Timber Cost: This figure is arrived at by taking the volume of timber, (the board footage) required for the frame and multiplying it against the current mill price. This price fluctuates somewhat as we still treat trees as commodities; we are currently using the price of $1.20/board foot to estimate our frames. White pine is currently $0.90/board foot. Delivery by our local mill is $100/1,000 board feet. Our local miller cuts very true timbers and of high quality, gradable lumber. However, we are sometimes required to re-square a portion of the timbers, and we also have to factor in handling/loading, peg cost, and waste allowance. With all this, the embodied cost per board foot of white pine is around $1.15, we then add on a margin for error and unforeseen market rises in delivery and material. The catch is, you only pay what it costs, we just prefer to be on the high side rather than trying to explain at a later date why we are asking you for more money. All frames assume that the timber species is white pine, other species quotes are available for all frames, we just prefer to check with the mill to get the current rate for beech, oak, poplar, spruce, hemlock, etc.

Cutting Labour: Our in shop/in town rate, (within 45 minutes drive of Marmora, Ontario), is $30 per person per hour. Out of town our rate is $35 per person per hour. We do not require per diem reimbursements, and if camping is readily available to your construction site we do not transfer accommodation costs.

We’ve cut thousands of mortises and tenons and have a good sense of how long each frame will take to cut and assemble and raise, it is based on this experience that we estimate the cutting of our frames. That said, you only pay for what we work and never above our estimated hours; travel time is at half our out of town wage.

Raising Labour: This only covers the estimated person hours involved in assembling and raising a given frame. It assumes the availability of a forklift; on larger frames a crane will be required for one to two days for the actual raising. We’ve done hand raising and would love to do more of it, so if you have lots of gung-ho friends and family we’ll make a party out of getting your frame up and pegged.

Raising a timber frame takes a fair amount of planning. There are many things that are out of our control that can delay and add time to a raising. Specifically, weather, site terrain and conditions, or the failure of a general contractor to provide timely scheduling of needed equipment and materials. Obviously we do everything we can to make the process fluid but we have to bill for hours worked when on site.

Delivery: This is a rate for delivery from our shop in Marmora, Ontario to any site within 150 km. We also take care of the unloading labour at your site. Larger frames may require a forklift on the receiving end. Delivery for sites out of this area are quoted on a by-the-job basis and may require a site visit to ensure clean orchestration of delivery.

Total Cost: Simply the sum of all of the above.

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On Demand: All Timber Frames are cut on a demand basis. We just don’t think it is a good practice to cut and store frames. Nor do we feel that mass producing anything, even beautiful handcrafted timber frames, is a sustainable or responsible practice. If you need it quick, we will work with you.

Models: All our frames are developed in a 3-D computer drafting program, Google’s SketchUp Pro 7. Everyone can download a freeware version of this software and we suggest you do, it’s awesome. If you want to view our models in 3-D, drop us a line and we’ll send you the SketchUp info and the basic file of the frame you’re interested in. You’ll then be able to virtually walk through and around these buildings, even place furniture and figures to scale.

Cost: The figures you see displayed on each model frame page are high-end estimates. Though we build for a living, we do not build for profit. Thus, we prefer to do all of our work aboveboard; you pay for the materials in your project and the hours we work. Our list prices reflect the absolute maximum cost of the frame based on market cost of materials and our labour rate factored against the volume of timbers required and the estimated cutting time. That said, you would never pay a dime over the price listed. Please read through the Cost Break Down for clarification of each listed cost.

Finish: We highly recommend natural oil finishes for all interior timbers — they slow the drying and protect the wood from stains. We do not however include this in our cost estimate. Our Labour Cost reflects the hours required to plane all exposed timbers, four sides smooth, but the wood is still raw. Oiling is additional — labour and material. If your timbers are exposed on the exterior, we recommend letting them grey out.

Embellishments: Carving of pendants, dates, inscriptions, or images are not included in any estimates. Edging of timbers, chamfers, rounded edge, beading, or custom work of any decorative nature is not included in any estimates. All of these features and anything else you can dream up we will happily do at our stated rates. However, if a frame shows arching of knee braces or if other elements are visually crafted these have been factored into the specific frame’s estimate.

Wood: The wood we cut our frames from is locally sourced, it can be certified for sustainable harvesting but this incurs additional costs which we will happily explore upon request. We are Plant-a-Tree timber framers, for every 16 foot timber we have come through our shop we plant or pay out of pocket to have two trees of the same species planted. We have on order or germinating over 350 trees for planting in central Ontario this year.

Wood II: Your new timber frame is wood. This is good for a lot of reasons. But wood came from a living thing and as such it continues, even in death, to display characteristics of life. It moves, it ages, it breathes, it is imperfect. Timber framing and hewn log construction evolved to work with and even benefit from these lively attributes. The techniques we use to join timber to timber to construct self supporting structures are perfectly suited to this dynamic material.

Wood III: These are all going to happen to any timber no matter how it is treated, or where it is located, in a heated home or in a barn: checks (cracks in the timbers running parallel to the grain), wane or live edges (visible portions of the former tree’s trunk), rounding of milled-to-flat faces (tangential distortion, as the deep cells lose moisture they contract and cause a re-rounding of the timber), discolouration when exposed to UV rays in conjunction with humidity, shrinkage, and general fluctuation of size.  None of the above natural processes of wood curing are detrimental to the structural integrity of a frame or cabin. They provide character, distinction and an appearance that is exclusive to heavy timber construction.

Deposits and Payment: We require full deposit on estimated material costs for each frame. You are issued an invoice indicating the the receipt of this payment. It typically takes between two and four weeks for our mill to produce and deliver the timbers. When we begin cutting on your frame you are invoiced bi-monthly for the duration of cutting, not to exceed our estimated cutting labour — if we take too long we finish it off the clock. Payment for in-area delivery of the finished frame is due upon delivery — COD or per prearranged terms. A deposit of 20% of the estimated raising labour must be made two weeks prior to the scheduled raising date. The remainder of our logged raising labour is due upon delivery of a raised, fully pegged, plumb and level timber frame. We accept personal checks, bank drafts, and electronic transfers. Also check out Price Sticker Info.