new environment.

While timbers will not shrink significantly in length, their cross-grain dimensions (width and depth) can shrink noticeably. This usually begins to appear in the first and second year after construction. For example, beams that were tightly butted against posts at the time of the frame raising might show gaps a year or two later. This shrinkage is taken into account in our engineering of timber sizes and joinery, and does not significantly affect structural integrity.

Evidence of shrinkage will also appear where the timbers meet the walls and roof. As the framing members contract, more of the wall or roof surface will be exposed and a paint or wallpaper line will appear. After the timbers have stabilized (usually within about three or four years) you may want to touch up the finish in these areas.

Braces will also shrink, but we avoid the paint line by centering them on the post and girt rather than placing them flush against the wall. This provides enough space for the painter or paperhanger to extend the finish behind the brace.

What are structural insulated panels?

The structural insulated panels that are used to enclose and insulate our timber frames consist of a core of rigid foam insulation laminated between interior and exterior sheathing materials. The panels are manufactured in one piece in sizes from 4' x 8' up to 8' x 24'. The panels are nailed to the outside of the frame (walls and roof wrapping it in a tight, low-infiltration blanket of insulation). These rigid panels perform like an I-beam, with the sheathing materials resisting the forces of tension and compression and the foam core acting as the web. The panels have the structural integrity necessary to span the areas between timber frame members. With some minor modification, these panels can become fully structural building components, extending the many benefits of structural insulated panels to areas of the home that are not framed with timbers.

These structural panels are similar to the panels used to enclose timber frames except that "two by" framing members are incorporated in the structural panel joints and drywall is not laminated to the inside surface.

What are the advantages of structural insulated panels?

There are many advantages. structural insulated panels represent the first truly time and labor efficient way of enclosing and insulating a timber framed building. Historical methods such as wattle and daub infill or brick noggin were notoriously labor intensive and ineffective insulators. Most modern methods preceding structural insulated enclosure were imitations of stud framing with the accompanying problems of air infiltration and moisture condensation, not to mention the redundancy of building a structural wall around a structural framework.

Structural insulated panels on the other hand, not only wrap the entire frame in a continuous blanket of insulation, but also permit installation of drywall (or other interior sheathing materials) and sheathing in a fraction of the time required by other methods, and with superior results.

Structural insulated panels can be installed in as little as three working days depending on the complexity of the job and the experience of the crew that installs them. Structural insulated panels also offer superior strength and security.

A home enclosed in structural insulated panels is strengthened and protected by two layers of Oriented Strand Board (OSB) - one on the outside panel face and one on the inside. The inside layer of OSB also provides a sturdy nailing surface, enabling you to hang shelves, cabinets and pictures without having to search for a stud.

How does a timber framed house compare in cost to a conventionally built house?

This is probably the most frequently asked question, and one that cannot be answered simply.

In order to make an accurate comparison, it is necessary to compare like structures, and that is where the difficulty lies. Given structures of identical size with identical floor plans, one timber framed and the other conventionally built, you still don't have identical buildings. The timber frame itself offers valuable elements to a home that are very difficult to duplicate with conventional methods.

First, the timber frame provides an extremely sound and durable structural base. Historical evidence suggests that given a good foundation and careful protection from the elements, a timber frame will last indefinitely. There are hundreds of timber framed structures in Europe and Japan that are approaching 1,000 years of age. There is no evidence to suggest that modern timber frames, when designed with respect for the joinery and techniques of the ancient frames, should expect a shorter life span. They are truly built for generations of use.

Second, the frame plays a significant role in maintaining an appropriate living environment. The thermal mass of the frame helps stabilize temperatures inside the home. The frame also helps control interior humidity levels, which affects personal comfort levels in any structure.

Third, and most difficult to appraise, the frame adds significant architectural interest to a home.The rooms in a timber frame house are more than drywall-finished boxes. The frame is an integral part of the interior. Conventional builders often spend large sums of money in an attempt to duplicate the character of a timber framed structure.

In addition to all of this, it would be very difficult to duplicate the insulating performance of the structural insulated panels with conventional methods.

Therefore, it seems reasonable to expect that if a conventional builder were asked to build a home that could reasonably be expected to last several hundred years, with the necessary amount of thermal mass and some ability to self-regulate temperature and humidity levels, with beamed ceilings and the integrity of a timber frame, the most likely result would be a significantly more expensive structure.

Remember, too, that the timber frame/structural insulated panel combination accounts for only a fraction of the cost of custom construction, and that the degree and quality of finish materials determine the majority of the cost.

With all these things in mind, it is safe to say that if conventional methods are used to build a home that is insulated to the same degree as a timber frame enclosed with structural insulated panels (disregarding the contributions of the frame itself), there will be little cost difference. We would add that while there is a little cost difference, there is a significant difference in value.