Guidelines for Designing and Building a Timber Frame

These are some of the things I've come to feel strongly about in the design and building process. I welcome any corrections, suggestions, and additions that may make this list more useful to those in the design or building process.

Guideline #1:

Do this if you do anything from this list! You will be glad you did.

Find your timber first and then begin the design process. Most people design first and then hire a builder that is forced to build with unseasoned timber that isn't ready to be used. There are a handful of timber framers that have a stock yard of seasoned timbers (EastWind Timber Frames in California is one, I'd be interested to know of the others so I can point to them). If you've found this framer then you are more than likely in good hands. If you haven't found this framer, or can't afford this farmer, then you will either get a frame with unseasoned wood that will still need to dry, shrink and check, OR you can cut your wood before you design and get a frame that will be joined with seasoned wood that will not dry, shrink or check any further. This makes for the most beautiful and strong frames.

Your builder should understand what needs to be done here. If you have the money you can get your timber microwaved but it's expensive and it lowers the quality of the wood. Slow cured, air dried timber is superior. If you buy your logs first you will also win because they ain't getting any cheaper. Use your time wisely!

Guideline #2: Please ask your designer and builder if they use sustainably harvested timber.
(clear cut timber is not sustainable, it's a one time cut and that size timber is never to be seen again at that cut block, you are supporting 2x4 and 2x6 size tree farming). Trust me on this one. It may be a new concept but so was a round earth at one time and so was organic food. There are many important reasons to want big timber in our forests. Not only do we benefit from big timber (beauty, strength, volume...) but our larger animals need these big trees for their habitat. There are woodlot owners everywhere that do selection logging in stead of clear-cut logging and don't high-grade their cuts either. Just ask them one thing. Are their tops getting bigger or smaller? If smaller, then they're not sustaining their cut and will eventually support only 2x4 and 2x6 markets. We should support the woodlot loggers that try to maintain this stand diversity of size.

"What you are, the world is. And without your transformation, there can be no transformation of the world." —J. Krishnamurti

Guideline #3: "The visual and aesthetic focus is the architecture and its link to the garden, not the contents of the space." Len Brackett

Guideline #4: Orient your home to the sun. In the northern hemisphere the living space is to the south, or south-west. The kitchen is to the east to welcome the morning sun. The utility rooms should be to the north to act as a buffer to the living room and kitchen. The coldest walls are to the north and east so minimize windows on these walls or buffer them with shutters or verandas/porches). Maximize windows to the south and to the west again with verandas/porches but this time they should only shade from the hottest sun of summer and otherwise let it in.

Guideline #5: The cape and colonial homes are the most economical design. There is much to be said for two floor houses. By building two floors you maximize floor space and minimize roof size. A roof is a big expense to build and to maintain. Some argue that old age will make stairs a problem. Maybe so, it's an obstacle for you to decide upon. If one remains flexible in their old age, stairs remain an obstacle and cease to become a problem. My grandparents designed so upstairs rooms became guest rooms in later years and she only climbed the stairs to clean or ready a room for guests/family.

I like the colonial for another reason. It is two rectangles under one triangle (the roof). The living rooms, kitchen and utility rooms are in the first rectangle, the bedrooms in the second rectangle. Having bedrooms upstairs just feels better to me. Also, the roof of the second floor (rectangle) is insulated, leaving the triangle (roof) uninsulated but still useful for storage and hanging out in the cool and warm days of season. By insulating the floor of the attic it allows one to easily maintain the roof from leaks, wear and damage.

Guideline #6: Include a porch to wrap around at least 2 sides of the home. Houses that don't have a transitional space between the outside and inside spaces have a feeling of coldness and separation nature. Porches offer this seasonal living space and transition. The Japanese have perfected this design element known as the engawa.

They even go so far as to wrap the outside of the porch/engawa with translucent screens that allow the porches to be open or closed to the outside/garden. When closed they allow a soft filtered light into the home that is calm, relaxing, and pleasing. This provides an added element of privacy and beauty that has to be seen to be fully appreciated. In our cold climate it also acts as a buffer to deflect cold air from hitting the insulated walls of the house. This must have a considerable r-value.

Guideline #7: Don't ever rush a decision. If you feel rushed, pause, back up, slow down and contemplate (breath slowly and deeply). The answer will become clear eventually. If you don't meditate or contemplate, now is the time to start :)

Guideline #8: Never build on the most beautiful location of your property. Live on the property for at least 4 seasons before breaking ground.

Guideline #9: Divine your water source with several diviners to cross reference. You will be amazed at their accuracy. You will also find out other lines, faults and fractures running through your property that have never proven to be harmonious, healing locations to position your home. The flow of 'chi' or detectable current/frequency of energy is too chaotic to be beneficial to a healing home energy. I was unaware and skeptical of this but I have experienced too much consistent evidence to doubt it any longer.

Guideline #10: Read 'A Pattern Language' by Christopher Alexander. He studied all the vernaculars of architecture and design of many cultures from around the world and distilled one common "language" that we all use to define and make our spaces beautiful. So many great ideas of how to design and build our spaces. Highly recommended before you design your space. One example is to use larger windows that lower the sill level. The classic French design is this and allows for better and more beautiful natural light into the room.