Local Representation For Davis Timber Frames

 Doug and Leanne Smith, Pacific Northwest Davis Timber Frame representatives

Why work with a Davis Frame Independent Representative?

At Davis Frame Company, we have several Independent Representatives around the country.  One of the primary benefits of working with one of our timber frame Independent Representatives is that you will have local representation. Our reps will meet with you at your building site to do a site evaluation. During this visit, they will help you determine how you will want to position your new home to take advantage of natural light and views. Your local representative will be able to provide you with budget information, a project timeline and assist you with any technical questions you may have about timber frames. They will also work with you during the design process of your new home as well as help you choose the materials for your timber frame package. Our reps work closely with our design staff at our New Hampshire headquarters as well as with our Sales Manager Peter. If we do not have a representative in your area, one of our project coordinators will assist you with your project.

Visit our Find Your Local Rep page today to see if we have a representative that services your area. Call us today at 1-800-636-0993 to learn more about our products and services!

Timber Frame Open House in Vermont

 

Join Davis Frame Company for our 3rd annual OkTIMBERfest open house in East Wallingford, Vermont on Saturday, October 15th! East Wallingford is located in the heart of Vermont's ski country, it's close to both Okemo Mountain and Killington Mountain.

This timber frame home, almost complete, was designed with entertaining in mind and features an open and spacious first floor plan. Also located on the first floor is the master bedroom suite. The second floor hosts two guest bedrooms and a bathroom. The finished walkout basement will include a large family room, recreating area, mini bar and wine cellar as well as an additional guest bedroom. This timber frame home is perfect to entertain overnight guests after spending the day on the slopes!

Location: East Wallingford, Vermont

Date: Saturday, October 15, 2010

Time: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Enjoy a scenic drive through New England and enjoy the fall foliage. Check out out recommendations below for fun stops along the way to the open house. 

From I91: 

Heading north on I91, take exit 6, follow Route 5 and stop at the Vermont Country Store, a popular destination spot on your way to the open house. The Vermont Country Store sells old fashion candy, local Vermont cheeses, Vermont Maple Syrup and many unique items you can't find anywhere else. They now have a lunch stand at the store run by the Heritage Bakery in Chester. The open house is 40 minutes from the Vermont Country Store. If you're interested in learning more about this scenic route to East Wallingford, call us at 1-800-636-0993 today!

From I89:

Take exit 1 (Quechee/Woodstock) on I89. Along the way to East Wallingford is Simon Pearce and the Long Trail Brewing Company. Simon Pearce sells beautiful hand blown glass pieces and features a quaint restaurant to have lunch at their Quechee location. Stop by the Long Trail Factory to sample the fall seasonal beers. Quechee is an hour from the open house event. Call us and we will send you directions to the open house from I89 to Route 4 which leads you to East Wallingford.

Don't miss out on seeing this spectacular Vermont Timber Frame Home! Call 1-800-636-0993 today to register.

Do I Need a Timber Frame Builder?

 Davis Frame co-owner Rick Bascom assisting with a frame raising

Do I need to hire a builder with timber frame experience?

Often our clients ask us if they need to choose a builder who is familiar with timber frame construction. The answer is no; however, if your builder does not have timber frame and SIPs experience, we recommend hiring a technical advisor to assist with the raising. Timber framing is a specialty construction and should be overseen by a builder who is experienced in erecting a timber frame. We also use Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) in our timber frame packages and not all builders are familiar with SIPs construction.

At Davis Frame Company, we offer technical advisor services. We can also recommend timber frame erectors in your area. If you choose this option, an experienced team of timber frame erectors or an advisor will assist with the timber frame and SIPs installation and your builder will be responsible for the remainder construction of your home. The process is the same after the timber frame and SIPs portion is built.

If you are interested in learning more about our timber frame homes and services, call us today at 1-800-636-0993!

Insulated Enclosures for Your New Timber Frame Home

Timber frame and SIPs home

At Davis Frame Company, we offer a couple different options for insulation in our weather tight shell packages. We primarily use Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) with our timber frame homes, however, we do manufacture our own panelized home system, eSIPS that can be used with timber frame homes or as a standalone prefab ome.

We will go over the two different types of structural panel systems. Both offer a high performance system that will lower your heating and cooling bills. Both systems are shipped in wall and roof panel sections and can cut your building time in half.

Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) are one of the most convenient and energy efficient forms of insulation available to the building market today. SIPs are considered to be high-performance with generous r-values for the wall and roof panels. Typical SIPs systems consist of a solid foam core "sandwiched" between two pieces of oriented strand board (OSB). SIPs can be used as a standalone system and they also are widely used in the timber frame industry.

SIPs panels being used on a timber frame home

Our sister company, Energy Smart Panels, eSIPS, offers a similar product to Structural Insulated Panels with a few exceptions: eSIPS leaves the inside of the wall open or "exposed" so that mechanicals can easily be installed; second, the foam infill features a soy-based insulation; third, we do not use OSB, but rather 2x6 and 2x10 dimensional framing lumber. Our spray foam insulation of choice integrates renewable ingredients to use petroleum in the foam. eSIPS is a great stand alone panelized home system and also works well with timber frame homes.

eSIPS panelized system

If you're interested in learning more about our insulation options in our timber frame home packages, contact us today by calling 1-800-636-0993!

Finding The Right House Plan

How Do I Find the Right House Plan?

From our Spring 2006 Newsletter

Finding the right timber frame plan isn't easy--but we have some suggestions on how to narrow down your search. First, if you're going to be financing your home, talk to a timber-frame friendly banker to find out how much home you can afford to build. Second, consider your living needs and family lifestyle. Are you newly married? How many children do you plan to have? Will there be room for your family to grow? Make the most of an open plan, and think about how you would add on to the house. Also, consider a finished basement for additional space. Don't forget visitors! Will you need space for frequent overnight guests or elderly parents? How much entertaining do you plan to do?

If you're planning a retirement home, a ranch style might fit well with your needs. Plan for plenty of entertaining space, as well as extra sleeping quarters for visiting children and grandchildren. Next, compare your existing home to your dream home. Look at room sizes and how you use them. Do they need to be bigger, or do they have wasted space? Will you need a home office with a private bathroom and separate entrance? Measure out the furniture you plan to have in the room, together with the overall room dimensions to see if everything fits.

Don't forget to think about privacy. How much will you need, and where do you need it? Most timber frame plans have open floor plans, so look at the location of the bedrooms, especially the master bedroom. If you are an early-to-bed-early-to-rise person and have overnight guests, is the bedroom far enough away from the activity? Also, consider how much privacy you need from neighbors. An L or U shaped floor plan might be right for you.

The design doesn't stop at the walls. Consider your outdoor living space, including garages, pools, landscaping, gardens, decks, patios, and porches for entertaining and enjoying the outdoors.

Take a look at the timber frame homes on our websites and give us a call or email with any questions, we can help you! 1-800-636-0993

New Timber Frame Home Under Construction in Vermont

Our latest timber frame project is in Orange County Vermont. Rick Bascom, co-owner of Davis Frame Company assisted the client's builder with the timber frame raising last week. This new timber frame home will feature 2,420 square feet, 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. Upon entering the home, the great room will be located straight ahead and the dining room and kitchen will be to the right. To the right of the main living area is a first floor laundry room and small area for an office. A screened in porch will be accessible through dining room. The spacious master bedroom suite will be located to the left of the great room. The second floor will host 2 guest bedrooms and a shared a bathroom. The new home will also feature an attached two car garage, a must to survive Vermont winters!

Timber frame assembly

Drilling holes for the oak pegs. The timbers are secured by traditional mortise and tenon joinery

 

 First timber frame bent raised into place

Douglas fir timber frame

The main part of the frame is raised into place

We will have more pictures to share as the project progresses. To keep track of this project, visit the jobsite gallery on our website. To speak with a project coordinator about your upcoming project, call us today at 1-800-636-0993!

Building a Timber Frame On a Budget

Classic Farmhouse

I want to build a timber frame home, how can I keep the costs down?

The most cost effective way to build a Davis Timber Frame home is to consider one of our pre-designed Classic Barn Home plans. All of our Classic Barn plans are flexible and modifying one of the plans to fit your needs will likely still be more cost effective than designing a timber frame home from scratch. A compact design that has less exterior wall and roof area, and a plan that has fewer breaks in the exterior building plane (i.e. dormers, valleys, gables, bump outs, etc.) is more efficient in the use of materials and labor is less expensive to build. The bottom line is keep the design simple if your budget is limited.

Also, when choosing a timber frame system, ask your project coordinator what the cost differences are between the different bent and truss options. For example, a common rafter system will be more economical than opting for a bent system. If you do choose a bent system, Queens or King Post trusses are less expensive than the more elaborate designs, such as a Hammer Beam truss.

