The Forestry Forum

I'm currently in the process of designing my own timber frame home by using sketchup as a drafting site. It's 28'x36' 4 bents. First two bents will be common to accommodate a loft, and bents 3 and 4 will be hammer beam. Purlins will be included in the roof design. Was wondering if anybody had some insight into the basic design and if there are any timber size calculators. Thanks a bunch.

At the top of the page, there is a drop down menu line under the title.  Go to extras, select tool box, within the tool box you will find Don P's calcs.  These are very helpful to get quick ballpark estimates, however the calcs are not authoritative and not a substitute for an engineer's review and judgment.

Frame design and in particular truss design and super especially hammer beam frames require professional services.  Some engineers are reluctant to do hammer beam frames and I would caution against them.

To proceed, post your ideas with SketchUp drawings and I'm sure you will receive feed back.  It's a step by step process. so be steady in your efforts.