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How To Choose The Right Timber: One key aspect most important to the process of building a timber frame home is the timber itself. When looking to build a timber frame home, choosing the wood isn’t as simple as paying a visit to the department store lumberyard. You’ll need to take into consideration the type of structure you are looking to build. Homestead Timber Frames employs local White Oak for interior timber frames due to its strength and resiliency and because it is a rot-resistant hardwood that accepts oil-based stains and natural oil finishes readily. Baldcypress timbers are our go-to for exterior structures due to the excellent weather resistance of the species. Fresh Baldcypress presents a handsome light tan color that weathers to a mature silvery gray when left unfinished. Exterior timber frame structures include pavilions, porches, exterior brackets, bridges, and gates. Want to learn more? Check out our article “Choosing the Right Timber for Your Frame” from our Tennessee Pavilions Musings Page.

The Art Of Joining The Timber: A big part of what sets a timber frame home apart from a conventionally-built home is the way it’s put together. In many ways, timber frames are assembled much like giant interlocking puzzles. Heavy timber posts are joined to girts and plates – the overhead components that will comprise the edges of your ceiling – by pegs driven into mortises and tenons. The tenon is a connector cut into the end of a girt or post that allows it to fit snugly into the mortise, which is the narrow rectangular opening cut into the end of another girt. Once joined together, wooden pegs are driven with a mallet through holes drilled into the girt and tenon to ensure a tight connection. To reinforce the structure, knee braces are joined to the post and girt by mortise and tenon and then pegged as well. Some clients opt for a more standard straight brace, but many tend to seek out a more decorative-looking curved brace. Want to learn more? Check out our article “Tenon Fabrication” from our Tennessee Pavilions Musings Page.

Full Timber Frame vs. Hybrid Timber Frame Homes: The timber frame home industry has seen an increase in “hybrid” homes. A hybrid building style combines timber frame elements and conventional construction to achieve the look and feel clients envision in their homes. Some of the reasons a client may choose a hybrid timber frame home over a full timber frame home can include: 1) dealing with difficult building locations where this blended building solution can allow the best use of the site; 2) providing visual interest areas in the home, or 3) increased energy efficiency through the use of spray-foam insulation with conventionally framed stud walls or SIPs (structural insulated panels). Additionally, in certain circumstances hybrids may be more cost effective. Want to learn more about timber frame home costs? Check out our article “What Does A Timber Frame Home Cost?” from our Homestead Timber Frames Musing Page.

Home Entryways: The entrance to your home is the first thing visitors see, and the thing that greets you and your family every time you return home, so it’s a natural place to add some beautiful timber framing to elevate the beauty of your home. A home’s entrance serves as a transition between outside and inside and should be both protecting and inviting. A timber frame entrance easily meets these requirements and is relatively easy to build, with a number of styles possible. Whether your home is new construction or getting a facelift, choosing a timber entrance is one of the highest impact choices you can make. A timber frame creates an impressive entry into your home, and provides a sneak peek into the wonder that is waiting within. An impressive entry can be a wonderful opportunity to express you and your personality. In addition, it could be a turning point for potential buyers in the future. Want to learn more? Check out our article “An Impressive Entry” from our Tennessee Pavilions Musings Page.

The Welcoming Front Porch: Have you ever driven by a home that really caught your eye? The one with the welcoming front porch? Perhaps it was the lines of a house or the placement of an unusual window. While driving through neighborhoods built in the last century, you’ll also notice the many shapes and sizes of front or side porches. These lovely outdoor covered spaces gave the dwellers a place to relax at the end of the day – converse with their neighbors or even just watch the children at play. Some front porches are screened in while others created a more formal entrance. Some wrap around the house on two or three sides. A welcoming front porch creates a sense of so many things in a home. They can represent pride and style. They also provide covering from the weather, and a space for the person entering your home to have a moment before the door is opened. Strong, big timbers provide a sense of security and strength to your home. Want to learn more? Check out our article “The Welcoming Front Porch” from our Homestead Timber Frames Musing Page.

Fireplaces Warm The Heart And Home: A common feature in timber frame homes is the fireplace – a setting that can be both grand and intimate, with a roaring fire casting flickering shadows across the beamed ceiling. A fire draws people close, and being next to a comforting fireplace is where almost anyone who dreams of building their own timber frame home would love to be. We instinctively respond to the warmth and glow of a real fire. The beauty of a fireplace and soaring chimney in a timber frame home provides comfort, while acting as a unique design feature. It’s virtually impossible to find a photo of a timber frame great room that doesn’t feature a grand stone fireplace! Where your designer locates the fireplace in a timber frame great room should be completely intertwined with the development of the overall timber frame design. Want to learn more? Check out our article “So, You Want A Fireplace” from our Homestead Timber Frames Musing Page.