Cabin Creek Timber Frames

The buzzword green, the use of energy, and intelligent building is a subject on which I may tread on many toes. It is important enough to do so. Buildings in the US consume 68% of the electricity generated in the country, and 37% of the energy. Consider our sources of energy, the political, economic, and environmental consequences of obtaining and using this energy, and immediately one realizes one needs to think and reflect. We do not yet have an unlimited source of energy. The energy needs of our country are increasing. There are drawbacks to most energy sources. The logical approach is to develop and refine each track in the most benign possible way, and to be more efficient in our use of energy. This last phrase needs to be underscored, understood, and undertaken. By becoming more energy saving, or efficient, much energy, political expenditure, money, etc., can be conserved. How do we become more efficient? One building or house built efficiently will not answer this problem, but is a start. Each one built inefficiently is an addition to the overall problem. We already have a number of tools which will cut down considerably on the energy usage in buildings. Unfortunately, most builders, architects, and designers choose to ignore the most important of these. This is the use of efficient insulation. By this I mean the use of insulated panels which significantly reduce the airflow through building walls or roofs. The USDOE in studies at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has shown that equally R-rated panel insulation compared with fiberglass batt insulation has only 10% of the air flow through the structure. When thermal transmission is compared in equally R-rated whole walls( with windows and doors) (SIPS vs. fiberglass), the walls with batt insulation drop from R-17 to R-11, while the panel walls perform as R-17. Over a period of years, these differences, along with settling of the fiberglass, consume large amounts of wasted energy, translating into a much more expensive building, and long term costs to the owner and our country. Users and manufacturers of insulated panels have known for years the efficiency of panels and have documented these monetary savings. Sadly, they are still a well kept secret. Green building has come a long way from the first lean-to using fir boughs to provide a literally green makeshift shelter. Unfortunately, quite a few buildings now being built are not much more efficient. The connotation of green was originally meant to include sustainability, efficiency, and safety, but has been dirtied and carries to a limited extent the ideas of hippie, organic, boutique and politically correct, and often gets the erroneous label of "efficient" simply by adding the adjective green. Green is more than a color. Much of what has been written about green building is not always appropriate. For instance, insulation using hemp or straw bale walls or sod roofs may do well in some locations but not work well in others. Some buildings are labeled green only because they employ a particular flooring product, or perhaps a new efficient appliance. Many buildings are old and essentially under insulated or not insulated at all. Many buildings, even new construction, supposedly built to code, have half the efficiency of others. Keep in mind that the universal building code is the minimum standard one builds to in order to get a Certificate of Compliance otherwise known as a certificate of occupancy. An analogy would be getting a grade of D in order to pass a test or class in school. It is a verifiable fact that a timber frame building with structurally insulated panels, (SIPS) costs about half as much to heat and cool as an equally R-rated stick built building with fiberglass batts between studs. Over a period of years, this is indeed a substantial difference. The larger upfront cost of employing SIPS is often offset or recovered within five years seen in the savings on your heating and cooling costs. Prior to our moving into Deer Chase it was not uncommon for our little farm house to average a two hundred dollar or more electric bill for less than half the number of square feet. Perhaps the best definition of green would be quality in its broadest sense. This would include quality in all aspects of building, from the initial planning throughout the entire building process. If you are just now starting to plan your timber frame home, may I suggest you check-out our website www.cabincreektimberframes.com "planning your timber frame home" for a starting place and some timely ideas. There are a number of serious builders like Cabin Creek Timber Frames who think through their options and materials, and opt for a building system, which is advantageous initially, and more importantly, over the lifetime of the building, which can and should be centuries. These builders are concerned about not just initial cost, but sustainability of production of building materials, reduction of pressure on landfills, reduction of risk of loss due to fire, and efficient use of energy in heating, cooling, and powering the building--these factors and more-- looked at over a period of many years, that is, over a life cycle. This would include cost per year over decades, including maintenance costs, usability/functionality, energy usage, durability, (that is, how long will the building last?), replacement costs, and razing costs, among others. I often hear of houses built to satisfy square footage requirements rather than inherent or functional value. An 8000 square foot house with curb appeal and little on the interior other than sheet rock and 8000 square foot of floor space seems to be a very inappropriate approach to housing. I list suggested appropriate goals: Efficiency in living: easy traffic flow, rooms that are easily used, with little or no wasted space. Efficiency in powering heating and cooling systems: including looking at yearly cost of utilities, and the type of insulation selected. Flexibility of design: ability to convert areas to other uses if necessary without major reconstruction. Open timber frame construction allows this easily. Remember your timber frame will be structural itself; therefore your interior walls and rooms can be placed where you desire. If you so decide, in a few years or two hundred years the interior walls can be moved easily