Is post and beam construction cheaper than traditional 2×4 or 2×6 framing?
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The short answer was no for me. I had a design for the NE. P&B with no nails or plates out of oak. All wood peg joints. It was not cheaper using SIP walls and roof as we planned. I was also planning on cold roofing it. I don't know about the costs of sticking the exterior. In the end I'm glad I stick built the house but it would have been one nice P&B.
My first house was a P&B Lindal Cedar and I liked it. Been around lots of Deck/Acorn Homes as well. These are not cheaper by any stretch of the imagination.
I walked away from the dirt ball builder and my 30K deposit. I would have ended up in jail had we kept going.
I know who not to use for a post and beam house.
boy, that sounds like a story you could tell.
The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.
Ya. It would be a friggin novel. Lessons learned the hard way by me. I spend major amounts of money yearly at my day job on handshakes. That's how I like to opperate. It's OK. 30 was a drop in the bucket looking at the overall picture. I figure it cost a little more than my landscaping budget.Someday, someway, somewhere.... He'll get his and I hope to standing in his face with the biggest grin on my face. There's two of them and I wonder what they did with the beams that were cut for my house? Not sure if they can be changed/adapted for use on another job. I do know that as the wood dries it's not easy to work with.At least I was not the one sweating my shorts off in the direct blistering 90 degree sun only to end up with a pile of timber that was twisting and turning black being uncovered in the weather. My lawyers had pictures taken in a site walk at the mill. The stuff was turning into firewood after all the labor.In the end I used my same builder for the whole job vs. the finish. He and his crew did a great job. My wife and I are very happy with the end result. I have a house being razed shortly with a few trailer loads of bluestone around it. Like I said, the 30 was a drop in the bucket.
jcrew2
It was for me..
Homes my size with the sort of details I have are about $400,000 more than I spent to timberframe mine.. That's the problem really, the real cost is in the details.. Wood itself can be very cheap.. I spent less than $25,000 to get 50,000 bd.ft. of fine hardwood like black walnut white oak and cherry etc.. If I walked into a lumberyard I would have spent as much as $890,000 for that same amount of wood.. (more in a minute)
I have a buddy who did a semi post and beam ICF home of almost 4000 sq ft. for only $100,000 in material costs and several of his family and friends help.. He moved in in three months and is still finishing the trim and interior..
In addition there are some real efficencies when you timberframe.. for one your heating bill will be half or less what the same house would be stick built.
Wood has many prices.. standing in some field someplace it's called stumpage prices. that's less than 1/2 what I paid for mine. If you buy it from a sawmill and pay book prices it can be really cheap.. For example a hardwood timber that is 9"x7" x 8 1/2 feet made from just about any hardwood sells for $22.00 tp $20.00 currantly at most sawmills..
Pallet mills buy hardwood for around 15 to 20 cents per bd.ft. Have you looked at a pallet lately? I mean a new one that hasn't yet been destroyed by forklifts operated by cowboys.. they are solid hardwood.. maybe some knots but none the less solid wood.. oak, maple, hickory, etc.
Now that assumes you are near a source of wood at a reasonable price.. Downtown New York city and you'll pay 16 linds of prices. Arizona too could be expensive.. east of the Mississippi and things get a lot more reasonable..
The tools to do a timberframe or post and beam are available either new or used (I'll be selling mine shortly) used is about 1/2 price of new..
> I spent less than $25,000 to get 50,000 bd.ft. of fine hardwood like
> black walnut white oak and cherry etc..Oak I can understand. You used walnut and cherry for the framing in your house?George Patterson
grpphoto,
go to 85891.1 for pictures of my timberframe.. those timbers on the outside are all black walnut. The cherry is for the kitchen and ceiling of my office..
There is also some pictures of black walnut hardwood flooring at 86666.1.
Edited 8/3/2007 3:26 pm ET by frenchy
Frenchy,
Could you e-mail me a list of what tools you'll be selling.
Several of my friends locally are timber framers, but aren't tuned into Breaktime.
Thank you, Walter
No
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The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.
OK, It is cheaper if frenchy builds it or you and gives you a shellacin'.The rest of the country pays more for P&B
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Piffin
Part of my deal is that I was able to find wood at a modest price and I saved most of the labor costs that normally go into a home.. PLus I recycled a lot of the old house.. I either recycled doors windows and other millwork or I created them from scratch from rough sawn hardwood.
Look at all my stained glass windows for examples..
I know. You have an excellent beautiful house, something to be proud of.but not something that can be taken as a typical example, for instance, when was the last time anybody called you a run of the mill average guy?
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Frenchy? Just a stalwart standard issue extremist.
snort, snorK* or Roar! it's all the same.
.
piffin,
You win!. I admit I'm wierd!
lucky for you, Hunter S. Thompson understood."When the going gets weird, the weird go pro".-------------------------------------
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