Library builder

With a lot of natural building being done these days, cordwood, cob, or straw bale walls of 16 to 24 inches thick are not uncommon. Doorframes will have to be equally wide. Earth woods cordwood walls are all 16 inches (40.6 centimeters) thick, so I make my doorframes from two four-by-eight timbers, with their 4-inch(ioi […]

Very often, a two-inch thick sill plate is fastened to the foundation, and the wooden frame is attached to that. This sill plate is usually bolted to the foundation all around its perimeter. Yet another neighbor, Chris Ryan — we live in a community of owner-builders — did this at his new garage. First, he […]

Whatever foundation method is selected, local codes will vary on their requirements for tying the timber frame down to it, depending on the likelihood of hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. In most areas, a heavy timber frame will not vertically leap off of the foundation so the main consideration is to prevent the sill plate or […]

Post height should be figured at the planning stage and your plans should include an elevation view of each side of the house, including any gables. This view will show the posts, the heavy timber girt above them (also called the girding beam) and floor joists, if supported from below by the girt. (The alternative […]

T O THIS POINT, WE HAVE SPOKEN OF CONSIDERATIONS APPROPRIATE for all timber framing projects. But now we have reached a juncture where traditional timber framers go one way and the rest of us take another path. As Yogi Berra said at a college commencement speech, “When you get to that fork in the road […]

How long to air-dry or season the timbers before use is a much-debated question. The best answer I have encountered is from contemporary timber framer and colleague Steve Chappell in his book A Timber Framers Workshop, listed in the Bibliography. Steve uses the term “curing” to describe the early stages of the seasoning process. He […]

Before commenting on the inexpensive chainsaw milling guides, I figured I’d better test them. Friends Bruce Kilgore and Doug Kerr, both of whom play a part in Chapter 5, were interested in helping to conduct the test. I already had a Beam Machine (www. beam machine. com) and Bruce had recently purchased a Granberg Mini-Mill […]

There is an alternative timber procurement strategy for those with their own stand of large straight trees, and that is to make the timbers yourself with a chainsaw mill, essentially an attachment for a chainsaw. There are several different styles and qualities and costs vary a great deal. Here are some choices, with contact information […]

Jim, my next-door neighbor, recently built a major addition to his house, using the kinds of timber-framing methods described in this book. He hired a local fellow with a portable bandsaw mill to come up and cut all of the timbers from logs that Jim had hauled out of his own woods. The timbers were […]

The wood descriptions above are general in nature. A particular species can exhibit varying characteristics depending on where it grows. A local sawyers advice is as valuable as the list above, particularly one who has many years of experience in the area. Local sawyers charge for their lumber by the board foot. Logically, you would […]