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| CORRECTION! |
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Last month we featured the article "Myth Busters: Green Energy True or False" by Alex Wilson from Timber Home Living. We neglected to include the following information:
Alex Wilson is the founder of BuildingGreen in Brattleboro, Vermont (www.buildinggreen.com) and executive editor of Environmental Building News. He is the author of "Your Green Home." |
| Should I be my own GC? |
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By: Adrian Jones, Frameworks Timber
Since we work with so many owner builders, we though it might be helpful to share some expertise about the job of general contracting. In this article we'll define some of the realities that you can expect if you're considering being an owner/builder.
Let's look at what a good General Contractor, (GC), does and what you should be prepared to take responsibility for if you decide to be your own GC.
Build and manage a budget. This critical step should begin during the early phases of design. A spreadsheet is the best tool for tracking and monitoring your budget. A good budget includes the hard numbers generated by bids from sub-contractors and suppliers, plus some contingency for unexpected costs. It's necessary to have a percentage of expected costs set aside to cover unexpected costs. Unexpected costs can result from: weather, change in construction schedules, change in subcontractor schedules, missing or unclear information in the design, errors, omissions, oversights, unavailable supplies, your change in tastes, breakdowns in communication between any and all parties, etc. Select, hire, and manage subcontractors. A good GC usually works with a consistent group of sub-contractors and will bring to the table an already established relationship with that group of subs.
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| Timber Frame of the Month: Tree House |
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 This month's Timber Frame comes from Hugh Lofting Timber Framing, Inc. in West Grove, PA.
Located in a white oak at the edge of a forest in pastoral Chester County, PA, the treehouse is like a piece of artwork. The owner of the property worked with her brother- in-law, African safari camp designer, Attie Jonker, to design a treehouse for children and adults that would: reflect a Native American theme, take advantage of the tremendous views on the property and be sustainable. Almost everything in the treehouse is salvaged, found or reclaimed. A swinging rope bridge is the only access to the metal clad tepee shaped structure. The wide-open floor plan features a large deck constructed of locally harvested oak beams and reclaimed barn decking that is big enough for lots of rocking chairs. Up the ladder is a sleeping loft with a dormer window that peeks out at the landscape. Many of the railing parts and the fabricated center 'tree' came from the treehouse's own forest. You can glimpse the treehouse from a nearby road but nothing can quite prepare you for the stunning view from inside the treehouse. It is truly a site to behold. | |
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| Competitive Bidding will Yield the Best Results |
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By: Jim Young, PrecisionCraft Log Homes & Timber Frame
Residential real estate has taken a serious blow in the last few years. New construction of single family homes is at its lowest point since the recession of 1991. It's a buyers market and smart investors know this is the best opportunity to get great deals on new construction, especially new log homes and timber frame homes. Builders, subcontractors and material suppliers are all hungry and are willing to go the extra mile for new customers. While almost all commodities are at an all time high and rising, lumber prices and other building materials are priced low. The dramatic increase in energy costs has not yet been reflected in lumber prices.
The current economic environment isn't going to last forever. Most economists expect the housing market to bottom out in mid-2009. Once the supply of new homes is back into balance with demand, new construction will begin to increase at a normal pace. Once construction begins to pick-up, prices are bound to increase. In the interim, there are some great deals.
For those individuals planning to build a new log or timber frame home, the timing couldn't be better. Now is the time to get aggressive with competitive bidding. When the economy is down, many people are hesitant to jump into a new construction project. However, the smart money buyers know that you buy at the bottom of the market and ride the wave up.
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| Go Green: 101 Ways to Save Green and Live Green |
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 Each month we will be including ways to go green in our newsletter, courtesy of Pennywiseguides.com, in hope that it will help our readers live happier and healthier lifestyles. Below is a continuation of the 101 ways to save Green and live Green. Check back each month for the more of the 101 ways, and feel free to send us your suggestions.
Leisure & Vacation Green Tips
41. Drink tap water at restaurants: Tap water is more strictly regulated than bottled water and there's no need to add tons of plastic and glass bottles and jugs -- about 60 million a day -- to landfills. And recycling them takes energy, too.
