What does it cost to build a 2000 square foot timber frame house? I guess there are two extreme answers…”not much” or “all you’ve got”. And both are accurate answers to that question.
A timber frame doesn’t cost 20-30% more to build than any other custom home because the final number depends on so many other factors. It may cost a little more, but those costs are offset by removing tray ceilings, crown molding, and other details that aren’t needed to make a timber frame special.
Houses, even timber frame homes, come in all different configurations. Let’s consider some options:
Floor Space – That 2000 square feet can be divided into three floors (lower level, first floor, second floor/loft). The 2000 square feet can become a variation of a rambling ranch. The 2000 square feet can be on the first and second levels.
Roof Lines – You can have a straight gable roof, a hipped roof, a roof with reverse gables and valleys, and everything else utilizing these “standard” roofs.
Timber – Timber can be green (most common), kiln-dried, air-dried. It can be pine, douglas fir, oak, cedar. It can even be reclaimed timber.
Site – Is it flat? Is it steep? Is it heavily wooded? Is it rural and hard to get to?
Decks/Porches – Lots of decks and porches? Enclosed? Screened?
Fireplace(s) – One…more. Masonry? Inserts? Rock, brick, or cultured stone?
Roofing – Asphalt shingles, cedar shakes, standing seam, metal?
You can see where I’m going here and we haven’t even touched on the interior appliances, fixtures, and finishes. The possibilities to spend … and to save … money are endless. At the end of the day, the cost of that 2000 square foot timber frame home will run between $300,000 and $800,000. We’ve seen 2000 square foot homes built everywhere in that range.
Cost per square foot? It’s smoke and mirrors. Which square foot are you talking about? The kitchen? The entry? The bedroom? The real cost to build a timber frame house is calculated by the “cost to construct”. It’s a real number reached by working as a team to identify all the components as closely as possible. That team can start with you and your timber frame company’s design team and once preliminary drawings are in place, grow to include your contractor and any pertinent tradesmen.
So, next time someone tells you that you can build for X$ per square foot, ask them “which square foot?” and see what answer you get. In the meantime, start your process to design and build your new timber frame home with an appropriate budget and work with people who have been through the process to develop plans that work with that budget. You may not get everything you want…or you may get more. But the cost to build your timber frame home will be much smoother as you work through the process.
The truth is, there is no easy, fill in the blank answer to the question…”What will it cost to build a timber frame house?”…, but there is an answer to what it will take to build YOUR timber frame home and that answer takes some work and investment on both your part and the part of your design/build team.
Give me a call at 828-524-8662 or drop me an email if I can help you plan your timber frame home, Bonnie Pickartz, Timber Frame Homes