Haz
Silver Member
We are planning on building a timberframe home in the next year. Is anyone currently living in one or perhaps has built one? Any advice would be appreciated.
Anyone who has built a timberframe?
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wroughtn_harv
Super Member
I can't help you with practical experiences. But I do have the email address of a friend in Wisconsin who has an old barn that is timber framed and he'd love to find someone to dismantle it and make it into a home. Supposedly there isn't any nails in the framing.
JJT
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I built a true timber frame home, all the joints are mortise and tenon and pegged, no nails, bolts or metal hangers.
~8 years ago my wife and I sold our 5 yr old side hall colonial in town and moved into a mobile home on 30 acres of farmland.
Year 1 - driveway, electric, house foundation, well, septic for the trailer and sited the mobile home.
Year 2 - took delivery of 14,000 board feet of rough cut white pine. Planed, sanded, cut/chiseled all the joints and applied 2 coats of oil. 1000 hours to cut the frame for a 3000 sq ft back hall colonial, 3 bedroom, 3 bath. This is a full 2 story colonial with 10 ft ceiling downstairs and vaulted ceilings upstairs, (8 ft at the exterior wall and 15 ft at the peak).
Year 3 - assembled the 4 bents, (posts, girts and rafters are 8x12's up to 19' long), hired a 5 ton truck crane and operator with timber frame raising experience, ("never hooked on to anything I couldn't lift....."), unfortunately my 2 story bents were too much for his truck. We then hired a 20 ton lattice crane and raised the frame with 6 good friends in a single day. I took the next 6 months to dry in the house, (39 windows, 2 sky lights, 3 exterior doors). The house was literally built from the inside out, first the timber frame, then 18,000 board feet of knotty pine, (1x on the walls and 2x for the ceilings), then put up a conventional 2x6 frame, (avoided stress skin panels due to wife's allergies), wired, insulated and then sheeted the exterior.
Year 4 - Plumbing, heating, AC, lighting, interior walls, (the main house is 31x41 and there are only 4 interior posts), cabinets, appliances, flooring, (2500+ sq ft of maple flooring. 300+ sq ft of tile), leach field. We then moved in, that summer we did the siding, (12,000 feet of cedar), added 3 decks and a porch, and added ~2 acres to the existing .5 acre lawn.
Needless to say I have a very understanding wife and our privately held bank was very accomodating, (1yr construction loan was stretched to 2+ years).
Year 5 - added a knotty pine sunroom and a 1000 sq ft timberframe garage, also with knotty pine walls and a vaulted ceiling. We also added a .25 acre pond in the front yard.
I'd do it again in a heart beat, it's truly a gigantic woodworking project. I grew up in a family of trades people, carpenters, plumbers and electricians but had -0- timber framing experience. Before we built we toyed with the idea of a log log cabin, I'm extremely happy we went the timberframe route.
~8 years ago my wife and I sold our 5 yr old side hall colonial in town and moved into a mobile home on 30 acres of farmland.
Year 1 - driveway, electric, house foundation, well, septic for the trailer and sited the mobile home.
Year 2 - took delivery of 14,000 board feet of rough cut white pine. Planed, sanded, cut/chiseled all the joints and applied 2 coats of oil. 1000 hours to cut the frame for a 3000 sq ft back hall colonial, 3 bedroom, 3 bath. This is a full 2 story colonial with 10 ft ceiling downstairs and vaulted ceilings upstairs, (8 ft at the exterior wall and 15 ft at the peak).
Year 3 - assembled the 4 bents, (posts, girts and rafters are 8x12's up to 19' long), hired a 5 ton truck crane and operator with timber frame raising experience, ("never hooked on to anything I couldn't lift....."), unfortunately my 2 story bents were too much for his truck. We then hired a 20 ton lattice crane and raised the frame with 6 good friends in a single day. I took the next 6 months to dry in the house, (39 windows, 2 sky lights, 3 exterior doors). The house was literally built from the inside out, first the timber frame, then 18,000 board feet of knotty pine, (1x on the walls and 2x for the ceilings), then put up a conventional 2x6 frame, (avoided stress skin panels due to wife's allergies), wired, insulated and then sheeted the exterior.
