1. Build a clothesline
Next to your refrigerator, your dryer is likely the biggest energy-guzzling appliance in your house. And while we wouldn't ask you to store your food in a vintage icebox, an old-fashioned clothesline is actually a pretty good idea. (If that sounds too retro, think of it as a "solar dryer" instead.) You can buy a pulley kit like the one pictured here at the hardware store. Or you can order the components online.

But it's easy to make a traditional clothesline yourself, using 4x4 or 6x6 pressure-treated posts for the uprights and 2x8s for the cross arms (which don't need to be pressure-treated). Simply notch the posts to receive the cross arms, set them in concrete, and run the lines on eye hooks between them. A 4- or 5-foot cross arm should give you enough room for five lengths of line, nicely spaced. Lumber: $42
Hardware: $10
100 feet of line + 100 wood clothespins: $17
Total: $69

2. Add a tube-type skylight
There's at least one place in your house - a dark stairwell, a north-facing bathroom, a rear hallway - where you can't see what you're doing without turning on a light, even in the daytime. That's the ideal spot for a light tube, which lets you bring in the sun's rays without the hassle or expense of installing a conventional skylight.

These so-called "sun tunnels" capture light through a plastic lens mounted on the roof, bounce it down through the attic inside a reflective tube, and beam it out through a plastic diffuser in the ceiling. From the inside looking up, you see what appears to be a no-frills light fixture. (Some models have bulbs inside, so you can get light day or night from the same spot.)

True, you don't get a sky view, but you also don't have the energy loss associated with standard roof windows. Tubular skylights are much easier to install, because the tubing fits between roof rafters and frees you from having to build a shaft to get the light through the attic. If you're handy, it's a half-day project. And if you're not, you can hire a pro and still come in under the $500 cap.
14-inch tube kit with flashing, sealant, and 4 feet of duct: $229
Extension tubes: Two 20-inch sections at $40 each
Total: $309

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Do you have a question about your home or building project?  Please forward your questions to pam@timberframe.org and the answer may be found in the next edition of "In Touch." 

If you have built a timber frame home and you'd like to share your story with our readers, please pass along your story (and any photos) -- we'd like to highlight your project!  Send your story to info@timberframe.org! 

Established in October 1995, the Timber Frame Business Council (TFBC) was created as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality, integrity and marketability of the timber frame industry.  TFBC is committed to strengthening and advancing the business, communications and research capabilities within the timber frame industry.  

Using its most traditional definition, timber framing is a specific type of post and beam construction in which a frame is created from solid wood timbers that are connected by several types of interlocking wood joinery including mortise and tenon, dovetails or scarfs secured with hardwood pegs.

 

Timber frames are enclosed using several methods. While traditional timber frames were typically in-filled (between the posts and beams) with various mixtures of clay, straw, lime and other regionally available materials, contemporary frames use several methods that effectively enclose the timber frame and allow the timbers to remain exposed to the interior of the building. Timber framing is a building system which lends itself well to both residential and commercial construction over a broad spectrum of architectural styles such as; traditional, rustic, modern, southwestern, oriental and colonial to name a few. Timber framing integrates well with many other building systems and materials, such as; structural insulated panels, log systems, engineered wood products, concrete and conventional stud framing.

 

 

 

Pam Hinton, Executive Director

Timber Frame Business Council