Looking to build my own house.

[joelespo]

Hello all,

This is my first post on The Forestry Forum. I graduated college earlier this year and have been looking into building myself a house. My parents own lake property with a good deal of potential timber on it that I can have access to for building a small house. I've found some local guys with portable mills that I could have process the lumber. The house I'm looking to build is just under 700 square feet (basically a studio house) with a kitchen and living downstairs and an exposed loft upstairs. I can't stand the stick houses of today and want to build something that will stand the test of time. My dad is a very well-seasoned architectural designer and has put together a set of plans for me. So the last piece the puzzle is skilled labor. I'm thinking that after I've got all of the materials in order I would hire someone with old world knowledge to direct myself and family/friends constructing the house. I'm thinking that the total overall construction costs would be minimized this way, and that if I manage my money right I will have a very short term mortgage.

Any wisdom on this matter would be very much appreciated.

Thanks all,

Joel

[beenthere]

joel
Welcome to the Forestry Forum

You have a great dream and plan, so go for it.

What is the next step you have in your plan and when do you start it?

[giant splinter]

This sounds like a nice idea and you have all your ducks in a row," Git Er Dun" and have fun building it ....... you will enjoy your new place for years to come and have a smile on your face every time you pass through the entryway. ;D

[John_P]

Joel I strongly recommend you consider taking a timber framing class. I took one at Fox Maple in ME and Steve is a great teacher, he authored a very informative book "A Timber Framers Workshop" which is great to
help you understand timber framing joinery etc. Although I attended the Fox Maple school there are many others that may be just as good I am just relaying my experience. After a good school and some practice you could very well be capable of cutting your own frame.

[thecfarm]

joelespoome to the forum. sounds like a good project. If you get someone to saw the beams you will need a way to move them out of the way and stack them somewheres.

[Brad_bb]

Joel, I also recommend taking a workshop if possible.  Another option is to hire an itinerant framer to work with you.  One with the proper skills/credentials will also be able to teach you on the job.  I also recommend that you have everything planned out before you cut any timber.  Know how you're going to enclose the frame, roof etc before you start the project.  Have everything lined up so you can enclose the frame right away after you put it up.   

If you put your location in your profile(so that it appears on your posts), we can perhaps recommend a framer for you to work with, or a timberframe class nearest to you.
Welcome, and ask any questions you have.  The only dumb question is the one that isn't asked.

[joelespo]

Hey guys thanks for all of the great replies. How much do the workshops typically cost and how long do they last? That sounds like an interesting option.

What is the next step you have in your plan and when do you start it?

My next step is probably to convert my stick house plan to a timber framed plan, and then produce a 3D model of it (I specialize in architectural renderings so that shouldn't be a problem). I'd like to build my house in the computer first, so I know it inside and out before undertaking the physical project. A timber framing class would be a great help prior to modeling the house; that way I could model the joints and have a perfect understanding of how things are supposed to go together.

I live in North Florida by the way. I haven't accumulated enough vacation days at my job to be able to go to a weekly class so anything I can do on the weekend to bolster my knowledge would be helpful.

Thanks all

[Jim_Rogers]

There are many school around the country that teach timber framing as a week long course. Up here in the northeast there is Heartwood School in MA, Fox Maple school in ME and Yestermorrow in VT.
Heartwood and Fox Maple only hold two courses per spring/summer/fall. But Yestermorrow hold several all year round. They have one coming up in November and one in January.

I don't know the complete costs of their courses but I have been to each one of these schools when I travel around selling timber framing tools.

You'll need to do a webpage search for the costs.

Good luck with your project and keep asking questions.

Jim Rogers