We are resuming our podcasts after a couple of years’ hiatus because we are excited to introduce our new Design Wizard, Moyer Fountain. We meet Moyer, and answer questions that folks have sent to us. We look forward to future podcasts as you send us more of your questions. Enjoy.

Moyer Fountain – Introduction

Our new Design Wizard, Moyer Fountain, is originally from North Carolina and has lived in South Carolina for years now. He has always liked to build things with wood. He has worked for timber frame companies, been self-employed, and has worked as a subcontractor for Timber Frame HQ in the past. Joining the team as Design Wizard was a good fit. Moyer even worked own Brice’s own house long ago under Moresun Timber Frames.

Steven – asks: What size pegs do I need for 12×12 beams supported by 12×12 posts. Tenons are 6x12x4. What thickness pegs should I use?

• Biggest pegs we use are 1 ¼”. That should be good in this case  
• Diameter of pegs affected by how many pegs per joint and placement of the pegs.
• A 4” tenon is very thick, it might be hard to make mortise for that. 1 ½” tenon would be fine
• It’s always a good idea to have an engineer to review, especially when pushing the envelope.
• Bigger pegs take more meat out of the tenons.

Bud – asks: What is the rule of thumb for safe span length for different types of timber?

• Largest span Brice has done is 48 feet, but it had substantial engineering.
• 24-28 feet spans are generally ok,  it’s always good to have an engineer.
• Different types of trusses can span different lengths
• Heavier snow loads, roof pitch affect distance (steeper pitch=less thrust on post)

Bill – asks:  Central Idaho Timber Frame building costs seem to be $290-$350 per sq foot Why are TF home costs high? Can I do the work myself? 

• DIY- woodworking experience helps. Start with a smaller project before you try to build your home. TFHQ is a good resource to practice. Take classes. Shelter Institute has an online class which is a great resource in these days of the Coronavirus. Brice has a Talk Radio episode: Episode 10: Can I Build My Own Timber Frame? (See Resources Below)
• Square foot pricing is not a good way to price timber frames. A lot of the time spent is in the joinery. Timber Frame is more expensive because it is unique.
• Brice designed a house that was built twice: once for $175 per sf and then for $345 per sf. It was the same frame. The difference was SIPs and finishes. 
• Ask around your area average square foot cost. Add 10-15% more for timber frame on average

Carl – asks:  My wife and I bought a Timber Frame home recently. I’m looking for insurance advice. My carrier wants to insure at the same replacement cost as a stick built house. That doesn’t feel adequate.

• Timber Frame is generally 10-15% more than stick built.
• Try to get the insured value up by that 10-15%.
• Shop around! You may be able to set your own replacement cost.
• You may have to pay higher premium to get higher replacement costs.

Brice –

That wraps up the questions for this show. The show will be based on your questions!  Send your questions in to [email protected]. If we don’t know the answers, we will find the experts who do!

We are with you under this coronavirus.  We are a remote-working team, and we will keep working straight through. So if you have any questions, need any help,or need someone to talk to about your project, drop us a line at [email protected].

Resources

• Episode 10 – Can I Build My Own Timber Frame?
• Shelter Institue Online Timber Frame Course

The post Episode 11: Peg Size, Span Distance, Cost of TF and Homeowners Insurance appeared first on Timber Frame HQ.

Do you ask yourself “Can I build my own timber frame?” In this episode we take a look at cutting a timber frame yourself and whether or not you have the skills to be successful.  Cutting a frame is tough work but something that most folks will be able to complete by gathering the skills you need before you start.

A great set of saw horses from Mike K. in CA.

Hard Skills

• Basic carpentry or furniture
• Start small and work your way up
  • Sawhorses
  • Small frame
  • House or barn frame
• Build your skills before you start
  • Workshop
  • Guild events
  • Reading and doing
• Start with a good design

Soft skills

• Confidence and Patience with yourself and the project
• Be prepared to ask for help every now and again
• Good visualization skills.

