Custom Timber Frame Home Design - A Case Study 2017 (Mountain)
Preface - I am NOT a trained architect or building designer. I am a mechanical engineer by training, that has devoted the last 2-1/2 decades to designing, fabricating and raising custom timber frames for discriminating home owners all over North America. I learned my craft on "barn like" frame structures, but also get involved in lots of contemporary west coast aesthetics. Many Owners find me after they've been "discouraged" by architects and builders who don't understand the basics of working with a timber frame structure. Folks that are pretty confident in what they want in a house will find me a knowledgeable, helpful advocate in creating efficient plans. If you find the process of building especially daunting, even overwhelming, I might steer you toward a professional architect / designer (with TF experience) that can better shepherd you through the process. If the cornerstone of your project is a "custom timber frame" then I am the best guy to talk to first in order to maximize creative use of wood, drive costs down, and set you up for an amazing result. For privacy, I avoid a specific discussion of cost in this example - see FAQ or call me to discuss pricing.
I have just completed a Conceptual Design phase with clients planning to build a new custom timber framed home. This creative process is one of the most enjoyable aspects of my work and this particular project is one worth sharing with others for a number of reasons; particularly the Owners are:
- Baby-boomer couple moving out of big home in city to simpler country living.
- Downsizing and building what they want on large rural acreage with views.
- Have spent a couple years doodling and evaluating their core housing needs / desires.
- Well prepared for the project, and were thoughtful participants at every stage.
- Confident and knowledgeable about their own lifestyle choices.
- Able to listen / evaluate the advise of building professionals and tradespeople without being pushed around.
- Understanding about the need for compromise to reach best possible overall solution.
In addition to the Owner's awareness and participation, this project followed a typical trajectory from initiation to solution.
- Site visit by designer to understand the topography, landscape, views, sun tracking, infrastructure, other.
- Kickoff meeting where Owners shared their design theme ideas, constraints, and targets (Note - no sketches or plans yet, good).
- First trial by designer attempting to bring elements together.
- Client not excited, asks for another version starting "blank sheet of paper".
- Selection of basic starting point based upon a couple of initial ideas.
- Evolution of concept.
- Mid-process reality "check-in" to revisit the project goals.
- Scaling back of design that has experienced some scope creep.
- Several relatively minor iterations based upon lifestyle and personal aesthetics.
The final drawing below is the resulting Conceptual Floor Plan for this family. It will now be supplemented with elevation and section drawings, a 3D model that Owner can "fly thru", and details / specifications to direct an accurate price estimate by the General Contractor.
Owners' Theme / Constraints / Goals (my summary from our initial design briefing)
- Downsizing, one level for 2 people (1,400 sqft).
- Livable, cozy, rustic.
- Timber frame bones as basic element.
- Lots and lots of glass, interaction with open property (no neighbours).
- Vaulted spaces, open plan for frequent gathering of family / friends.
- Must have fireplace for occasional use, plus wood stove for frequent spot heat.
- Utility / mud room essential.
- Open flow thru kitchen, dining, living areas.
- Some kind of grand / formal entrance.
- Wide plank, softwood floors.
- Hot tub outside master bedroom (therapy).
- Need a studio/library for book and instrument collections.
My first Concept presented to Owners based upon my interpretation of their goals, mashed up with my biases, is shown below. {Every designer has ingrained biases, if they don't admit that then walk away - your challenge as Owner is to find one that gels with your project.} The underlying timber frame structure makes sense to me, but does not show up in any detailed form yet. Notable elements of this design include:
- Strive for small footprint
- Functional drop zone / mud room
- Wall of glass to view
- Open living spaces
I am not happy about several things in this concept, notably:
- Galley kitchen is a bottle neck to flow
- Office space is really tight
- Baby-boomer couple moving out of big home in city to simpler country living.
- Downsizing and building what they want on large rural acreage with views.
- Have spent a couple years doodling and evaluating their core housing needs / desires.
- Well prepared for the project, and were thoughtful participants at every stage.
- Confident and knowledgeable about their own lifestyle choices.
- Able to listen / evaluate the advise of building professionals and tradespeople without being pushed around.
- Understanding about the need for compromise to reach best possible overall solution.
In addition to the Owner's awareness and participation, this project followed a typical trajectory from initiation to solution.
- Site visit by designer to understand the topography, landscape, views, sun tracking, infrastructure, other.
- Kickoff meeting where Owners shared their design theme ideas, constraints, and targets (Note - no sketches or plans yet, good).
- First trial by designer attempting to bring elements together.
- Client not excited, asks for another version starting "blank sheet of paper".
- Selection of basic starting point based upon a couple of initial ideas.
