Log and Timber Home Living

Log & Timber Home Living magazine is the ultimate guide to log, timber and hybrid homes. Expect expert advice on everything from floor plan design to materials and maintenance, as well as inspiring home tours, decorating ideas and more!

For the Love of Timbers

Log & Timber Home Living

What Sets Timber Framing Apart • This treasured and timeless building method is more popular today than ever.

TALKING TIMBER TERMS • Like most specialized art forms, timber framing has a language all its own, with vocabulary for its various materials and construction methods. Below is a brief list of commonly used timber frame terms to help you better understand its main components.

plan

Take it From the Top • During the timber home planning phase, you’ll gather information to learn what’s involved and the choices that are available to you.

9 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE YOU BUY • The companies you consider may share timber framing in common, but the way they run their businesses can be very different. Make sure the answers to these questions align with your goals.

the smart money

Post-and-Beam VS, Timber Framing

Landing the Right Property • Ask yourself these 13 questions to get a feel for what kind of property works best for you.

truss 101 • The kind of structural support your design requires, as well as your personal preference, will determine your timber home’s truss system. A triangle is the simplest, but its use is limited to smaller buildings. Adding a king post in the center allows for a wider span. Queen-post trusses look like a rectangle within a triangle, and the dramatic hammerbeam can span large interior spaces and enable ceilings to soar.

wood species

Save Time and Money with SIPs

design

Lessons in Layout

A Perfect Arrangement • Room orientation and logical flow are essential ingredients to a successful floor plan.

5 tips for small plan success • As you’re designing your home, there’s a host of reasons to go small. A small-scale home is typically easier on both your budget and your on-going maintenance. A small footprint is also gentler on the planet. But downsizing has to be tempered with realism — the size, scale and layout have to support your daily life.

STOCK PLAN OR CUSTOM DESIGN?

A Radical (and Radial) Approach

THE LOW DOWN

One Plan, Six Ways • There’s no reason to feel boxed into a timber home design corner. Floor plans are more flexible than you think.

build

THE BUILDING INSPECTOR’S ROLE

Building Basics • Understanding these 8 essentials will help ensure construction is a smooth and enjoyable experience for your and your team.

TIME FOR TIMBERS

timber frame anatomy • Timber frame homes are complex structures made of vertical posts and horizontal beams to form cross-sections called bents. Combined with other members that provide support, bracing and structure to the frame, they support the weight of the house. The main members are shown in the illustration below.

Help Your Builder Help You

BEHIND THE SCENES • As you design and build your home, it’s common to hyper-focus on all the elements you can see, like flooring, cabinetry and, of course, the timber frame itself. But it’s the proper connections made behind your walls that enable your home to run smoothly and effectively. Here’s how it works.

WHO WILL BUILD YOUR HOME?

LET’S MAKE A DEAL • Builder Dan Mitchell shares his top 5 solutions to save money during construction.

finish

merry & light

6 FINISHES FOR A MODERN-RUSTIC HOME

Ticket to Paradise • A little lottery luck provides a couple the opportunity to build the timber frame home they thought would remain a fantasy.

ROB...