Using Local Wood in South Texas

One of the principals of green building is to use local materials whenever possible. Using local materials cuts down on the amount of fuels used to transport the goods from one side of the country to the other, or even accross oceans. This in turn reduces the overall carbon footprint of the building. In addition, using local goods promotes your region's economic strength and community--which ultimately will help you in your business.

At Texas Timber Frames we strive to whenever possible use local sources for steel fabrication for our foundation and connector plates, glass fabrication, and tens of other products that go into building a timber frame home. Ultimately, the biggest part of any job is our timber.

Texas is not a region known for its great forests and logging industry; however, it does have a long history in the timber industry. The 19th century saw the destruction of one of the great American forests in the Pineywoods in East Texas. Ultimately, hundreds of thousands of longleaf pine forests were cut down for building materials and farmland never to return. See the link to Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine to learn more about the history of this forgotten forest... http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2009/june/ed_1/

In its place a healthy forest of Southern Yellow Pine, Hickory, and Oak has grown and it has long been a source for building materials in our region. Whenever possible we use timber from this forest to take advantage of the benefits of using local materials. Our latest project is a pool house made exclusively of Southern Yellow Pine from the old Pineywoods forest, while the porch for this project utilizes Eastern Red Cedar found just west of Houston, Texas.

Inquire with us if you have any questions or thoughts on Texas timber and how we can use local materials in your next building project.

Affordable Timber Frame Homes

Timber frames have the reputation of being vastly more expensive than a conventionally framed home. This is probably because of the dramatic vaulted ceilings, beautifully open and flowing floor plans, and huge timbers that convey strength and security--not to mention the energy efficiency possible in a timber frame home.

Timber frame homes don't necessarily have to be expensive. When designers need to design a frame that involves a complicated roof system with many hips, gables and dormers, the price of the frame increases exponentially. We have built many beautiful homes in this exact way. See the photo below for an example of a complicated roof structure.

A home builder can work with us or their architect in designing a home that isn't so expensive because it utilizes beautiful heavy timbers in an economical way. Utilizing a rectangle floor plan or a plan that looks like a "T" or "L" or "H" allows us to create a frame that beautiful, efficient, and designed for you and is very comparable to conventional framing in price.

Below is a photo of a timber frame home that were designed from an economical approach in floor plan design and layout.

Our standard designs are crafted with economy in mind and are easily customized to your needs. Take a look at our designs at http://www.texastimberframes.com/standarddesigns.html.

Let us know what you have in mind for your home and budget and we will be happy to work with you, whatever your dream may be.

An Oak Frame

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to revisit one of our most impressive and grandiose projects that we have ever done. Eight years ago we built a pavilion on the Greystone Estate, an historic location in Evergreen, Colorado, for the owner's daughter's wedding. And what a wedding it must have been. Click the link to view photos of the erection and finished product of this pavilion!

http://www.texastimberframes.com/Greystone%20Pavilion/index.html

We used some of the most beautiful and massive timbers in our company's history for this project. We used white oak for the species and we installed the timbers green--"green" timbers are timbers where the water content is still high in the timbers because they were recently cut down and milled and not allowed to dry.

It is our recommendation to consider that as green oak dries, it "checks" (the drying process pulls the grain apart creating cracks in the timbers) and twists slightly. This is perfect for a rustic feel and can really lend character to your house. However, if you are looking for a refined and more perfect look in your home you may want to consider dried or reclaimed oak or another species such as Douglas fir for your timber frame home.

Every species of wood has advantages and characteristics. When considering purchasing a timber frame home, be sure to speak with us about your options so you can choose what best fits your taste!