and without any ill effect to your timberframe home. Durability: Many timber frame houses in this country and Europe are centuries old, and are still lived in comfortably. With modern foundations, flashing, roofing, and panel systems, there is good hope that most timber frame houses built now will outlast their forebears. Build in a manner to minimize waste -material, energy, water, etc. Build in an efficient location, oriented to views, drainage, sun, shade, lighting, and proximity to work, shopping, and transport. . This paragraph could easily be expanded into chapters, but is beyond the scope of this essay. Design for function rather than image, that is, small. Build with good craftsmanship. This will enable durability and the increased enjoyment and pleasure of living in the building. A simple but elegant design is always appropriate. Design so that a building can be razed and individual parts can be reused. SIPS and timber framing lend themselves easily to this. This timber frame barn-house was reworked from a timber frame barn built in the 1800's in New York State. Timber frame buildings with SIPS meet many of these goals. Designed by Cabin Creek Timber Frames in our design center before timbers are ordered, waste wood is kept to a minimum by ordering the lengths, widths, and depths needed. Timber frame designs use no more and usually less wood than equally sized stick built houses. The off-cuts or waste wood cut from timbers in Cabin Creek Timber Frames beamery are stored, not sent to a landfill, but burned during cold weather to heat our office complex, beamery, and machine building. (left) The array of pipes and pumps for radiant floor heating system which heats our entire 9,200 sq. ft. complex. (Right) Outdoor boiler to heat water for radiant floor system. Note the saved waste wood in containers. (Below) Timber Frame office with SIPS panels on the walls and roof. (Beamery) (Machine Shop) This is non fossil fuel heat from wood which, if not burned, would eventually decay in a landfill, producing just as much CO2 as the fire does. We use an outdoor furnace to heat hot water for in-floor radiant heat in the beamery, machine building, and office complex. Waste sawdust is used by local horse farms for bedding. When our timber frame has been trial assembled and is shipped to the jobsite, there is little or no wood waste created by the erection process. The frame is erected in 3-4 days, and the panels go on over the next few days, creating a building ready for final roofing. There is no waste from the panel application when rough opening measurements for doors, windows, and plumb cuts on the roof panels have been presented to the SIPS manufacturer prior to delivery to your building site. In essence, frame and panels can be assembled with essentially no jobsite waste. Using timber frame construction and SIPS usually mean fewer delays for contractor/owners since the frame and panels can be put up and the roof protected within three weeks. Not only is this process faster, it provides straighter walls. I invite you to sight down stick-built and panel walls and compare. Another advantage of timber framing is the craftsmanship which is encouraged and enhanced by the owner's and framer's knowledge that the frame will be seen and admired by owners and visitors. Having no load bearing walls in the frame allows great latitude in placing windows, doors, and interior walls. Panels outside the frame make a very efficient system. In some countries, infill panels are still used, despite knowledge of condensation problems and air leakage through the walls. This reluctance to change from infill to SIPS seems to be mostly based on tradition and appearance. Now that efficient insulated modern panels are available, these problems associated with infill systems can be avoided. Many people erroneously think houses need to breath. Studies have shown that stick built and fiberglass insulated houses have ten times more air leakage than those with SIPS, so the stick built houses need no more air exchange. A potential problem with tight buildings, i.e. SIPS, are that air can become stale, and sometimes a heat air exchange system may be needed, bringing in fresh air, exhausting stale air, but retaining the heat/coolness inside the building. e. In looking at lists of manufacturers of these heat air exchangers, almost all are along the northern tier of states, and one in Texas. In conversation with manufacturers, these exchangers are usually recommended only for the extremes in climate. Conclusion: in extremely hot or cold climates, these may be practical or advantageous. In moderate climates, the usual traffic in and out of a building provides sufficient air exchange without significant loss of heat or cooling. Air -to-air heat exchangers may also be appropriate for those persons with asthma or allergy issues. Please consult manufacturers for advice or ask a knowledgeable heating and air conditioning specialist in your area specific questions about what is needed or suggested for your specific locale. By planning ahead, passive solar heating can go far toward heating requirements in winter. Timber frame buildings insulated with SIPS usually require much less heating and cooling so money can be saved here. This allows purchase of higher performance but smaller machinery, and still achieves an initial cost savings. For more savings, seal all ductwork with duct tape, and test the ductwork. All plumbing pipes and ductwork should be in interior walls and conditioned spaces. Ductwork need not be run to exterior walls, since there is little difference in temperature between the inside and outside walls in a SIPS insulated building, saving considerably in duct length. Digital thermostats for each 'zone' can save 10-15% on HVAC costs. Fluorescent light bulbs are a real cost saving over the long run. For optimum efficiency, the house should be built to Energy Star Standards using Energy Star major appliances, and no open fireplaces (instead use airtight woodstoves with an outside air supply). See: www.energystar.gov We must be: Energy Efficient and Easy on the Environment. GREEN Building is Being Friendly to the Earth. GREEN Building is having a concern for our environment. GREEN Building is looking out for what we leave our grandchildren. Green Building is Quality Building

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