GREEN DESIGN

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Timber frame design

What's the difference between the design process for a timber frame home and a conventional custom home? There is a new stage required to develop a 3D model of your frame.

Developing the Architectural Design
The typical architectural design process follows 6 stages:

Initial Programming - preliminary discussions to derive the your functional needs, aesthetic goals, and budget.
Schematic Design - rough sketches illustrating your desired functional relationship between various activities and the general exterior
Design Development - drafted to scale drawings of the project as it would look when constructed including site plan, floor plans, and exterior elevations
Construction Drawings - completed set of plans sufficient to secure contractor bids and required permits
Bidding - some Architects help to ensure that contractors bids are complete
Construction Observation - some Architects stay involved during the construction phase

The best point to introduce your timber framer is in the schematic design stage.

Developing the Timber Frame Design
Your frame design can be done by an Architect or designer who is experienced in timber frame design but more often it's done by the timber framer you choose.

In an ideal project, designing the timber frame is closely integrated to the overall design process. As soon as you have developed a schematic drawing or floor plan, the timber frame design should begin. By linking these processes closely, simple adjustments can be made that may result in a better, more beautiful and even more economical timber frame. Making these changes early in the design phase is the best way to save time and money

Adding Timber Frame to an Existing Design
A frame design can also be completed for a set of plans that are more fully developed or complete. In this case some options and alternatives may have already been decided for you. Our principal designer has completed more than 100 timber frame designs many of them were designed to fit into a client's existing Architectural design.

Budget
Your budget will be an important consideration in both the design of your home and in your selection of materials. A timber frame is usually more expensive than a conventional construction project. The cost of your timber frame will depend on the following factors (in order of impact on budget):

Total size of the project in square feet
Amount of the project that is stacked (i.e. two or more stories)
Amount of the project that is timber framed, is it a full timber frame or a hybrid?
Selection of materials for the timber frame
Complexity of the timberf frame design and joinery

The overall cost of your home will depend more on your choices in terms of how the home if finished out than it will on the timber frame. For example, kitchens and bathrooms often skew budgets significantly. We can provide you with some guidance on rough budgeting numbers to use early in your design stage after a brief discussion of what you want to accomplish in your project.

Fully Designed Packages
Packages that include the architectural design, timberf rame design and materials are also available - this is the most cost effective option. You can also use these packaged designs as a starting point customizing them to your specifications by working with our designer.

Getting Started
If you have not begun the design process we can recommend an Architect/designer or you may choose to work with our in-house designer.

If you are early in the design process now is the time to begin speaking your timberf ramer, it's never too early in the process to begin this dialog.

If you already have plans that you've purchased or had designed for you, we'd love to look at them and give you an idea of how a timber frame can fit into your plans.