Traditional Framing:

If you ever have a chance to walk around an old barn or see the bones of a really old homestead shelter you’ll notice that those massive posts and beams don’t land straight on the foundation but on even larger timbers, the sills. Our forebearers built this way based on centuries of practical experience. Those sills lock in the box, as we say, making the entire frame ridged and allowed the frame to ride like a boat on top of the foundation. Today’s timber frame industry has done away with timbered sills and we feel that this is a great loss and will generally shorten the life span of the frames.

This four over four timber frame incorporates fully timbered sills and has the main floor braces in a traditional inverted position. The main frame has a foot print measuring twenty eight feet square with the lean-to taking up fourteen feet square. The total square footage  is 1, 764 square feet.

There are many benefits to this design:

• Increased overall rigidity of the frame.
• Increases the reliance on the dynamic nature of wood rather than forcing reliance on the foundation. The structure supports itself.
• Self supporting structures do not rely on engineered materials to meet building code.
  
• You can do away with toxic plywood, Structural Insulated Panel systems and highly manufactured nominal lumber.
  
• Inverted lower braces improve passive solar options and view lines on main floor.
• A timbered floor system does not need toxic plywood to make it structural.
• Cellars and basements will benefit from a beautiful ceiling.
  
• Our timbers are locally grown and milled, and we replant two trees for every sixteen foot timber we use.

On top of these points we can cut this frame as modeled for significantly less than others can cut the posts and main beams and for nearly what it costs to frame in a conventional house. If you are considering straw baling, cob, slip straw or rammed earth then a traditional timber frame will provide you with an heirloom skeleton that allows these natural walls to do what they do best – insulate you from the elements.

As with all our models full plans are available to the ambitious DIY, plans include full joinery details, construction specifics and permit necessary stuff like wall sections.

To enquire about this or any other frame either comment on this post, (this is the slow response way), or drop us an email — follow the leads on the contact page.

For an explanation of listed costs, click!

Preview: Look before you buy a plan. We suggest you request a preview of the model(s) you are interested in. You will need to download, for free, Google’s SketchUp Viewer. This program is available for both MacIntosh and Windows users and is very easy to use. Email us a request for the preview files of the models you are interested in and we will send them off just as soon as we are next at the computer.

What’s Included: PDF’s of all necessary wall sections for permitting. One, fully authorized copy of original 3-D rendered files — these include scaled, highly detailed joinery in digital format (multiple formats are available), augmented by files containing timber by timber visual specifications. Multiple wall sections covering a variety of potential external membranes, from conventional through straw bale.  We also have compiled statistics and documentation relevant to the integrity of heavy timber construction, information that is often useful in educating your local housing authority and building inspector on the viability, craft and integrity of heavy timber construction.

Structural Engineering: Your local building authority may require you to have a licensed engineer, review and approve of the structures design. If this is so and alterations are required, we will work with you to facilitate reasonable modification to the frame design should this be required. Up to 4 hours of redesign and file alteration is provided free of charge, additional hours are prorated at a reduced hourly design rate of $25/hr, down from our normal $30/hr.

Accessory Drawings: To receive a building permit in most North American municipalities the builder must submit a wall section relevant to the method of construction. Given the diverse options for enclosing timber frames — from stud wall infill, through straw bale, we have provided each model with PDF images covering most potential scenarios. If by chance your project is not covered we will generate a wall section that will serve your specific application. No charge.

Consider: We are builders and students of timeless building techniques by profession, it’s what we do. We have a good grasp and understanding of applied physical engineering and building trigonometry, we have learned out of desire and need. No person, institution, committee or group of the learned has bestowed on us a certification or degree stating that we have studied and understood any of the above. We are competent humans, building healthy and sustainable shelters using the intellectual tools available to us and the skills we have honed. We live in and work in shelters built using all of the methods and tools listed. We are also honest and concerned for you and yours’ safety, health and happiness. Given this we would not and do not build, design or sell anything that we, ourselves would not work or live in with our loved ones. If you need our designs certified by a licensed professional we can secure a reputable engineer or architect that is proficient with heavy timber construction  — oddly, most are not.