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Timber
Frame Costs || Designing
an Affordable Timber Frame Home
When
in the market for conventional construction, builders
will often quote home building on a standard price per
square foot basis. The cost of a timber frame can not
be calculated in this way. Too many factors, such as
the species of wood used, complexity of the frame and
amount of hand-chiseled joinery required, are
variables in the pricing. Therefore, in order to get
the actual cost of the timber frame you are going to
build, you will need to have a timber frame design
that can be priced out by the builder for you.
Sometimes
it's desirable to have a rough estimate, however, for
planning and/or to determine whether or not a frame
even falls within your budget for the amount of living
space you require. There is an extremely wide range in
pricing among different timber frame companies. But at
least in the Southeast, you can expect to find average
prices at approximately $18-$24 per square foot of
living space for a simple white pine timber frame, cut
and erected on your floor deck. (Delivery cost is of
course variable.) Oak timber frames will run higher,
as will custom timber frames.
The
timber frame package, which adds enclosure with stress
skin panels to the above, runs on average
approximately $50-$65 per square foot, again for a
simple design. Dormers, tongue and groove paneling and
other add-ons will increase this cost. Generally
speaking, again, it should be possible to complete the
construction of a home for between $125-$150 per
square foot here in the Southeast. This of course is a
very individual matter, involving many different
factors such as 1) local building codes and costs; 2)
the going rates for contractors in your area; 3) how
much of the work you are prepared to do yourself,
including acting as your own general contractor; 4)
and the cost of the finishing materials, such as
tiles, flooring and fixtures, you select.
You
should expect that your timber frame package (timber
frame and stress skin panels, erected and installed)
will run between one-fourth to one-third of your
overall cost. In other words, if your timber frame
package will cost you $50,000, you should be able to
complete your home for between $150,000 to $200,000.
This cost applies to the heated living area-not
foundation, septic, well, site preparation and land
purchase.
In it's 2003
Buyers' Guide, Timber Frame Homes magazine recently
included an article on the cost of timber frame homes
on a national basis. It suggested that hybrid timber
frame homes tend to cost about 15% more than
custom-built stick-framed homes, while full timber
frames run at least 20% or more over stick-built. In
addition, they report that most timber frame homes
finished in a medium- to high-quality level,
nationally, cost approximately $150 per square foot.
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