- Evolution of concept.
- Mid-process reality "check-in" to revisit the project goals.
- Scaling back of design that has experienced some scope creep.
- Several relatively minor iterations based upon lifestyle and personal aesthetics.
The final drawing below is the resulting Conceptual Floor Plan for this family. It will now be supplemented with elevation and section drawings, a 3D model that Owner can "fly thru", and details / specifications to direct an accurate price estimate by the General Contractor.
Owners' Theme / Constraints / Goals (my summary from our initial design briefing)
- Downsizing, one level for 2 people (1,400 sqft).
- Livable, cozy, rustic.
- Timber frame bones as basic element.
- Lots and lots of glass, interaction with open property (no neighbours).
- Vaulted spaces, open plan for frequent gathering of family / friends.
- Must have fireplace for occasional use, plus wood stove for frequent spot heat.
- Utility / mud room essential.
- Open flow thru kitchen, dining, living areas.
- Some kind of grand / formal entrance.
- Wide plank, softwood floors.
- Hot tub outside master bedroom (therapy).
- Need a studio/library for book and instrument collections.
My first Concept presented to Owners based upon my interpretation of their goals, mashed up with my biases, is shown below. {Every designer has ingrained biases, if they don't admit that then walk away - your challenge as Owner is to find one that gels with your project.} The underlying timber frame structure makes sense to me, but does not show up in any detailed form yet. Notable elements of this design include:
- Strive for small footprint
- Functional drop zone / mud room
- Wall of glass to view
- Open living spaces
I am not happy about several things in this concept, notably:
- Galley kitchen is a bottle neck to flow
- Office space is really tight
The clients looked at this carefully, but were not yet jazzed by what they saw. Specifically, they wanted more studio / office / library space and felt the "galley type" kitchen was constraining for all the time they expect to spend there. They asked to to wipe the slate clean and try again - the result is below.
Initially, the above design did not get them excited either as they wanted "more space", an additional room for guest, and a larger gathering area for sharing time with family. A couple of napkin sketches for other options, and then a frank discussion of scope / budget creep lead them to realize this was a good "starting point" on which to work more details. With a subsequent drawing showing the rooflines, and the enhanced plan below showing porches and an additional studio room, everyone started to feel like we were headed for something good.
The Owners were really good about exploring options and taking the time to "play" with printed versions of the plans. They would cut them up, look at them turned upside down, and ask questions. The most useful tools for them at this stage were Whiteout (the liquid paper we used to use for typewriting), and a pencil to draw in new walls. The above partitioning was significantly modified - within the basic timber layout - to flop where the main entrance is and create a more usable pantry / drop zone space off the kitchen. The iteration below shows the enlarged main gathering area and distinct areas/rooms for specific activities of this family. At this point the design them could be summarized as the starting charter with:
- Let the footprint/costs grow a bit to allow the spaces we want to have.
- Priority on large gathering space with flow between kitchen/dining/living.
- Maintain the wall of glass to view.
- Access to outdoors on all four principal sides.
- Let the footprint/costs grow a bit to allow the spaces we want to have.
- Priority on large gathering space with flow between kitchen/dining/living.
- Maintain the wall of glass to view.
- Access to outdoors on all four principal sides.
One more iteration brings us to the working Concept of the home shown below - small tweaks and refinements are expected all the way to "For Construction" prints for the trades. Adjustments after that are sometimes required, but discouraged unless justified by materials or finishing details. This drawing now forms the basis for foundation, sections, elevations, frame plans and other drawings necessary for estimating and permit. It also is the jumping off point to develop a 3D model so the Owner can better visualize the interior spaces.
Above I have outlined one example of an actual Conceptual Design exercise. This is often quite hard for the Owner because some faith in your building team and visualization is required to understand the project scope in a couple of small drawings. Money has not yet started to flow in big quantities for building so it is easy to get lulled into an attitude of "include it now and we can take it out if needed later"; I wish it was that easy. The relatively simple drawing above has lots of information for the trades included and identifies many constraints that will limit changing your mind later without major headaches and cost implications (which always goes up and not down). By this time, I as the designer understand your goals pretty well and have developed a working relationship where we can ask pointed questions and drill down to the fundamental needs for the home. This is also the best time - by far - to search for places to trim costs and eliminate complexities. Budget is a consideration in EVERY home, this Concept planning phase is the most important step to keeping that budget under control - do the hard thinking now so that the actual construction is efficient and accurate.
I hope you find this example helpful - give me a call to talk about your project. This house has been built and now happily occupied, a couple of photos are below.
I hope you find this example helpful - give me a call to talk about your project. This house has been built and now happily occupied, a couple of photos are below.