![]() In the 1800s people started looking for a way to build houses faster and more inexpensively. A timber frame is usually the most expensive method of the three, but costs are coming down as of recent years. Anyone can drive a bunch of nails, but only a skilled housewright can make the perfectly matching joints required to secure a timber frame structure properly. Timber framing also requires a master craftsman, or housewright to build and a skilled craftsman does not come cheaply. Though timber frames can utilize ‘green’ lumber which is more inexpensive than dried lumber and this can create a near parity in the cost of lumber for the building. Timber frames require large pieces of wood which are not always readily available in certain locations and can be more expensive in materials than the standard dimensional lumber that is available at every lumber yard in America. Once the frame is up and built out, I’ll take a timber frame over all other forms of construction any day. However, they are all involved in the construction process. While they are the strongest method of framing, timber frames have some drawbacks. ![]() The frame is completely self-sufficient unlike other forms of framing that require cross-bracing or sheathing to add racking strength and rigidity to the frame. There you’ll find thick, usually hand-hewn, beams of locally grown timbers. An easy way to tell is to go into the basement or attic where the timbers are still visible. If your house was built before the 1830s, then it’s almost certain to be a timber frame home. Timber frame homes were typical across much of American until the late 1800s when it was surpassed by balloon framing. The wood used in timber framing is much more substantial in size- 6×6, 8×8, 10×10 timbers are the norm. And you won’t find any 2×4’s in an old timber frame house. Timber frame buildings avoid the use of nails by using complex mortise and tenon joinery to marry its posts and beams together tightly. Nails weren’t used extensively until the Industrial Revolution because until that time they were hand cut and expensive. And what’s more impressive, is that they attain this immense level of rigidity and staying power without the use of nails. Timber frame structures can easily last centuries due to their inherent strength and stability. This is the oldest known form of wood construction, and no-one knows exactly how it started or when, but let’s just say it’s really old! In fact, the world’s oldest known timber frame building still in existence today is the Ise Temple in Japan built in 690 AD.
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