Year 4 - Plumbing, heating, AC, lighting, interior walls, (the main house is 31x41 and there are only 4 interior posts), cabinets, appliances, flooring, (2500+ sq ft of maple flooring. 300+ sq ft of tile), leach field. We then moved in, that summer we did the siding, (12,000 feet of cedar), added 3 decks and a porch, and added ~2 acres to the existing .5 acre lawn.
Needless to say I have a very understanding wife and our privately held bank was very accomodating, (1yr construction loan was stretched to 2+ years).
Year 5 - added a knotty pine sunroom and a 1000 sq ft timberframe garage, also with knotty pine walls and a vaulted ceiling. We also added a .25 acre pond in the front yard.
I'd do it again in a heart beat, it's truly a gigantic woodworking project. I grew up in a family of trades people, carpenters, plumbers and electricians but had -0- timber framing experience. Before we built we toyed with the idea of a log log cabin, I'm extremely happy we went the timberframe route.
AndyR
Gold Member
Worked on 5 or 6 timber frames last year. Whereabouts in PA are you? I live in a big old connected farmhouse that is mostly tmberframes running from 1740 to 1980. Have you checked out the Timber Framer's Guild?
hazmat
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Andy,
you are going to let us know if there are any raisings going on in New England this summer right /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I'm still bummed I missed the one last year on the North Shore. I periodically check the timber framers guild website, but so far no scheduled raisings.
you are going to let us know if there are any raisings going on in New England this summer right /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I'm still bummed I missed the one last year on the North Shore. I periodically check the timber framers guild website, but so far no scheduled raisings.
njrqs
Veteran Member
Woah what a mammoth project you undertook.
Any pics of the masterpiece?
Cheers
Any pics of the masterpiece?
Cheers
AndyR and JJT,
We live in Northeast PA just by the New Jersey border on I-80. We will be building our timberframe about 30 minutes east of where we live now. I have already spoken with two timberframers and am waiting on the bid from the second one. Both will allow me to work with them for a week or two cutting the timbers. I have had some experience doing this a few years ago. I would have really liked to do the whole project myself but we have 7 children and some are still young and my wife has been waiting a long time to build our new home. I hope to do a lot of the interior work with a couple of friends. We are planning on using stress skin (SIPS) panels for the exterior. Our plan is to also build a 2 story colonial and a 3 car garage (I would like to cut the wood for the garage myself) and then use conventional framing for the walls since I don't need an insulated garage, although maybe I should have a little heat for the Bota. Yes, I did already meet someone from the Timberframers guild at a meeting last year. Thanks for all your comments. I will post pictures as we move along with our project.
Haz
We live in Northeast PA just by the New Jersey border on I-80. We will be building our timberframe about 30 minutes east of where we live now. I have already spoken with two timberframers and am waiting on the bid from the second one. Both will allow me to work with them for a week or two cutting the timbers. I have had some experience doing this a few years ago. I would have really liked to do the whole project myself but we have 7 children and some are still young and my wife has been waiting a long time to build our new home. I hope to do a lot of the interior work with a couple of friends. We are planning on using stress skin (SIPS) panels for the exterior. Our plan is to also build a 2 story colonial and a 3 car garage (I would like to cut the wood for the garage myself) and then use conventional framing for the walls since I don't need an insulated garage, although maybe I should have a little heat for the Bota. Yes, I did already meet someone from the Timberframers guild at a meeting last year. Thanks for all your comments. I will post pictures as we move along with our project.
Haz
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Given your location, why not locate an Amish builder and have the job done by the experts in timber framing?
JJT
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Neil, A digital camera is on my wish list. I'll post some pics this summer. JJT