Common rafter frame

Finally, hybrid construction could be used to stay within budget. Consider timber framing for the more public areas of your home and use Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) with conventional framing for the bedroom and bathroom wings. Using conventional framing in the wings is a great way to save money.

Our combined experience in many types of construction allows our design team to develop creative solutions for specific design ideas to help stay within budget.

Call 1-800-636-0993 today to speak to one of our project coordinators about your upcoming project!

The Importance of Vented Roofs

Example of a vented roof on a timber frame/SIPs home

We have a great archive of helpful articles from our past newsletters. One topic we thought we would share on our blog is about vented roofs and what our recommendation is for our timber frame homes.

A New/Old Standard-Vented Roofs
From Fall 2006 newsletter

One element of construction has always been important for a healthy, happy and high performing home-- "cold" or "vented" roofs. A vented roof system is an air space (cavity) between the roofing material and roof insulation, specifically between the roofing material and the exterior skin of the roof panel.

Davis Frame Company's standard vented roof system is 1x3 strapping applied to the roof panels at 16" on center in alignment with the roof slope, and then a layer of 7/16" OSB roof sheathing applied to the top of the strapping as the roofing material nail base. This venting system must be accompanied with an eave vent and roof ridge vent to allow air flow through the cavity. This will remove any moisture that could cause deterioration of the roof panels or roofing materials. Airflow is the key to having a "cold" roof and a properly working vented roof system.

What kind of benefits can you expect from a vented roof system? The possibility of ice damming, which can cause roof leaks and shingle lifting will be dramatically reduced. Water leakage through the panel, which can cause interior ceiling water stains and mold, is prevented, providing a healthy home for your family. If you are building in an area that receives cold weather and a lot of snow, a vented roof is a must! Also, increased performance of the roof reduces the heating and cooling needs, which means cost savings for you.

An increased life expectancy of roof panels and roofing materials, and an enhanced performance of both items can be expected with a vented roof system. Both asphalt roofing suppliers and Structural Insulated Panel (SIPs) companies recommend a vented roof system in any application of their products--in fact, most shingle suppliers will not warrant their product without a vented roof.

Standing seam roof systems benefit from the vented roof as well. The panel manufacturers recommend this system on top of their roof products, allowing any moisture that condensates below the standing seam and/or moisture evaporating out of the home to be removed out through the vented cavity.

When constructing a new home that you expect will last your lifetime it is important that details like a vented roof system, or "cold roof" are incorporated. To maintain a warranty on your new home products, be familiar with their application and/or installation in order to guarantee they will perform to their potential. Remember a good "cold roof" can keep your new home happy, healthy and performing at its best.

If you're interested in learning more about our timber frame packages, contact us today by calling 1-800-636-0993!

Difference Between Timber Frame and Post & Beam

Timber frame great room

What is the difference between timber frame and post and beam?

Most people use the terms "timber frame" and "post and beam" interchangeably. There are some similarities; however, there are a few major differences that you will want to consider when starting to interview companies. Both timber frame structures and post and beam structures leave timbers exposed on the inside of the building. Unless there are timbers on the exterior, such as an entry porch, from the outside both types look like any conventional home.

Timber framing, however, differs from post and beam construction in two major ways: 1) timber framing does not rely on any bolts, clamps, or exposed metal plates to join timber posts (vertical members) and beams (horizontal members). Instead, timbers are joined together using mortise and tenon joinery and then fastened with hardwood pegs; at Davis Frame Company, we use oak pegs. The weight of the structure is transferred through the vertical members and transferred to the foundation. 2) With timber frame construction, the horizontal timbers are mortised into the vertical posts, and the posts run from the first floor to the roof.  When the timbers dry, they shrink but a timber frame will not settle. Because a post and beam frame is stacked on top of the horizontal timbers, the frame may settle a noticeable amount, causing cracks or separation in the finished home. Another difference is that timber frame bents walls are assembled on the deck and raised into place by a crane, whereas posts and beams are assembled and fastened together one at a time.

Timber frame raising

Timber frame with mortise and tenon joinery

Both systems are safe, beautiful and will last for years; it really depends on your personal preference as to which kind of timber home you will build.

At Davis Frame Company, we use traditional timber framing techniques combined with modern technology to build beautiful and energy efficient timber frame homes. To learn more about our timber frame packages, contact us today by calling 1-800-636-0993!

***Question answered in our fall 2006 newsletter