Frame-Up
T imber-Framing, an old technique of home construction that gives lasting quality and beauty to the design.
The Tennessean - Mar 24, 2002
Story & Photos by Elizabeth Betts Hickman

These days, the skeleton of a house is hidden, and the interior you see are covered with drywall or plaster. In fact, most new houses are defined by their exteriors. The work of the framing crew usually is finished, then promptly covered.

But skeletons can be beautiful, and for people who choose true timber-frame construction, a type of framing that uses visible structural timbers, it's all about the framing. A lot of times, the term "timber-frame construction" is tossed around casually and tends to be used whenever a bare beam is visible anywhere in a house.

In truth, timber framing is one of the oldest forms of construction and is far more complicated than simply adding visible beams, be they old or new. With a timber-frame house, the frame holds everything up — "the 'walls are just infill," says local contractor Nancy Moore, who owns The Porch Co. They built a screened-porch ,addition for Patty and John Wilkison's stone house that serves as an elegant, timber-frame pavilion.
"I also wanted some warmth to the stone," Patty Wilkison says, "and I felt the best way to do that was with wood."

Gently connected to the main house via a short staircase, the Wilkison's timber-frame porch was built to look solid and useful, and it used an ancient technique known for its style as well as its durability. "It's actually the oldest above-ground framing structure known to man," says Vivi Miller, who chose to use the technique when she and her husband David decided to build their home on a Williamson County farm.
Once upon a time, the only way to build a house was to use huge supporting timbers to create a frame; think of all of those medieval-era homes in England that, centuries later, still are occupied. Nowadays, houses are built much more quickly, with a lightweight, skeletal "balloon" frame that incorporates supporting walls that help hold up the structure. Timber-frame houses that use the old methods still are being built, especially in New England, but are much rarer in Middle Tennessee. "We just kind of liked the idea, and it's just different than the regular log house that everybody puts up," David Miller says.

And indeed, David and Vivi Miller's elegant country home, built by Maury County-based contractor Gary Grau of Grau General Contracting with framing by Blue Ridge Timberwrights of Virginia, is different. Clad in cypress and wrapped by a deck of red cedar that came from Lewis County, the home is immediately distinguished by its sophisticated, understated design and warmth.

Among the reasons the Millers chose to build a timber-frame house is that they liked the idea of building for the ages, and they wanted to choose quality over quantity. With that in mind, they packed their approximately 2,400-square-foot house with multi-functional spaces, including a ground floor that includes bedrooms and a full bath and details like a two-story, wood-burning fireplace in the middle of the house that serves as a passive solar collector from the sun-light that streams in the large windows.

"That's why this house is so dynamic," says Vivi Miller, who points out that if you're building a house, you need to consider what you need now, in five years and in 10 years if you're planning to stay in the house "A lot of people don't really think about that."

Timber-frame construction tends to create devoted fans, and Vivi Miller in particular was enthusiastic about the project to build her family's home Because of her longtime special interest in fine building, she attended a three-week, intensive course on timber-frame construction at The Shelter Institute in Maine in 1994.
Although it was a lot of math and a lot of physics, the course taught her the basics and "enough to be dangerous," she says with a smile. Still, countless books, interviews and research sessions later, she's still learning about the intricacies of building.

During every stage of the project, the couple remained exceptionally hands-on, including the critical planning stages before they even ordered their timber frame. Vivi Miller points out that she and her husband completely conceptualized their house and knew they were going to work with Blue Ridge to acquire old timbers and do the framing.

Next, the couple was careful to hire a local builder who would work with them as a team, "because David and I were so heavily involved in both the design and building," she says. '°They're doing something different, something that's heartfelt," says contractor Gary Grau, who happily took on the challenging task of working with an out-of state framer and filling in the plans, since Blue Ridge only supplied the timbers, a frame plan and the critical foundation plan.

Grau had his work cut out for him, too, since the plan didn't have plumbing, electrical and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) marked, so it was up to Grau and the Millers to work out the essential details. In a true timber-frame house, the stresses on each load-bearing column, or post, are individually worked out according to the weight that portion of the house will bear. It's complicated, but certainly not impossible, and makes for an exceptionally strong home.

"Each of these posts are carrying a different load," explains Grau as he points out how the foundation plan for a timber-frame house is unusual when compared to that of a regular house. "In timber frame, if it's even 1/16th out of square, everything's off," Vivi Miller says. All of the effort paid off, though, with a solid house full of quality details, from the solid pine doors throughout the interior to the custom-wood baby gates for the dramatic staircase that was built on site. Even the individual floorboards show the evidence of thoughtful design. The gleaming recycled pine floor came from wood from a Kentucky tobacco warehouse, and the boards are linked together with unseen screws and thousands of tiny, handmade wooden pegs.

Variations on the theme

Just as Nancy Moores Porch Co. built a timber-frame screened porch on the Wilkison's farm, timber framing can be used for just a single room such as a porch or great room, the majority of a house (such as a large central section, for instance) or the entire home.

"Choosing to build the majority of a home with a timber frame though requires a lot of up-front planning, got to really stay on top of things . . . the placement of the beams has an impact on what you put where," David Miller says "Attention to detail, just like with any project, is really important. One little `gotcha' can cause some pretty substantial ramifications down the road."

For example, the Millers used SIPs, or structural insulated panels (made of dense foam insulation set between two sheets of oriented strand board) to form the walls and provide heavy-duty insulation. That meant pre-planning for electrical outlets, window openings and vents.

Generically, most people use the term post-and-beam construction to describe anything that looks like it is true timber framing. One way to get a timber-frame look, for example, is to use bolts and metal plates to connect the timbers. "There's nothing wrong aesthetically or otherwise with that," says "Moore, with the Porch Co., "But that isn't what I consider true timber frame."

For the love of wood

"If you do the joinery, to me that's the real beauty of it and that's what makes it a true timber frame," 'Moore says. "It also appeals to people who just are in love with wood." She points out that most framing is meant to be useful and never seen. "You can hide any kind of sin in the world, but with timber-frame, the framing is the final thing."

So why go to all the extra effort and expense? "First of all, it's just beautiful," she says, adding that the process showcases the skills of a carpenter. Grau feels the same way, since it takes a specialist to work through all of the details that go into a true timber-frame house. "It's just the purest form of carpentry I can think of," Moore says. "To us, it's just an elegant way to 'build. You're not relying on technology that allows you to cheat".

Timber-frame construction isn't for everyone, but for those in love with carpentry, wood or authentic building techniques, it's an experience. "Every bit of the structure shows," Grau says, "so you get the warmth of the wood and, most of the time, it's big, open spaces." "It's the art of joinery," he continues. "Timber frame started because they didn't have nails. The joints are actually structural."

Taking a quality-over-quantity approach often is time-consuming, and the project to build the Millers' home took about a year and a half from foundation to finish. Still, the family was happy to wait for their house since, after all, it's designed to last for centuries. It's a common philosophy of those who adore this building method.

Today, just living in the house after thinking about it and planning it for so many years is pure contentment, Vivi Miller says."It's a dream come true. We just love it."■