• Build Smaller – A smaller home doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice luxury or space.  It means you get rid of the excess area that you don’t use, don’t want to heat and cool, and don’t want to maintain.
• Build Simpler - Corners cost.  This has been a construction truth for centuries. Looking back for centuries you’ll find simple, elegant structures that have few corners.  Complex roof lines increase the cost every step of the way.  Don’t give up style, work with textures (and timbers) to enhance your space inside and out. Change the ceiling heights to define space.  Don’t think you need lots of hips, valleys, and corners to build an amazing home.
• Build Hybrid - Hybrid timber frame homes can be the perfect trade-0ff.  Fully timber frame the more public living spaces (great rooms, porches,etc) and use heavy timber rafters and trusses on walls built with structural insulated panels in the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens.  You save not only in the cost of the timber frame, but the space can be built out without working around posts and braces.  

As you design your new home, be sure to discuss these options with your team.  Making use of one or all of these options can be the difference in living in your dream home or settling for a stick-built home.   Designing and building your new home should be an adventure … a journey.  Making smart choices as you start will help you to build the timber frame home of your dreams … within your budget.

The Pond and the Cottage are beautiful examples of timber frame homes.  They are both available for sale and for rent here in Franklin, North Carolina…just west of Asheville.

So today we’re sharing videos of these beautiful homes.  Walk through them and enjoy the beauty…it is certainly worth sharing.

Thank you for allowing us to share the beauty!

You’ll find that each company has a slightly (and sometimes drastically) different package.   And then you’ll find that many companies will sell a partial package and some companies will only work with you if they are providing all the items that their timber frame kit includes.

You should question what materials and services are included.  Some of the items that are necessary and may be included in your agreement with the timber frame company…or outsourced, either by you or by the company are:

Customer Service/Sales – You can work with a salesperson who will hand the project off to a designer at another location and the fabrication is handed off to yet another facility.  Or you can work with a company where the sales person is the customer service person and is the person who will be very hands on during the design, development, and completion of your home.   That person will have full responsibility for your new timber frame home, from soup to nuts.

Design – You’ll find some companies have designers on staff.  These designers can usually work with a plan from their portfolio, revising it as needed to make it work better for you, or they can custom design a home.    Other companies will work with a designer (either local or at a distance) or will send you to a designer or architect.  Email us for a look at a full set of builders plans that you can expect with a Goshen home.

Timber Frame – of course.

Decking – for the ceiling and loft, if called for in the design.

Insulated Panels – Panels can be used to wrap a timber frame or to be a structural part of a hybrid home.  What is the insulating material?  Polyurethane, expanded polystyrene, polyisocyanurate…and variations of these are most common.   Are the panels prefabricated?  Are they sheathed on both sides…or on one?  Do they have conduit and junction boxes built in (wherever you and your contractor/electrician specify) or do they just have chases for wiring?

Installation – Will the raising and panel installation be performed by their own crew, will they subcontract it, or will your contractor be responsible for this step?

Some companies have dealers/representatives who are contractors and you will purchase your package from them and they will complete the home.  While this may be an option for some, if you aren’t building where they are located, it may be problematic if they are subbing to a contractor who has never worked with timber frames and he/she is expected to raise and enclose your home. If you are working with a company who has no contractual ties to the contractor, you can be more selective in choosing your contractor and can make sure that they are a good fit for you…not just for the timber frame company.

Other companies will ship their package and you are own your own.  They will send a manual and your contractor will need to raise and enclose your home.

Some companies will send an experienced crew…the crew who has cut and/or pre-assembled your timber frame prior to delivery and who has installed insulated panels on their frames for years.

So..you can see that comparing apples to apples is not an easy thing to do.   On top of all these differences, you have to ask how they will communicate with you..telephone, online, mail, etc.

We definitely don’t want to discourage you, but we do want to encourage you to ask questions and consider your options.  At Goshen Timber Frames, we’ve created our entire process to be client-centric and to be flexible enough to allow for individual decisions.    While our three favorite words are plan, plan, plan, we also live by “the buck stops here”.

You can visit our new  FAQs  page for an overview of what a Goshen Timber Frames’ package includes.  And you can always give us a call at 828-524-8662 or drop me an bonnie@goshenframes.com, too.  We’re here to help.

Your mission will be to develop a plan that will live well, serve you well, be efficient, and be beautiful.  That’s not a small task.  You’ll need all the help you can get to find just the right timber frame plan.  Some home plans will work in one way and others in another.

That’s where our latest plan book comes in.  The timber frame photos and timber frame home plans included will give you a place to start.  You can narrow down what you like and what doesn’t work for you.  Then you can begin to work toward the perfect home plan.  And the talented Goshen team is ready to work with you to design that perfect home.

Goshen’s CD has small home plans, large home plans, fully timber framed plans, and hybrid home plans.   You can peruse them at your leisure and print them to share with others.  (But remember they are all Goshen copyrighted plans, so don’t ask someone else to build them for you.)

Also included are three videos to show you how a timber frame comes together.  That’s an exciting day for most homeowners.

So drop us a note at plans@timberframemag.com and we’ll get a CD off to you.  Or, if you’d like, we’ll send you a download link to the files on the CD.

These plans are the perfect first step on your journey.

Will you be working directly with the designer or will there be others involved? A team effort works well.  Each member of the team (and you are the key member of the team) brings insight and experience.  Do the designer and the rest of the team (the person who sold you the timber frame) work from the same location?  Can they easily exchange ideas and information?

Who will own the copyright to the plan? Typically the copyright will belong to the company who is doing the design and you will have the right to build the home once.  If you expect to own the copyright, this must be negotiated up front.

Can you build the timber frame with another company (if you are working with a design/build firm)?  This varies greatly across the industry. At Goshen Timber Frames, clients can take the design to another company once they have paid for the plan and the proper release is signed.  Some companies will not transfer the right to build.

If you are building from a distance, is the company prepared to provide you with electronic files, online meetings, and shared folders for you, your contractor, and any other suppliers?   This is critical to a smooth design process unless you live close to the designer/builder.

Can you purchase a plan at an online plan service and adapt it to work with timber frame construction?  The short answer is “yes”.  The long answer is that some plans work well and others don’t easily become timber frames.   If you do want to purchase a plan from outside the industry, work closely with your timber frame plan designer to determine whether the plan will work as a timber frame and how the timber frame will be incorporated into the plan.  It usually works better to work with a stock timber frame plan in that case.   Custom design is always an option and should be considered if you don’t find a plan that can be easily revised for you.

Will the plans meet your local building code?  The designer/architect should work closely with an engineer registered in your state to make sure that the plans will meet/exceed all applicable codes.  At Goshen, we work with an engineer who is registered in every state.  All Goshen timber frame designs are overseen by an engineer who is experienced in timber frame and structural insulated panel construction.

Will the design fee be hourly, a flat fee, or is it part of the timber frame package?  This is an important question.  Design fees can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.

These are just a few of the questions that you should consider or ask as you move toward designing and building your timber frame home. We’ve developed our design/build process to work well for the homeowner.  At Goshen we believe in the team experience and understand the importance of making sure that the plans work for the individual. Communication is critical and the Goshen team excels in communication.

Just remember this home will be around for centuries and Build Boldly!