Green Building, in it’s new and sometimes abused persona, is not really a new concept. It has always been important to use resources wisely, to build with the materials at hand, and to conserve energy. New technology has helped us to achieve some of these goals, but if we look back, we see that many before us have built green, without all the hype. Adobe homes protected Native Americans in the Southwest from sweltering heat, wattle and daub homes used materials at hand to build shelters, skyscrapers built in the late 1800′s made use of urban space. So while architects, designers, and builders today would like to take credit for this movement, they are truly just making the public more aware of the importance of building green.
The goal of Goshen’s Green Building Notes is to inform and educate. Choices are many and often confusing. Whether you choose to build a home that is certified by one of the many certification programs, (LEED, NAHB, many local and regional options), or to build a home using best practices without certification, is a very personal and budgetary decision.
Goshen Timber Frames has designed and built green homes for many years. We’ve helped our clients design and build homes that fit their lifestyle and budgets while not encouraging them to overbuild. Our material and energy efficient homes sit quietly nationwide, enjoyed by families of all ages and economies.
Your site will be all important as you move forward with your project. Whether you own your land or you are just beginning the search for a site for your new home, you need to consider how the land lays, how your home will be sited, and the impact of building on the site. If you are building in the mountains, The Mountain Home Guide is a good place to start. This guide was created with much input and thought by professionals in North Carolina.
If you are looking at land, consider how you will live in your new home. Are you a “house mouse” or a “field mouse”? Will you spend much time outdoors or do you prefer to spend your time inside? This will impact everything from how your home is sited to how it is designed. Don’t hurry this process. Changes after the fact are time consuming and expensive.
The smallest footprint will have the smallest impact. This is critical to your new home and should be taken very seriously. But, just as you shouldn’t build too much home for your lifestyle, don’t underbuild either. Your home won’t serve you well if you have to add on to live comfortably. There is a perfect fit for everyone.
Designing your home to work for you and to fit on the land will take time and energy. You will need to walk the land, visit with local builders who are familar with not only building, but with the regional landscape, have a local excavator out and discuss the impact of building on the site and how the landcape will change in order to accomodate your new home. If you are building for a view, take a ladder to the site, climb up and look around. This will likely be your first floor view. If the site is challenging, consider renting a lull or bucket to get an even higher view. Take your time. If you have the luxury of visiting the site during all four seasons, you are far ahead of the game.
Building green encompasses every aspect of designing and building your home. As you move forward, you will have to make many choices. We’ve listed some of these choices and offered some suggestions. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of books and other resources available on green building. It is a touch phrase and has become a hot topic. In our next few posts, Goshen we will to offer some of the simplest decisions you can make that offer the largest impact.
Tags: Construction Costs, daylighting, design/build, green building, green building products, green insulation, healthy homes, sustainability, timber frame, timber frame design, timber frame homes, timber frames
Timber frame home plans are as varied as the people who build and live in them. At Goshen, we’ve worked with hundreds of clients over the years and have designed almost every style of home. Many of these plans are now on our website as an inspiration to those who are on the “timber frame journey”.
We often add new plans. Plans that make the cut offer style and floor plans that work. Here is a sneak preview of a couple of plans that will soon be added to our website.
The Chandler offers curb appeal and a lot of room on a smaller footprint.
This plan works well in almost any location. Designed as a hybrid, it can also be a full timber frame.
The West Oak is simple in design and long on style. With a first floor master suite and two additional bedrooms upstairs, it offers space and flexibility.
Check out The Chandler and The West Oak.
If you’d like more information on one of these plans or on any of Goshen’s other designs or design services, just drop us an email.
Tags: design/build, green building, Hybrid Homes, small homes, timber frame homes, timber frame plans, timber frames
Once again, after a week of great meetings with people who are exploring their timber frame home design opportunities, I come back to a basic truth. Timber frames provide more living space per square foot than other building methods. Timber frame homes, with open spaces and volume, just feel larger than their actual footprint. I talked about this same concept in an earlier article and I’d like to carry that idea a little further (http://www.timberframemag.com/blog/2010/04/27/building-a-smaller-timber-frame-home/).
I believe that maybe our new, smaller space deserves to be treated as new space and not burdened with all of our treasures. If you are planning a retirement home (or a retreat), it might be time to rethink your priorities and the “stuff” that has followed you through life (I don’t mean your spouse). Do you need to take everything that you’ve loved (and dusted, polished, moved, etc) with you as you move forward or is it time to pass it on to the younger generation or to someone who can love (and dust, polish, move) it? Wouldn’t your son or daughter enjoy the bedroom set that you inherited from Grandma today even more than waiting to inherit it from you? Couldn’t you choose a few pieces that bring the past into your home and share the rest? If the kids aren’t interested, there is someone out there who would love it. Donate or sell what you don’t love and need.
