• 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.

1)     The practice of increasing the efficiency of buildings and their use of energy, water, and materials, and reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, and maintenance.

2)     Timber frames

I guess that says it all.  Timber frames were designed and built green long before building green became buzzwords.  Timbers are a renewable resource.  Enclosing timber frame homes with insulated panels ensure that the energy used to heat and cool them will be minimized.  That is a huge step in building green.

So if you are thinking about building a sustainable, energy efficient home, your best first step is to build an original green home … a timber frame.

The appeal of a timber framed home comes in many forms from the strength of their timbers to the elegance in which they all come together to form a hand crafted structure. Each home is unique to the owners that have had it built and is a testimony to the longevity and beauty of that structure. It has been crafted to last for many lifetimes, which is a feature that all can appreciate. That attribute still rings even in today’s world.

Timber framed homes have been around for hundreds of years. My home in the Bahamas is a timber framed home and is well over 100 years old. No small feat considering that it sits on a cay ( small island) of approximately 40 acres and has been through numerous hurricanes in its lifetime. Just this year we were hit by Hurricane Irene with winds over 140mph and true to her nature, she stood proud through another storm. Our home has all the original Roman numerals from the original builders of years gone by showing their hard work and dedication to their craft.  We have made changes and updates but the structure itself remains the same as when it was first built many years ago.

Homes like this, and in those in less hostile environments, have and will withstand the tests of time. A true testament to their strength and ability to withstand years of various owners and the forces that nature can throw at them. They have proven their lasting value and continue to do so even in our present throw away society. A timber framed home lives on for many generations to come and for many generations of different families.

Guest contributor Todd Vendituoli owns and runs Todd  Vendituoli Construction in W. Burke, Vt

Visit his blog: http://thebuildingblox.blogspot.com/

Follow Todd on Twitter  @TALV58

When we make responsible choices as we build, we protect the environment.  Timber frames (designed to fit the land and to be energy efficient, built with sustainable materials) make building responsibly much simpler than most building methods.

Tim Wall shares his insight on yet another “R” in an article in Discovery News.  ”Reconsider could become the fourth R in the mantra…” in Tim’s view.   This article  explains that wooden structures become storehouses of carbon.  The facts are there, it’s just up to us to make wise choices.

So whether the 3 R’s expand to include “Responsible” and “Reconsider” is up to you as you plan your new home.  A timber frame home will help you to move in the right direction and will serve you well.

Several years ago a guide called “The Mountain Home Guide” was published.  We felt that it was important enough to post permanently on the Internet and maintain the site where you can read it or download the PDF version to read off line.  This little booklet offers insight into the steps you should take when considering a piece of property.  While it was written for the mountains, most of the information works no matter where you’re building. 

Timber frames are meant to sit lightly on the land.  Because they are sustainable and energy efficient, they are the perfect choice for a home that will last for generations.  If you chose the land for your site wisely, you will be well served.

The Mountain Home Guide offers common sense advice on many of the key decisions you’ll make as you buy and develop your homesite.  We offer it as important reading you’ll need to do before you purchase your land and as you move forward.

And wherever you build, remember to Build Boldly!