Timber Frame Home Dream

[Arborjack]

    Hello,
My name is Clint Harris and I am looking for guidance in the construction process of building a timber frame home or a hybrid timber frame home.  Any knowledge I can obtain would be helpful and I am potentially hoping to find a framer to work with.  This home would be for myself and my family. I have four children so we will be looking at plans in the 4000 plus square foot range.  We currently live in the north Georgia area. And have six acres under contract in Cumming GA.   

I am a certified arborist and second generation tree business owner.  The idea of potentially using some of the resources available to me is very appealing.  I have a passion for trees and working with wood, but have little hands on experience with the construction side.  Seeing trees that we remove for people come back to life in the form of a structure would be very gratifying to me.  I purchased a Peterson saw mill a few years ago in hope of starting a side business called Urban Timber Rescue.  I was not able to devote the time I would have liked to working on it, but I also wanted to own the mill in hopes that I could create wood products for my own home.  We have a crane that I operate in our business that could be used for erecting the frame and we also own a lift and loaders. We take down and remove trees of many different species every year.
  I have some entry level knowledge about milling and the timber framing process but more questions than answers.  My biggest concerns are obviously in the cost and time from start to completion.  My single most important question at this moment is, can I create a timber frame home from primarily white oak trees that have been taken down from different locations at different points in time. I know my moisture contents will vary and this will in turn affect the joinery of the timbers. Can a frame be constructed in this manner?  Can I use different wood species mixed in different sections of the frame?
Are there any framers available that build in this way verses the precut type timber kit type build?  What would the pros and cons be considering each approach? 
I am also considering purchasing a Nile kiln and wood master combo planer edger molder to be able to produce wood materials for the other parts of the build and could use advice on this as well. One potential set back to this may be that I know that in my county any wood products used in my construction process may have to have a grade stamp.
Any feedback is much appreciated!  Thank you

[D L Bahler]

There should be no problem using mixed species or even timbers with mixed moisture contents

Just be aware that dried white oak will be very challenging to work with.

As for how challenging and time consuming building a frame will be, that depends on how large and how complicated the frame and joinery is.
So I would suggest you start with making up an idea for the sort of house and frame you would like, then from there we here can help you adjust the frame to suit your needs

[jrouth]

There are lots of timber frame guys close to you in the mountains of South West NC.  There used to be 5 timber frame outfits in Franklin, NC alone (economy a few years back might have changed that).

A little googling  of that area might lead you to someone who would work with you.

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Arborjack.

[Brad_bb]

    My single most important question at this moment is, can I create a timber frame home from primarily white oak trees that have been taken down from different locations at different points in time. I know my moisture contents will vary and this will in turn affect the joinery of the timbers. Can a frame be constructed in this manner?  Can I use different wood species mixed in different sections of the frame?

Yes to all of these.

"Are there any framers available that build in this way verses the precut type timber kit type build? "  Is there even such a thing as a kit??  All that I know cut from scratch.  There are shops that use CNC equipment.  But I think if they cut it, they are going to want to raise it.

You can mill your own material.  Frames can be assembled green or with varying moisture contents.  The only issue is that you don't want significant twisting to occur between when you cut the joinery, and when you raise the frame.  You slow drying down by sealing the end grain and storing the material out of the sun where it will get adequate ventilation, and not stay wet.  It is more difficult to deal with twisting and bowing in timbers you've cut a long time before it's time to cut the frame.  Your timbers also have to meet the grade necessary for the location in the frame as determined by the timberframe engineer.  I'm sending you a PM.