Advantages creating A Timber Frame House

It can be hard to get mortgages for kit houses because there is a high front loaded outlay right from the very start of the project. The manufacturers often require a 25% deposit up front and the self builder also has to buy the plot of land for the house to go on. 55% is expected on delivery of the house and the rest is requested when the house is erected. This is often why many self builders of kit homes end up staying in a caravan on site as they will probably have sold their home first, but this is not ideal if you have a young family.

Once your install your fence panels you need to ensure they are protected all year round. This means painting the fence panels with a timber treatment. Timber treatments protect the wood from damage or decay which can lead to rot. Timber treatments come in many different colours and come in clear for a natural look. Your fence panels will need to be treated on a yearly basis.

This is even more critical if you have a series of large windows on a long wall. Install the brackets on either end and run a string line to mark all the others. Remember a line can sag over a few metres so you may need to allow for that. Also check your height in a few places. If your floor had a hump in it, you would have to allow for that in your bracket height otherwise your curtains would drag on the floor in the middle. If this is the case you can raise your end brackets to compensate.

Once you have the foundation you can begin building the walls. Walls run from corner to corner, corner to an intersection with another wall, or between two intersections. Corners and intersections are structural opportunities. If you've created a frame of large timbers your structure should be solid before you start filling in the space. If you aren't using a timber frame home you'll have to figure out how to tie corners and wall intersections together. It's possible to create interlocking corners, log cabin style, with lengths of wood long enough to be structural but small enough for one person to handle and place.

Kit homes are often cheaper because there is no need for an architect. Architect fees can easily be 20,000 if a house is built from scratch but kit homes have standard designs and so need little design from architects. Kits are also made from materials that can be factory built in pre-fabricated or modular cells. Prices reflect the bulk purchases by the manufacturer. It is also the theory that labour costs are lower with kit houses because the designs are uncomplicated so you do not need as many skilled crafts people on site as you would with a traditional build.

Doors and windows start by placing a frame on the wall at the lowest level of the opening, and then stacking and mortaring the cordwood to the side and then over the top of the frame. The frame can be temporary, and removed once the wall has set, or it can be the permanent frame to which the doors and windows get attached.

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