Time

• Full time, Part time, just how much time do you have to devote to the project?
• Full time is the best.
  • Time it takes to get your head back into the project
  • Better workflow and joinery
• Cutting a frame yourself does take a bit of time so make sure the size of the frame is manageable.

Material Handling Challenges

• Timbers are not light, thinking through and planning ahead timber shuffles
• Get help
• Make lots of sawhorses, this will cut down on how often you may have to move a timber.
• Hydraulics are a good thing

Workspace

• Do you have a place to cut the frame, can you setup and cut the frame without setting up and then put everything up in between cutting joinery.
• I built tents to cut mine in.
• The more space you have the better, in the larger shops they try and set every timber up on sawhorses before cutting, not that this is possible with the DIY’er.

Remember you get to throw a party on raising day!

The post Episode 10: Can I Build My Own Timber Frame? appeared first on Timber Frame HQ.

In this episode we take sometime to answer some of the questions that you have been asking on the site.  Topics range from remodeling, pegs, what school to go to and whether boxed heart timbers are ok to use.  At the end of the show, I talk a little bit about the SE Regional Timber Framers Guild Meeting.  Enjoy.

Gary – Asks

I’d like to know if you have any recommendations on schools or instruction on learning timber framing.

• Reached out to schools and compiled them on the site…head to https://timberframehq.com/timber-framing-101/schools/
• All are great schools, some factors to consider…
  • Distance
  • Focus of school

Russ – Asks

Would very much like more detail on the pegs.

• Hard wood
• Oak and Locust but can be others depending on strength needed
• 1” is the common size
• Straight grained #1 or better…no knots
• Octagonal, round or tapered
• Tapered for draw boring

George Day – Asks

I am considering remodeling my 1976 ranch style house and would like to incorporate some timber frame features into the addition. Any advice on tying in the timber frame to the existing traditionally built structure?

Structural or non structural

• Structural
  • Hold up the floor system or the roof
  • Needs to be engineered
  • Often makes the most sense to save cost
  • Timbers can sit on the conventional framed wall with blocking down to sill plates or a reinforced header or have posts that are supported by the foundation
  • Non-Structural
    • Cosmetic
    • Extra blocking or structure maybe needed to support them

Think through the options and make sure the timber are supported correctly.  Timbers are not light things and it often makes more sense to make them structural.  Especially in the roof system creating trusses, while they maybe for show they make be imparting loads on your framing.

James – Asks

Hey Brice. I hope your day is going well. In response to the question, the best way I know to answer that would be in a story. Remember, you asked….

A long story short, boxed out hearts for timbers, will it work as I think it will?

• Absolutely
• If you are on the east coast most of the timber are boxed heart.
• On the west coast with the larger Doug fir they can get FOHC wood.  FOHC wood is more stable because the heart is not there but it does come with a high cost per board foot.
• 95% of the timbers in my home are boxed heart timbers.

Review of the SE Guild Timber Framers Meet up on November 1st.  See post on the happenings at https://timberframehq.com/blog/take-2014-se-timber-framers-guild-meetup/

• Head to tfguild.org for more info about the conference and meetups.

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The post Episode 9: Your Questions Answered – Schools, Pegs, Boxed Heart, Remodeling appeared first on Timber Frame HQ.

Me staring at the biggest mistake on my timber frame during raising day.

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Welcome back….

Why I have been away

• Finishing my home
• Building up my business after finishing my home…recovering from being away
• Wrote my book – Creating a Timber Frame House
• Pneumonia which made me refocus my life

What to expect moving forward, my commitment to you

• At least one new show every month
• Based on your questions so give us a call at 888-552-9379

I Tunes reviews

GREAT Resource
by Bhoodes

• I have been really impressed with what Brice has put together not only with these shows but at his website at timerframe HQ. I am a life long carpenter/contractor in Seattle, WA wanting to learn timber framing and this has been a god sent. Well thought out discussions with professionals that are easy to listen too and seem to benefit professional and homeowner equally. Well done, look forward to more.

