If you’re in the market for a new home, timber frame houses are a great option. They’re energy efficient, durable and offer a high resale value.
You can build a timber frame home yourself or hire a company to put the house together for you. But it’s important to make sure you choose a quality timber frame house supplier.
Hugh Lofting Timber Framing
Hugh Lofting Timber Framing has been designing and crafting homes and structures since 1974 in their Kennett Square, Pennsylvania shop blending Old-World craftsmanship with advanced technology. The firm specializes in hand-crafting energy-efficient timber frame homes and buildings, one at a time.
The firm works with solid, green and kiln dried wood, as well as FSC certified timbers. It also works with reclaimed and salvaged materials.
Its portfolio includes many lakeside cabins and mountain top homes that evoke a welcoming warmth while demonstrating the quality of its work. Its designs are showcased in publications like Cabin Living Magazine and are a popular choice among clients.
HLTF focuses on energy and design efficiency in all its projects. Its team members are dedicated to helping builders create a tight, energy-efficient structure that will last for years to come.
To maximize energy efficiency, it recommends using green, non-dried wood species such as Douglas fir. This species is more stable than oak, which may contort when it dries naturally. It offers better shear and moment of elasticity, which is important for a timber framer to achieve complex geometry while keeping SIPs tightly framed within the home.
For the best results, timber framers need to coordinate with their general contractor early in the project. This helps them maintain control of exactly the geometric placement of the SIPs and ensures that they get approved shop drawings in a timely manner.
The company offers an extensive timber frame design service and manages every step of the construction process. Its three-step process involves consultation, customization, and coordination to provide homeowners with the perfect timber frame home.
Malmquist Construction
A custom timber frame house requires an artist, a craftsman and a planner to ensure the final product is not only beautiful but also functional. Choosing the right partner to help you bring your vision to life is the crucial first step on that journey.
Malmquist Construction, based in Whitefish, has a team of skilled builders who are committed to delivering the highest quality products to its clients. They take a hands-on approach to managing each project, keeping the surprises at bay and ensuring their work is done on time and within budget.
This approach enables the team to provide its clients with accurate structures that reflect their exact needs and goals. The firm focuses on designing and crafting residential projects with a strong emphasis on green building and sustainability.
The firm’s portfolio includes a wide range of timber frame homes, including natural accent dwellings and lakeside cabins. Its skilled workers provide top-notch craftsmanship and have a gold track record when it comes to crafting timber frame structures.
Their commitment to partnering with the landscape architect is another key factor in their success, as it helps them understand what is happening on site and how their builds fit in with the environment. They are quick to reach out and clarify if the site conditions differ from the plans, helping to achieve an outcome that is the perfect fit for the property.
The firm is a Chrysalis Award winner and has over 30 years of timber frame experience. They work on residential and commercial projects, with their diverse portfolio spanning Wisconsin, Alaska, Illinois, Minnesota, and more.
New Energy Works
New Energy Works is an ESOP (employee-owned) design/build firm with a focus on innovative timber frame construction. It is led by Jonathan Orpin, an industry veteran with a plethora of contributions to his field.
The company focuses on high-quality, environmentally responsible, custom wood buildings and structures throughout North America. Its team of designers, engineers, timberwrights, and craftspeople work from their headquarters in Farmington, NY and Oregon.
As a result, it has developed relationships with architects and builders from across the country. Its clientele is largely East Coast-based, but it also has clients in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest.
This is a good sign that the firm has a strong understanding of the region and a desire to serve its local community. The team focuses on a three-step process that involves consultation, customization, and coordination for every project, which makes it a great choice for anyone looking to build a custom home.
New Energy Works’ lyrical designs draw inspiration from medieval halls and forests, featuring soaring arches and curved walls constructed from glulam. The company also uses stones that are suited to its style, such as limestone or marble.
It also specializes in Cross-Laminated Timber, a hybrid building method that glues together multiple layers of lumber to create an eye-catching megastructure. This state-of-the-art construction method is becoming more popular with green building efforts.
The company’s commitment to the triple bottom line is also evident, with emphasis on People, Planet, and Prosperity. The firm’s employees are given a strong benefits package that includes 70% medical coverage, paid holidays and time off, and a matching 401(k) plan.
The firm also specializes in the reclaimed and sustainable timber market, having salvaged and repurposed more than 31 million board feet of wood from rot and landfills over the years. The company’s mill also produces flooring, siding, paneling and cabinetry from recycled materials.
Mid-Atlantic Timberframes
Mid-Atlantic Timberframes is a company that produces timber frame houses in a range of sizes, styles and budgets. The company is the brainchild of B&D Builders, a full-service custom homebuilder that is synonymous with quality craftsmanship and a good old-fashioned work hard play hard mentality.
The company has a lot of talent, including a team of design professionals led by a senior project manager and several timber framing pros to boot. This team has a solid track record in delivering on a wide range of projects, from custom legacy homes to one-of-a-kind academic and commercial buildings.
Using state of the art technology and innovative design, they produce a high-quality home that is not only visually stunning but also highly energy efficient. They offer their own line of Live Simply timber frame homes as well as pre-engineered floor plans from a third-party designer, MossCreek.
Their most impressive feat is their Changing Picture windows, which is a technological marvel displaying a color image of your new timber home at the touch of a button. The company is also the first of its kind in Pennsylvania to use structural insulated panels, a modern and sustainable building material that is 30 times more efficient than a traditional wood framed house.
Honest Abe
Honest Abe Log Homes is a family-owned business that has been in the log home manufacturing and design industry since 1979. They build timber frame houses, cabins and commercial buildings throughout the world.
The company’s designers are skilled at drafting plans that capture the essence of their clients’ dream homes. They have a combined 60 years of experience in doing so.
They also know which wood species are best and that kiln-drying is vital to the integrity of the finished product. This ensures that every home they produce is a quality, energy-efficient structure.
In addition to being environmentally conscious, the company also is dedicated to ensuring that its products are safe for the occupants. This means that they work with a team of professional safety and compliance inspectors to ensure that every home is safe for its owners.
Another way the company goes green is by using renewable species, like tulip poplar and eastern white pine, for their logs. During the manufacturing process, these woods are kiln-dried, which lowers their moisture content to 18 percent or less.
This decreases the propensity for them to shrink and makes for a smooth, durable finish. It also allows the company to build more houses in a smaller space, making it more economical for them.
Finally, the company’s kiln-dried wood is stamped to meet national grading standards. This is a crucial step in the log-home building process that can prevent costly mistakes during construction.
Honest Abe also specializes in custom designs that incorporate other materials, such as brick, stone and vinyl siding. The company’s independent dealers are able to guide their customers through the entire design and building process.