timber frame construction manuals

[cul8rm8]

can anyone tell me if there are any web pages that have complete guides to timber frame house construction. I want to have a new house built but have no experience in construction.

[IMM]

The Building Structure:

- A light framed superinsulated structure (Minimum of 400mm of Warmcell in the roof, 250-300mm in the walls, heavy foam in the floor if a concrete slab).

- Face the house south to capture passive solar energy.

- Calculate the pitch of the roof for maximum insulation at your latitude.

- Calculate the roof overhangs to keep the sun off the windows and walls in summer.

- Have the north side with few windows.

- Triple glazed with low "e" glass.

- Eliminate thermal bridges. These tend to be where the walls meet the ground and the roof, or one material meets another. Use nylon tie bars if cladding in brick

- Use SIP panels or TJI "I" beams. The void in the "I" beams can be filled with Warmcell cellulous insulation (re-cycled newspaper). The Warmcell makes the structure air-tight.

- Have all of the south facing roof being a solar panel heating water from the sun. That is a large surface generating much heat.

- Could have a full width conservatory on the south side. Better if full width and full height. This will help but not essential. Nice to have though as bedrooms could have a balcony opening into the conservatory.

- No letterbox in front door. All doors heavily insulated and sealed (the Swedes do the best doors).

- Have a study for home working.

Heating, Vent, Thermal Storage:

- Store the heat in a large thermal store, which would have to be sized to suit. Better have a battery of small cylinders, so if one leaks it is an easy and cheap job of replacing.

- The heavy thermal stores can be at ground level. They could even be in a separate building with superinsulted underground pipes between it and the house if need be. The thermal store should hold enough energy to heat the building over 3 or 4 cloudy days.

- Use "very" low temperature underfloor heating.

- In winter not a lot of very hot water will be generated, but hot enough for very low temp underfloor heating.

- This low temperature water can act as a preheat for DHW.

- If hot water is generated, hot enough for domestic hot water, then this water should be suitably stored for ready use rather than merging into a large low temperature water store.

- The controls will be off the shelf and all be using the odd pump here and there.

- A backup heat source can be incorporated when cloudy days extend over 3 or

4 days.

- The water system is understandable by any intelligent plumber.

- As underfloor heating is being used, bets have an extract only vent system. Heat recovery is expensive. The thermal store should store enough energy for the heating system to compensate for vent losses.

Water Reclamation:

- There are large water tanks that fill from the roof available ready made. The BENELUX countries have these as standard in new builds.

- The water tank is under the garden.

- The water is used to water the garden and flush toilets, reducing water consumption drastically.

PV Cell:

- Don't bother as they are still super expensive with very long payback times. If the hosue done as above then little elecricity will be used.

Low Energy Appliance:

- These tend to be German like AEG, etc. Find out which of these is the most economical in energy and water consumption and put these in the spec.

Comms:

- Wire the place out in CAT 5 to accomodate computers and home working.

The above is the basic concept. Then, depending on site, size of house, etc, it is a matter of applying numbers to size up the thermals store, heat loss, How much energy the solar roof will generate, sizing a "very" low temp underfloor heating system, etc.

Look at this book: Building with Strucutural Insulated Panels (SIPs): Strength and Energy Efficiency Through Structural Panel Construction By Michael Morley ISBN: 1561583510

Synopsis Structural insulated panels are sandwiches of foam insulation between two sheets of fibreboard or plywood, and are used to build walls, roofs and floors in all kinds of modern buildings: instead of three components - a frame, insulation and sheathing - SIP panels are all three things and come ready to install. SIP- constructed buildings are vastly more efficient, quicker to build, stronger, quieter and more draught-free than older post-war building systems. Taps into a huge and growing self-build market which is generally only served by technical books.; Tips and information on this highly efficient building material from an expert builder who specialises in structural insulated panel construction. Packed with 180 colour photographs and 40 drawings.; Takes the reader through the entire process of building a panel-constructed house, from planning and estimating, ordering, storage and handling to construction.

Some SIP companies:

at "I" beams: you have absorbed mush of this come back with more questions. This will do for now.

[Jimbo]

IMM must have felt the need for a "dump" which didn't help you much. Maybe you should try to use the USA Goggle. Timber frame is an easy build and can be done as a 2 man job. (Did a 4 BR one in Arkansas in 1995) The hardest problem is finding straight timber since new growth timber warps badly. You may wish to check on the "Log house kits" imported from the US. Good Luck. Jim

[IMM]

SIP panels are far superior to stick built. Read the post of mine and read the book I mentioned. This man should be adopting state-of-the-art techniques, not houses made of bent wood.

[Andy Hall]

Yes but what relevance do home offices and absence of letter boxes have to timber framing?

.andy

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[IMM]

A part of the overall solution.

[David]

get a copy of the housebuilders bible by Matt Brinkley

should cover pretty mush everything you want to know. I'm only planning an extension but this is the best book that I've looked at.

cheers

David

[IMM]

> it should cover pretty mush everything you want to know.

It will not tell you have to build a timber framed house, far from it. It is more what choices you have and costings.

[David]

>

It won't tell you that you HAVE to build anything.

It is still a very good resource, especially to someone with no experince in costruction as the OP has stated.

cheers

David

[Andy Hall]

IMM is much more comfortable with something that prescribes what must be done with no variation in choice.

.andy

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[IMM]

You are silly. Have you seen the book? It is no guide on how to build a timber framed house in any way whatsoever. If gives the big picture on houses, mainly brick and block and timber frame thrown in.

[Andy Hall]

Whatever.

The point is that there are many ways to build houses, not just timber ones. All have their pros and cons

.andy

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[IMM]

You don't say.... The topic is about timber homes specifically, and how they are built. The OP is on about building it himself, so he needs some detailed books.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Offices are very important to IMM. They send him all the information he so willingly dispenses on here.

[Andy Hall]

There are many ways to build timber homes as well, not just your recipe.

Home offices, sealed letterboxes and 3 metres of insulation are a separate issue.

.andy

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[IMM]

And what recipe is mine? The current point is a book that us suitable for him; specifically on timber homes. I gave the latest state-of-the-art timber techniques, which is by far the best, with accompanying book, and told him to read up and then ask further questions. All you have done is act the goat.

Not so. he is building a house. These are relevant.