Preliminary Design Phase

First Design Consultation

The first design consultation with our design team is an in-depth conversation in our office or on the telephone. At this first working session we discuss your ideas, desires, and needs. We explore your budget expectations, construction timing, style choices, and space requirements. Together we fill out our “Design Considerations” worksheet and view photos you’ve gathered that inspire you. We combine the information you have shared with us with our notes to produce the first sketches of your new home. We share these drawings with you — typically via e-mail — for your comments and revision requests.

Homes

Our Preliminary Home Design provides you with a simple diagram showing a floor plan with a layout of all interior rooms, along with their sizes and relationships. We then include porches, your basement or garage, and tally the total square footage (heated and unheated). Four exterior elevations with proposed finish materials and window styles are included. These drawings will evolve over a few revisions with the final plan being fairly complete and ready to share with your contractor for estimating final build costs. A quote for the timber frame portions of your home will accompany the final approved Preliminary Plan. We usually prefer to do a site visit if possible before proceeding.

Pavilions

This Preliminary Design involves sizing the timber frame pavilion to your site specifications as well as the use of the space and number of people you normally envision entertaining. Some of our pavilions involve outdoor kitchens, fireplaces, storage, bath/changing rooms, and seating arrangements. These options are taken into consideration for spans and posts placements. A floor plan is included for any or all of the above needs, as well as bent design and roof pitch. Overhang choices are discussed as well as foundation/pad sizes. You have many choices of styles including using “live” trees for portions of your frame.

Barns

Designing a timber frame barn, whether for an event barn or for horses, may involve as much planning as a home. Our experience will help discern the scope of your project as to proper sizing of timbers, spaces required, codes to meet as well as traffic flow. A timber frame barn can be simple or dramatic in design. Whatever your needs are for your barn, our team can help make it a reality.

Other Timber Frame Structures

Timber framing can be employed in elegant or rustic entrance gates, foot bridges, arbors, pergolas, exterior trusses/brackets, and many other worthy structures. Please consider us when you have a need for any of these additional products.

Contact Our Team

We would love to hear from you regarding your project, or if you have questions. Our team will get back to you shortly. Thank you for visiting with us, and we look forward to speaking with you soon.