Timber frames have their own beauty. The heavy timbers and their craftsmanship carry their own history. So as you design your timber frame home, think about what would enhance your life and what you’d just move because you’ve always moved it into your new home. Step into your retirement home with memories and a new uncluttered space. Plan your space to allow you to live long and well, thinking more about pieces that will give you extra storage so you can plan a smaller home.
Think about how you really live and don’t add extra space, plumbing fixtures, cabinetry, etc, just because you’ve always had them. It is important to think about resell in designing any home, but don’t sacrifice your comfort (or pocketbook) today for something someone else may want in a new home. If you are leaving corporate world and won’t wear suits every day will you really need as much closet space? If you love showers and hate baths, do you need a bathtub that takes space and requires cleaning in your master bathroom? Or could it be relegated to a guest bathroom? In this process remember that a timber frame has no bearing walls. If someone wants to remodel after you’ve left the home, they have far fewer problems than remodeling a stick-framed home. So plan your home for your life, not someone else’s.
Smaller homes do live as well as larger homes. They just live differently. Spend time thinking about how you will live in your timber frame and bring those thoughts to the table as you plan your new home. Enjoy it because it provides shelter for the body and soul and not because you made it large enough to accommodate everything from your past.
And however you build, whatever you build, just Build Boldly.
Tags: design/build, small homes, timber frame, timber frame design, timber frame homes, timber frame plans, timber frames, timber framing
Determining the final cost to build any home is a confusing and often misunderstood process. Timber frame homes are no different in that aspect. While a budget will drive the design, style, and location of your new home, there are so many variables that it is almost impossible to get a finished cost prior to construction.
The timber frame package price is probably one of the easier costs to determine. Once the design is in place and the decision on the type of timber is made, the timber framer will calculate a price for the timber frame. The structural insulated panels are another fairly simple cost to calculate. With the type of SIPs and the design in hand, your timber frame company can calculate the price and give you a final cost.
From that point forward, the numbers are more slippery. A homeowner, armed with allowances and estimates, is still at the mercy of an ever changing material supply chain and some very emotional person choices. Reputable builders do their best to provide accurate estimates based on their clients’ choices. However, as they move forward, a new product or material can sway the owner. 
Some choices are simple as they don’t require soul searching…color choices and similarly priced materials. However, the decision to use standing seam roofing instead of a corrugated metal roofing can mean a major adjustment in the building budget. Appliances, flooring, and exterior finishes can also create changes in the bottom line.
When working with your timber frame designer and your builder, be realistic with your budget. If you know that you will never be happy with standard appliances, don’t budget $5,000 for your kitchen appliances. If you want natural siding (cedar shakes, rock, and cedar siding), take this into account. On the other hand, if you are working with a more modest budget, make decisions based on the importance of the material to you personally.
Allow plenty of time to work through your budget issues before you break ground. Once you are into the project, it is much more difficult to make these decisions and, at that stage, they are usually costly decisions. At Goshen Timber Frames we have three favorite words…plan…plan…plan.
But remember, however you build, Build Boldly!
Tags: Construction Costs, design/build, timber frame design, timber frame homes, timber frames
The decision to build your timber frame home was probably not made overnight. You read books and magazines, watched television shows and did your research on the Internet. Timber frames are built not only with chisels and mallets, but with dreams and heart.
Your timber frame home plan is critical to making this home the home of your dreams. It has to fit your lifestyle, your budget, and first and foremost…the land it will sit on. If you have a preconceived plan in mind, even before you buy your property, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Instead, find the right property, then design your new timber frame to fit well on that site. 
Timber frames offer great opportunities to design a home with daylighting, no wasted space, accessibility, sustainability, energy efficiency, and all the charm and character you want, whether a very contemporary home, a farmhouse, a lodge, or a cottage. Your site will define the footprint and the orientation.
Armed with the lay of your land, your home can be designed (whether from an existing plan that is revised to work for you or custom designed) to make the best use of all the site’s features. If the amazing view was the defining factor in purchasing your land, then design a home that takes in that view from most of the rooms. If the shelter of surrounding trees is important, design your home so that you walk out into the shade and shelter. Design to fit with the local vernacular. Your timber frame should feel that it belongs on the land, that the land was there, awaiting its arrival.
