What a great question! I think this is a question other homeowners might have as well, so I'm going to use this for the Q&A section in the June 2011 issue of Timber Home Living. Thanks for posting this, and keep an eye out for that issue,…
You will have to look harder for shows today than you would have 5 years ago. Because most companies ARE located outside of CA they seem to be less able to bear the expense of a show out west even though they may be willing to sel them here. I sell…
Thank you for your comments. Since I'm not a builder I won't be able to help you out with questions 1 or 2. Regarding our shows, we've held our Log & Timber Home Shows in Ontario, CA a couple times within the last five years. I…
If these shows can be produced in countless small / mid size cities, why couldn't they put on a show in Los Angeles ? For those of us who are new to all of this, it would be nice to have another source of info beyond web sites. Some times you want to be able to ask questions in real time to a live human.
Perhaps the sound isolation that a raised floor grants might be a consideration for some, but ductwork-based heating-cooling systems are bad ideas by their very nature. The idea of heating and/or cooling air somewhere else and pushing it to where…
Take a look at the floor plan for our passive-solar/timber frame home that we are slowly finishing. And check out photos at my blog . The east-side entrance brings you into a short hallway lined with cabinets and clothes pegs. This hides the kitchen…
I also reject open plan design in one particular area: the kitchen. It is wonderful to have a kitchen large enough to have guests help with cooking or sit at the bar and converse, but...Open plan designs allow all the kitchen odors and messy views…
I've seen a couple of floorplans that accomplish most of what you want. I just wish I could give you a link but I can't find one of the photos and rep info right now. One way of handling this situation would be to start with a 1500sq floor…
re: the OpenBuilt concept as described on the Bensonwood Homes website(for info: http://www.bensonwood.com/innovation/openbuilt.cfm )Questions and Commentsfirst, the obvious highlights:o Six “S” concept - seemingly obvious, but the idea that these categories have different life spans, and are therefore best thought of as separate parts of the overall structure needs to be more widely adopted.o Idea that even top quality ‘custom’…See More
I don't know much about finishing reclaimed wood, but I think this is the house you mentioned. Your best bet would probably be to contact a builder or a place that sells finishes. I wouldn't trust reclaimed wood without a finish; it would…
The purpose of a finish is to beautify and protect the surface from weathering. I suspect much of the barnwood did at one time have a finish on it and it has been completely worn away. I would think that any material left unfinished on the exterior…
Everything is design is comprimise. Eliminating the hallways alloys rooms to be bigger without adding to the total square footage. I personally like the open floor plan. Being a remodeler I have had numerous opportunities to tweak the public areas…
Houses are not typically designed around the idea of the hallway, and chances are the older houses that you like at post WW2 and where built to cram as much livable space into a small footprint, and the much less important egress space or the…