LOVE This Show
by PROWLER58

• I Love this show , Im hoping to build a Brick ranch timber frame home . Ill be starting next spring APRIL 2014, so this info is great. I just hope it continues, looks like nothings happened here since Jan 2013. thanks Bob C

Meat and Potatoes of the Show

Biggest Mistakes I Made Building My Timber Frame Home

1. Too much research
   1. So many different building methods
   2. What did folks do before the internet
   3. Foundation
   4. Enclosure system
   5. Joinery
   6. Drawer and Cabinet pulls
2. Over thinking things
   1. Do I want to do it this way or that way
   2. So many different options out there.
3. Over built my home
   1. Foundation
   2. Timber Frame
   3. These just made it cost more…will that pay off?
4. Expected too much from friends and family
   1. Them coming for a weekend they do not have the same mind set as me…git-r-done
   2. They are looking for a weekend off and to have fun
5. Did not always ask for help
   1. Wife
   2. Friends
   3. Family
6. High Standards
   1. Sandy Kohn
   2. Things you never see:  joinery and things behind a wall
   3. Wanted all the subs to have the same standards I had and they don’t have to because it is not their house and they are not personally tied to it.
7. Tried to save too much money along the way
   1. This goes back to research
   2. Time is money – bank loans, getting things done instead of research
8. Digging up the pipe under the slab the morning before the slab was to be poured.

Eposide 8 Transcript

The post Episode 8: Biggest Mistakes While Building My House appeared first on Timber Frame HQ.

In this episode, we talk with Jack Dickinson of Texas Timber Frames about their operation, a special project that they produced this past year and his new podcast called The Timber Frame Podcast.  This show was also aired on his podcast since he turned the table on me and asked me about my design business and what Timber Frame HQ is all about. [hr]

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Questions from the show:  

• Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you found timber framing?
• At Texas Timber Frames you have a machine called a Hundegger cut and rough out your frames, can you describe how this works and the process once timbers arrive at your shop.
• What is the difference between using that machine that you have vs a complete hand cut approach?
• Having worked for a company that has used a machine to cut out their frames, I realize that one still has to go back and clean up the joinery and employ those hand tools…having seen the complete process yourself how much time does it take to clean up the joinery?
• Do you guys pre-assemble your frames in your shop?
• Can you talk about a project that you completed this past year that stood out among the rest?
• You just started a Podcast yourself called The Timber Frame Podcast and I have enjoyed listening to the shows …can you tell us a little about your show and why you created it.
• As one of the industry leaders where do you see the timber frame industry heading?
• Wrap up…

The post Episode 7 – A Chat with Jack Dickinson with Texas Timber Frames appeared first on Timber Frame HQ.

In this episode we talk with Will Beemer from the Heartwood School about the different timber species that  one can choose for their timber frame projects as well as the pros and cons of each one in a lightning round event.  Will also talk in-depth about the process that he goes through to choose the species for his projects.

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Questions and Notes

• So, lets start off and get into the meat and potatoes of our discussion with the basics of what the difference between hardwoods such as oak as opposed to softwood such as pine or Doug fir?
• I would like to put the listeners in your head for a few minutes and give them your thought process for deciding what timber species to use in a timber frame, can you walk us through your process.
  • Availability
  • Appearance and style
  • Moisture Content
  • Durability
  • Workability
  • Strength
• The biggest question in some folk’s minds may be the actual different types of timbers.  So I thought that we could run down a short list of the most popular timber species and get a little commentary on the pros and cons of each one from you.
  • Eastern White Pine
  • Doug Fir
  • Cypress
  • Cedar
  • Southern Yellow Pine
  • Red Oak
  • White Oak
  • Any others

Just to let folks know,  I met Will during a week at the Heartwood school, taking the compound joinery class – one that I would recommend to everyone. This was an extremely enjoyable week for me, actually taking some time off and doing it during a vacation and did enjoy learning the traditional method for laying out compound joinery and making new friends some that I still see at Guild events eight years later.  I even went relatively on the cheap – sleeping in the back of my pickup truck at the local state park.