42. Download music: Download tunes instead of purchasing them at the store. Each month, more than 45 tons of CDs become obsolete -- outdated or unwanted -- and end up in landfills.
43. Rent, don't buy, movies: One hundred thousand DVDs and CDs are thrown away each month. So you won't be contributing to the trash pile.
44. Subscribe to online newspapers: Cancel your paper subscription altogether and get your news -- often from the same newspaper publisher -- online. Each year, 10 million tons of newspapers are tossed into landfills and aren't recycled. If just half of these were recycled, it would save 75 million trees
45. Turn off your entertainment center: Electronics, including TVs, cable boxes, DVD players, computers, music systems and gaming consoles, consume up to 40 percent of their full operating power when switched "off" or left in standby mode. They also continue to produce heat, which increases home cooling loads. Turn them completely off all at once with a common surge protector. They'll last longer and you'll reduce your electric bill.
46. Seek 'green' lodging: Business travelers and beach-bound hedonists can decamp in "green" comfort, thanks to the growing number of urban hotels, luxury resorts and lodgings that are minding their carbon footprint. For an extensive list of hotels verified by readers, visit EnvironmentallyFriendlyHotels.com.
47. Use rechargeable batteries: While it's true that rechargeable batteries cost more to purchase, you'll save money over the long run. A single rechargeable battery can replace up to 1,000 single-use alkaline batteries over its lifetime. Most rechargeable batteries can be recharged up to 1,000 times.
48. Buy soft drinks in a cup: Whenever possible, buy soda from a fountain in a paper cup instead of in a can or plastic bottle. You'll reduce the amount of aluminum cans and plastic bottles wasted. More paper (48 percent) is recycled and recovered to make new products than aluminum soda cans (43.9 percent) or plastic soda bottles (25 percent).
49. Use digital cameras: Some 686 million rolls of film are processed each year and the solutions used the make the prints often contain hazardous chemical that require special treatment and disposal. Digital cameras continue to become more affordable and the savings on film -- depending on how many photos you take -- can be significant.
50. Get a truly 'green' lawn: One hour of mowing your lawn with a gas-powered mower produces as much pollution as driving your car for four hours. For a truly "green" lawn, consider using a push mower or hiring a lawn service that uses solar-rechargeable electric mowers.
51. Share your swim space: Swim at your community pool or fitness center instead of installing a pool of your own. If you already own a pool, consider allowing your neighbors access and share the expenses. A pool's circulating pumps cost as much to run as your home air conditioning system.
52. Buy tickets online: Airline, movie and event tickets can be purchased online or by telephone and printed at home and you'll save time and paper waste. Print-at-home tickets use plain copy paper, which is easier to make into recycled paper than the paperboard used for printed tickets -- and the ink and magnetic strips make printed tickets even more difficult to recycle.
53. Reuse hotel linens and towels: You probably don't change your sheets and towels every day at home, so why do it while you're away? One towel change per week ought to be plenty.
54. Pack light: Every additional 10 pounds per traveler requires an additional 350 million gallons of jet fuel per year, which is enough to keep a 747 flying continuously for 10 years.
55. Research your trip online: Print out only the pages or maps you'll actually need. Close to 1 million guidebooks are printed annually, but just 18 percent get recycled. Map paper is particularly difficult, if not impossible, to recycle because of all the ink used. You'll save time, money and paper waste. Use old maps as gift wrap and you'll save a bundle. |
| Ask the Expert |
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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." |
| Tell Us Your Story |
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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! |
| About the Timber Frame Business Council |
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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. |
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| The Timber Frame Business Council is a non-profit trade association dedicated to putting you in touch with North America's best timber framing professionals. Please consider hiring a TFBC member for your next building project! And, remember, to stay "In Touch"!
Sincerely,
Pam Hinton, Executive Director
Timber Frame Business Council |
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Visit Us!!!
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Timber Frame Business Council
Your Link to Timber Frame Professionals, Resources & Information
104 Carlisle St.
Gettysburg, PA 17325 USA
888-560-9251
www.timberframe.org
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We'd like to hear from you! Email to info@timberframe.org or pam@timberframe.org
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