So, armed with this information, go out and find your perfect land to build the perfect timber frame home. If you have the perfect land, design that home now, whether you’ll build next year or in ten years. The blueprint will give you time to “live” with your plan and to think about how you live and plan to live. The least expensive changes are made right there on paper.
And, don’t forget to BUILD BOLDLY.
Tags: design/build, energy efficiency, green building, healthy homes, Hybrid Homes, sustainability, timber frame, timber frame design, timber frame homes
Timber frame porches add much to your home. Whether they offer grand and exciting views of majestic mountains and relaxing water or are reminiscent of Grandma’s front porch and overlook a front lawn, they expand your living space. Your home feels larger when opened up to the outdoors. That cup of coffee tastes better when sipped from a rocker on the porch.
Porches shelter us from wind, rain, and sun. 
They are inviting and welcoming to all who approach. Timber frame porches frame the scenery in massive timbers and remind us of the trees that are living forward as posts and beams.
Sitting on the porch with family and friends brings everyone closer. Conversation is easier and time spent is well spent. Pets are welcome and enjoy being part of the family as they move in closer. Dogs know that they are only a stick’s throw away from a game.
If you are planning your timber frame home, don’t short change your porches and if you aren’t planning on building a new home, a timber frame porch can add wonderful living space, value, and charm to your existing home.
Tags: design/build, green building, healthy homes, sustainability, timber frame, timber frame addition, timber frame design, timber frame homes, timber frame plans, timber frame porch, timber frames, timber framing
Credits are available for a number of energy efficient projects in your timber frame home. Whether you are planning a new home or considering upgrades to make your home even more energy efficient, there are federal and state tax credits available.
Some credits expire in 2010 and others will be available for several years, so you can plan your projects accordingly. State credits vary greatly and some incentives are made available by counties. Energy providers offer incentives for energy efficient homes. A timber frame home, enclosed in energy efficient insulated panels, is a great start, but making wise choices for everything from plumbing to heating and cooling can help you to recoup some of the money you spend to save money.
The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (http://dsireusa.org/) offers a look at what is available in each state, including amounts and dates. The Energy Star website provides guidelines for federal tax credits.
While most contractors are well versed in these incentives, homeowners should do their own research and work with their contractor to ensure maximum benefits from the programs. In North Carolina, a homeowner can receive up to 65% in combined federal and state tax credits for a geothermal system.
As you plan your timber frame, consider how you can take advantage of the credits, rebates, and incentives available. You are planning for long term efficiency and recouping costs quickly, so plan wisely.
Tags: Construction Costs, design/build, energy efficiency, green building products, sustainability, timber frame design, timber frame homes, timber frames, timber framing
The Goshen team arrived on the Shadowood site at 8:00 on Monday morning with timber frame and tools. Work began and went on until a break for lunch in the Sutton’s great outdoor living space.
On Tuesday, Janice topped out the the timber frame with an evergreen woven with roses. 
John went up in the crane “seat” and took some great photos. You can visit their blog at http://www.buildingourtimberframe.com/sutton
The decking and panels were installed and on Friday, the crane and crew bid adieu to Shadowood. Now it won’t be long until Janice and John are living comfortably in their beautiful, energy efficient, sustainable timber frame home.
In the meantime, the Goshen crew is headed off to Virginia to raise and enclose yet another fine Goshen Timber Frame Home.
Visit Goshen’s new gallery online. Real people in real homes.
Tags: small homes, timber frame design, timber frame homes, Timber Frame Photos, timber frame plans, timber frame porch, timber frames
Last week Green Building Pro provided everyone interested in green building the opportunity to participate in talks given by industry leaders. Attendees included architects, engineers, builders, suppliers, and others interested in building better, more sustainable homes, buildings, cities and lifestyles. Goshen Timber Frames is pleased to have been a participant.
Timber frames, enclosed with structural insulated panels, offer an easy solution to building a home that will use minimal energy to heat and cool and a home built with a rapidly renewable resource. Since Goshen has long been committed to building the right way, long before “green” became a touch phrase, it was easy to see the fit into the newer building paradigm.
The Green Building Expo is still open for those who might have missed it. Registration is free and the presentations are available for viewing. You can also visit the booths of the exhibitors and check out the materials offered. At the Goshen booth, you can see videos of timber frame raisings and download home plans.
So stop by and check it out. The virtual Expo is the way of the future.
Goshen Timber Frames at Green Building Expo
Tags: energy efficiency, green building products, sustainability, timber frames
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