• Can you tell us a little bit about the history of the Heartwood school and how it came into existence?
• I mentioned a couple classes for what other types of programs and classes do you offer?
• Anything special happening this year or something this past year that is a highlight for you and the school.

A little bit about the Will Beemer taken from the Heartwood School website: Will Beemer is one of the directors of Heartwood programs. Will helps teach many of our courses and has been designing and building houses for over 40 years. He has been a construction foreman at the Arcosanti project in Arizona, design instructor at Cornell, and served as co-Executive Director of the Timber Framers Guild for eleven years. He has organized and taught building workshops around the world, including timber framing courses at Palomar College in San Diego, North House Folk School and at the Colorado State University Mountain Campus. He has written for Fine Homebuilding, Joiner’s Quarterly, Wood Design & Building, and Timber Framing      Resources:

• Heartwood School
• Find, rate and review the show on Itunes

Episode 6 – Timber Frame Talk Radio

The post Episode 6 – Getting to the Heart of Timber Species with Will Beemer appeared first on Timber Frame HQ.

In this episode, we have a chat with Joel McCarty, the Executive Director of the Timber Framers Guild(TFG) about the organization and what it does.  We go in depth about the upcoming TFG Conference in Leesburg, VA, the various projects that they have had this year, as well as touch base and find out about the newly formed Apprenticeship Program.  Towards the end of the interview, we gain some insight into the state of the industry by Joel having a friendly cup of tea.

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A little bit about the Guild taken from their website:

The Timber Framers Guild was born in 1985 as a nonprofit [501c(3)], educational organization. A core group met in houses and workshops and called a charter conference in June 1985. 200 enthusiastic people met in a spirit of discovery and fellowship that remains very much alive today. The Guild is dedicated to establishing training programs for professional and beginning timber framers, disseminating information about timber framing and timber frame building design, displaying the art of timber framing to the public, and generally serving as a center of timber framing information for the professional and general public alike.

Guild Project Links:

Kentucky Pavilion Project

The Old Stone House

Enger Pavilion

Resources:

• Timber Framers Guild
• Find, rate and review the show on Itunes

Episode 5 – Timber Frame Talk Radio

The post Episode 5 – A Chat With Joel McCarty about the Timber Framers Guild appeared first on Timber Frame HQ.

In this episode my guest will be Eric Morley with Carolina Timberworks, a contractor and timber framer.  We are going to dig into what a contractor is, the process of getting one, talk about the DIY home builder, his thoughts on the timber frame industry and where he sees it going.  We follow it all up with a tip from Eric about the real cost of contracting a house and a online resource called Houzz.com that may help you communicate your thoughts and visions to your architect or designer.

The Freese residence on Lake James, NC, copyright Eric Morley Photography

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Questions for the guest:

1. Can you tell us little bit about yourself and the path you have been on to get to where you are today?
2. What what does the contractor do?
3. Often folks find the contractor after the design is completed. Do you find this troubling and when you think folks should find and hire the contractor.
4. Can you walk us through how you would go out and find a contractor for your home and what the major steps that must be taken before construction begins.
5. You have a unique role in that you offer a full turnkey solution to your projects as well as just a timber frame subcontractor. So working as a sub contractor for contractors and do-it-yourselfers do you have some tips for contractor that you’d like to share to make their timber frame projects run smoother?
6. I’m sure that as a timber frame subcontractor you’ve come across some clients that are planning on contracting her own projects.  If you have any advice for this group of people as they start down
7.  the road of building their own house.
8. You want to make a case to encourage folks to hire a contractor over doing it themselves?
9. What liability does a contractor have both during and after the project that has a benefit someone who decides contract the home themselves.
10. After doing some research in talking with you before the show is certainly been involved in the craft of timber framing for some time.  What have you learned about the industry over these years and where do you see it heading over the next five years?
11. At the end of each show I like to leave the listeners with some tips or tricks that I’ve learned over the years and I want to give you a chance to give everyone your best tip or two with everyone.

