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1. Here is a quick overview of the initial steps to build your home: Many of these items overlap and nothing is written in stone since each project is unique.

• Acquire property that is Board of Health Approved. Be aware of things like deed restrictions and septic/water requirements.

• Design your home

• Hire a general contractor and lock into costs. Another option is to act as your own general contractor. You will earn every dollar that you save, but forewarned is forearmed; it is hard work.

• Obtain building permit, driveway permit, well and septic design and location, if applicable

• Secure bank financing

• Build your home

2. Timber frames are specialty homes. A timber framed house costs a bit more than a conventionally framed house. We currently run between $45 and $75 per square foot for an erected frame and applied panels. The price depends on board footage, type of lumber and complexity of the frame design.

3. We do not provide financing. You would secure financing through the bank of your choice with a construction loan. Make sure your loan has a payment schedule specific to timber frame or log homes, which is different from a conventional construction loan. This is becoming more and more common and is usually not a problem. Our payment schedule is as follows:

4. We provide custom designs with full blueprints, stamped by a NYS licensed structural engineer, which is required for you to obtain both your building permits and bank financing. Or, we can work with your architect. Included in our design phase are the plans for the foundation, floor, elevations, sections, details and frame schematic. The engineer's fee is generally about $500 and is not refundable. A design takes from about 4 to 6 months, sometimes more, depending on how thought-out the design is at the beginning. The more information you bring to us, the quicker the process and happier the outcome. Start clipping pictures of what you like as well as what you don't like and make lists of features you want. Prioritize them so you know what things are "must haves" and what things would be nice to have but are negotiable. Above all, make sure both spouses/partners are active participants in the design process and are fully informed at each step of the decision making. Sometimes there are difficult choices. One person may want a fireplace in the living room, while the other may have his heart set on a top of the line gourmet kitchen. If both options can't be included in the budget, make sure everyonje is in agreement at the outset so the process can be a "win/win" situation.

If you have an idea of what you want or have rough sketches, send them to the office and Annemarie will work up some very rough sketches and a rough quote at no charge. It generally takes about 2-3 weeks to get a quote back, depending on the time of year and workload it could take longer. If you're not sure what you want, call or set up an appointment to discuss concepts. From this discussion, Annemarie will work up rough sketches and a rough quote, again at no charge. Meetings are usually scheduled for weekdays or workday evenings.

For additions, we need to see the house to which our frame will be attached. If local, Annemarie will come to the house and have a meeting. If not local, the owner can take basic measurements for a rough quote. If you decide to proceed with us, a site visit is required. Site visits occur once the design phase has begun, unless it's a local addition or something unusual.

5.Yes, with modifications, a conventionally designed home can be made into a timber frame. What does this mean? This means that if you have been scouring through home plan books and have found one that you really love, yet want a timber frame, we can redesign the house as a timber frame, extracting only the design elements that you like from the plan and adapting it to your own personal lifestyle. It is against copyright laws to exactly reproduce any design, but it is helpful in designing your home to see examples of plans you like.

6.There are many different woods used for timber frame construction. The most common are Eastern white pine and Eastern hemlock, which are the least expensive. Other woods are Douglas fir (from western Canada) or standing dead fir. Standing dead is wood taken from a tree that is dead standing in the woods. The tree typically died from either fire or insects. Both types of Douglas fir are more than double the price of pine.

Typically we do not put any finish on the timbers. When first erected, the wood is very light, but over time will darken slightly. You probably are thinking of a timber frame because you love the look of real wood. Live in your home for a while before making any irreversible decisions. If you really want a finish, we recommend you apply it when you paint the interior of the house, at the same time your trim is painted. NEVER use polyurethane to finish the timbers until the frame is completely dry or the timbers will rot from the inside out! Timbers dry at different rates depending on species and humidity, but generally an inch a year. Most of the moisture will be gone after 4 years, but it will not be completely dry for a few more years after that.

7.Legacy timber frames are enclosed with structural insulated panels, or SIP's. An SIP consists of the exterior sheathing, insulation and interior sheetrock already manufactured into big rectangles. These are attached to the outside of the completed frame, creating an extremely airtight, highly insulated structure. This means lower fuel and airconditioning costs. We typically use EPS (expanded polystyrene) panels, 6  9/16" (R-23) for walls and 8 1/4" (R-29) for roof panels. These have no problem meeting NYS energy codes. If you go with a thicker panel you get a higher R value. Yes, we will sell a frame without the panels if you want to enclose your frame in another manner.

8.It should not take any longer to build a timber frame than a "regular" house, but this depends on several factors; the time of year, whether or not you have your building, driveway and any other permits, having financing in place and, perhaps most importantly, the commitment level of your general contractor.

Once the design phase is complete and the contract signed, it is about 2-3 months until the frame arrives at your site. At this time, you must have the driveway, foundation and first floor framing completed. It takes about 3 weeks to erect the frame and install the panels, depending on the size of the frame. We get a feel for the timing and schedule during the design phase.

9.Mechanicals

Heating: any system can be designed into the plans; forced hot air, radiant,  hot water baseboard or some combination of these. The choice is dependent on your personal preference and your budget. An air-to-air heat exchanger is a MUST in every Legacy timber frame house. This brings in fresh air, warms it up and then introduces it to the house while exhausting stale house air. The exchangr can be set to however many air changes a day are required based on your lifestyle. A knowledgeable heating contractor will have more information. The panels are so energy efficient that they do not allow in drafts, so you must change the air mechanically.

Plumbing: All plumbing walls are interior walls and this is worked out in design. (No frozen pipes!) We like to centralize plumbing with bathrooms stacked over each other when possible.

Electrical: For running the electrical wiring, we don't use the wire chase that comes in panels. Instead, we have a terrific system that requires no "specialty electrician"- we will train your electrician in a matter of minutes. When possible, we try to avoid using wire mould -- the exposed tan or white plastic conduit that you may have seen in other timber frames. In most cases, our techniques allow wiring to be as discrete in our timber frames as it is in conventionally framed houses.

10.We do not general contract homes through completion. The reason is simple: Timber Frames are our specialty. Each Legacy Timber Frame is a unique, custom design crafted to meet or exceed the highest industry standards. Our customers demand the quality and timelessness that only the centuries-old art of Timber Framing can provide. Once the timber frame and panels are in place, your home can be completed similarly to a custom, conventionally framed home. A qualified general contractor in your area will be familiar with local subcontractors and should be able to complete your home in a timely and professional manner. If any questions arise during this phase of construction, we're just a phone call away.

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