Planning --- Placing Your Timber Frame on Your Land

    Placing your home on your land.

•      What if any views,  do  you want to take advantage of? The answer to this question may not be as easy as you think it is. By way of example- When we were planning our timber frame home we had only walked the property in the spring and summer; when fall came we realized we had a view of the mountains we could not pass up. 

     If possible view/consider your property seasonally. The leaves are not always on the trees. This should be taken into consideration when assessing how much natural light a room will receive. Last winter we experienced rain and snow and very low temperatures that I have not experienced in the twenty-seven +years I have lived in North Carolina. There were many natural springs flowing - that no one ever remembers flowing in the past. Things to keep in mind:

• How much does Mother Nature love you?
• Will your home be subject to heavy snow loads?
• How much rain will you get?  
• Will you have to have an erosion plan?
• Will extra money have to be spent dealing with run-off? 
• Snow-belt, sun-belt, will temperature extremes be involved?
• Are the R-values of the SIPS's going to change from the norm?

      Let deciduous trees shade your home in the summer, decreasing heat gain in the summer. They will allow sunlight in to warm the house in the winter.
      A two-foot over hang will help protect the sides of your timber frame home decreasing heat gain in summer, and it will let sunlight in from a lower winter sun in the cold months.

No man is an island at least not where building departments and utility companies are concerned.

Timber Frame Home - Project Planning Guide