Pergola Love

Check out the details!

Better yet, check out the crazy beautiful view!

I think we should all have a timber frame pergola in our backyard, who’s with me?

Ready to Raise (Almost)…

Timber frame fabrication almost complete for the Nemacolin Woodlands NEW Ski Lodge (very exciting project)!

Time to get organized…everybody MOVE your cars, please.

Uhmmm, Tom? Where the heck is Tom?

Ok, here we go.

This project has quite a lot of steel joinery, need to check it before we get to the jobsite, just to be sure we have all that we need.

Interesting steel column cap shown here.  All of the steel was designed by us and custom created for us by Vermont Steelcraft.

Glulams from Calvert Company via Northwest Specialty Timbers.

If you have Adobe Reader, and would like to check out our design, click below.  Peeled pole columns, glulam branches and lots of STEEL!

Nemacolin Ski Lodge Timber Frame 3d

I’ll add more pictures later, please come back 🙂

Vermont Timber and Vermont Custom Have a Date with BLANCO

Blanco America that is…

How pretty is this?

BTW, this is the sink that I have fallen in love with.

Richard Preston from Vermont Custom Cabinetry will be joining me (Sandy) on this In Style Tour adventure.  Vermont Custom designs, builds and sometimes even installs quality custom cabinetry for kitchens, baths and more.  Their workshop can be found in Westminster, VT and they have a beautiful design center / showroom in Keene, NH.

If you are in the area, coming up I91N, stop at our Vermont Welcome Center (you’ll love it) first, then Vermont Custom, then Vermont Timber.

Back to the In Style Tour…Hey Blanco!  We can’t wait to meet you and learn more about your fabulous designer products.

Inspiration / Innovation / and Ideas

And, I’m feeling lucky…

The Buildup of a Project

We get projects in of all shapes and sizes.  The information that we receive from the client also ranges from a full set of construction drawings to hand sketches and images.  How does the information we receive become a building?  Here is a little sample of what drawings we receive and how we can make it into a timber frame building.

In an e-mail we were given the overall dimensions of the building; length and width.  The location was also provided and we know how important that information is.  We were also given the side wall height and the roof slope, along with this picture.

This is an image of a barn that the client liked and want something similar.  We then take this information and it goes to the estimator.  The estimator looks at the information and ask questions like what material is the project going to be cut from and do they have a bay size preference.  The they estimate the cost of the timber frame and put together preliminary sketch together.

Once the preliminary sketches are completed, and the bid becomes an actual project, the client needs to make note of any changes that they would like.  This information, the material list from the bid, and the preliminary sketches is then drawn in a 3D drafting program and the design begins.  The program allows us to produce 3D-pdf’s for the client to review as well as 2D drawings for construction purposes.

Then this is what the final frame looks like.

Timber Frame Hybrid / Finished

The beginning Timber Frame Hybrid

Source: schultzbuilding.com via Sandy on Pinterest

Source: schultzbuilding.com via Sandy on Pinterest

Anyone up for a game of pool?

I’ll play pool anytime under these heavy timber trusses.

This stunning project had a great team, Ghidorzi Architects & Schutlz Building.  Excellent job!

Photo Credit:  David Bader Photography

Custom Timber Frame + Custom Kitchen

Great combination!

The big question (for me)…to paint the cabinetry or not?

Wood timbers, wood cabinetry and maybe wood flooring? Too much wood?

If you want contrast, I suggest staining the timbers OR the cabinetry a few shades darker.  Maybe painting the cabinetry, but not painting the timbers…unless we talking about a timber cottage on the beach?

The painted cabinetry in this home (above) provides needed contrast.  I wonder if that is Old Fashioned Milk Paint?

(below pic) This design works well, in my opinion, due to the windows.  Upper cabinetry would be too much wood for my taste, not enough contrast from the timber framing.  What are your thoughts?

Counter top is also an area to have some fun and create contrast.  A favorite is Vermont Soapstone, and of course, everyone loves granite…(don’t they)?

What are your thoughts on center picture? Too much wood?

Why does it matter where the windows are?

Window and door opening or fenestrations, where they are located and their sizes do affect the design of a structure.  How much it affects your structure depends on where your project is located.

How exactly do these affect the structure?  Structural engineers need to design for either wind or seismic forces.  Depending on your location one of these will control and that is the one that needs to be designed for.

We are going to kick off with wind loadings.  When wind blows on a structure it exerts a force.  This force affects the building in several different ways.  First up is uplift which occurs at the roof.  When the wind blows it can create an upward force on the roof, even on enclosed structures.  This force can lift the roof off of a house if the roof is not properly attached to rest of the building.  On open structures, like picnic pavilions, the roof acts like a kite, a large kite but still a kite that catches the wind and this is also an uplift example.

The next is racking which is caused when the wind blows on the side wall of a building and the building leans to one side.  This leaning is what we call racking.  If there is too much racking in a building the window tolerance can be overcome and they can crack.  The last two are sliding and overturning of the building.  These are more self explanatory.  Both of these forces are countered by proper attachment of the building to the foundation.

In typical wood frame construction, diaphragms of plywood or decking, studs or joists, and nailing are used to transfer these forces around and through the building.  The window and door locations affect these systems as well as openings in the floor for stairs.  If too much of the plywood is removed other systems may need to be added to the building.  Some options that an engineer might use are drag struts and moment frames.  In some instances metal straps and fasteners can be used to help resolve the force transfers between diaphragms or where loads have concentrated down to the foundation.

It is important that the window and door location are known.  There isn’t as much concern with smaller windows but if a wall is going to be basically glass then that will be an important consideration to take into the design process.

Post and Beam Beauty / Inside and Out

AND, look at that view…

Custom Designed?  Oh yes…

Shall we go inside? Let’s go!

What do you think of the stonework?  The contrast between the douglas fir timber framing is wonderful.

On to the kitchen…

Timber post and brace in the design, right next to the Wolf Range caught my eye initially.  Then, looking at the windows, the view and the layout…could I live with that?  YES, I could.

The Boys are Back

The boys are back, and yes, us girls did miss them.  Let’s see what they’ve been up too?

Timber Frame Raising on Great East Lake

 

Full timber frame home will attach to this garage.

Here we go!

Excellent progress, almost finished!

View from the lake….literally. Standing on the ice to get this shot (thank you Eric)!

Each Project is Unique

Each project is unique…why?

It’s just how we approach things.  Could we rebuild the same typical post and beam barn frame over and over?  We sure could, adjusting for the engineering (but, of course).  Just haven’t gone down that road….YET!

From big,

to small…

and everything in between.  It’s just how we roll.

Custom Designs, Handcrafted, High Quality Timber Frames.

Do you think we would be a good fit for your timber frame project?  Give a call 🙂 let’s talk.

802-886-1917

North Springfield, VT 05150