White pine, Douglas fir, hemlock, red oak. Usually we use white pine because it is local, easy to work, and quite stable (less shrinkage). Often we use red oak or cherry for knee braces.
We can give a general range based on past projects, however an accurate final cost is hard to estimate by square footage, especially for timber frames. As an example, the labor cost to cut joinery for a 8 x 10 frame vs a 14 x 16 frame is basically the same, yet there is a difference of 144 sq. ft. We generally need an accurate floor plan and elevations to develop a frame plan. Then we consider the amount and complexity of the joinery to make decisions on the costs.
No, once a frame has been completed at our shop, we can ship anywhere in the country. We have erected frames in all the New England states and also Colorado and Montana.
We can provide construction drawings for most projects. Working with you we can create floor plans and elevations including interior and exterior perspective drawings on a CAD system. In the case of you working with your own architect we can share electronic files through the Internet to facilitate a cohesive planning effort. We can oversee the enclosure of your frame with stress skin panels. When the frame is within an hour of our shop we will consider installing the panels ourselves and continuing the process until the frame is weather-tight. We can provide other custom woodworking elements for your house or barn such as stairways, railings, fireplace mantels, small scale timber furniture.
Once plans are complete, it normally takes 3-4 weeks to receive timbers and the another 5-7 weeks to complete the joinery and deliver it to a site. Once on site we usually have the frame up in a week. If stress skin panels are being used to enclose the frame, plan on another 5- 8 day depending. Sometimes we use pre-cut panels so the installation is a quite a bit faster.
This question was recently answered in a letter to Timber Framing; Journal Of The Timber Framers Guild by Ryan Gilbert, a firefighter in Bellingham, WA
"Timber- Framed construction is significantly more resistant to fire damage than common stick framing and considerably more resistant to fire damage than construction using unprotected steel support members" (i.e. post and beam). "Solid wood is very stable at high temperatures and creates its own insulation upon contact with fire. As a result, heavy timber construction is given a two hour fire rating by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)." He goes on to say that "the beauty of Timber Frame joinery under fire load is that, as the outside of a beam chars, it turns mostly to carbon. Carbon is a great insulator, so the load-bearing portions of the joinery and members remain intact for much longer than in lightweight truss construction. He goes on to say that steel gusset plates fail rapidly in a fire, and engineered wooden I-beams will delaminate and collapse while the fire is still in the growth stages and temperatures are relatively low. "I always breathe a sigh of relief when arriving on the scene of a fire to find out that the building is of heavy timber construction. There is a much better chance of finding living occupants, and the officer in charge is considerably less hesitant to send in firefighters to search for victims."
To summarize: Traditional Timber Framed homes may give you and your family the extra time needed to escape that late night fire.
Written by TFGNA Member Eric Morley, used with permission
We encourage you to contact us as early as possible in your planning process. Often we can help guide you in a direction that will make the entire process more successful and less stress
Sketch up some simple floor plans on graph paper or collect some plans with features that fit your perceived needs. Do the same for the exterior views of the house. Don't worry about how rough they may be; many great plans have evolved from a simple line drawing on a napkin! The more you can inform us about what you envision the better.
Present your ideas to our designer or your architect who is experienced with timberfames. A designer familiar with timberframes will be able to help show how the floor plan and timberframe can complement each other.
At this point we can convert your ideas to actual CAD drawings including detailed floor plans, building elevations, and a timber frame plan. Once these plans are done, not only can we give you an accurate estimate on the frame price, but other contractors can use these plans for accurate estimating also