A little about the guest:

1. Business & Sales Manager of Carolina Timberworks (too dangerous to allow on site much…)
2. 20 years & still can’t get out of the wood business
3. BA 1986 UNC-Chapel Hill, MBA 1992 Appalachian State

Resources:

• Carolina Timberworks
• Timber Framers Guild
• Houzz.com
• Find, rate and review the show on Itunes

The post Episode 4 – Digging Into General Contracting with Eric Morley appeared first on Timber Frame HQ.

 

I’m excited to be joined by David Hourdequin of D Remy and Co. , an engineering firm in the mountains of North Carolina. I’ve been working with David for a number of years on several timber frame projects and I thought it he would be a good candidate to be on the show to discuss timber frame engineering.

In the interview we are going to talk about the value a timber frame engineer brings to your project, the process to get a set of plans stamped and engineered, what the differences between the structural engineer and a timber frame engineer and we will follow all that up with a special message from David.

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A little about the guest:

Originally posted on his site at dremy.com

David Hourdequin, the President and Owner, received his Bachelor of Civil Engineering Degree from the University of Florida in 1964 after studying pre-engineering at Florida State University. He earned a Master’s Degree in Engineer Management at the University of South Florida in 1992 while working full time as an owner and manager of a commercial construction company. 

During his career, Mr. Hourdequin has been engaged as a structural sub-contractor, general contractor, construction manager, development manager, and structural engineer. Earlier in his career, he served as Director of Engineering for the Holiday Inn hotel system and Director of Engineering and Construction for the Hampton Inn hotel system. Mr. Hourdequin has also served on the Advisory Council to the School of Construction Management at Western Carolina University.

Resources and Links mentioned in the show:

• DRemy and Company
• Timber Frame Engineering Council
• Timber Frame Guild
• Find, rate and review the show on Itunes

The post Episode 3 – A 30 Minute Discussion About Timber Frame Engineering with a Master of the Craft appeared first on Timber Frame HQ.

Today’s show is all about what is a timber frame , how much they cost and the process of getting one.  Our guests today will be Stephen Morrison with Moresun Woodworking, he gave me my first job as a timber framer in his shop and he puts it all on the table in my first interview on the show.  We also answer a question that was emailed to the show about the size of timbers in a space and how it affects the feel of a home.

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Questions for the guest:

• What exactly is a timber frame?
• So what’s the difference between a timber frame and a post-and beam building? Any advantages or disadvantages among these two?
• How much does a timber frame cost?  How does the price of a Post and Beam differ from tradition timber frame joinery?
• Why is so hard to dial in the costs at the beginning of the project?
• What do folks need to get a good price for a timber frame?
• There is a lot of buzz around about hybrid timber frames… explain a little bit about what they are and some of the benefits of them?  Any disadvantages?
• I just want to touch base with you on exactly how does someone starts the process of getting a timber frame?  When should folks get rolling on getting in touch with timber frame companies?
• Any tips or tricks that you would like to share with everyone, something you normally don’t tell folks, and something everyone can use on their project right know?

A little about the guest:

Stephen Morrison grew up in Roswell, GA and gained his love for woodworking early on from an inspirational high school shop teacher.  He started his first job building reproduction furniture just days after graduation.   Stephen was introduced to timber framing when he was offered a job working with a team of Belgian draft horses and a portable sawmill.  They would take the logs directly from the forest, mill them into squared timbers, cut them using mortise & tenon joinery, fit them together & peg each joint for the final installation.  When it came time to start his own business, Stephen wanted to utilize his wide range of woodworking skills, so MoreSun offers almost any type of wood craft.  He lives with his wife and two little girls, just up the hill from the MoreSun shop in a self-built timber frame house.  Stephen is committed to providing his clients with honest price quotes and strives to ensure that each project is built right and will last for generations.

Resources:

• MoreSun Woodworking
• Find, rate and review the show on Itunes
• Timber Frame Guild
• Timber Frame Business Council – timberframe.org

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