Hickory Circle Construction

Will the advantages of timber homes and timber framing last forever? Wood structures have been around for ages. Timber framing, specifically, is the oldest form of wood construction: The oldest timber frame building was built around 690 AD, and is still standing in Japan today! However, in the age of modern technology, you might be wondering: will wood go out of style?  Our guess is no. Since the creation of wooden homes, new housing materials have taken the market by storms, such as brick, cement, and vinyl options. However, so far, timber products have stood the test of time. Why is this?  Speed A wooden house is much easier to build in a time crunch in comparison to heavier materials like cement and brick. These materials are harder to transport, which takes away from building time. In contrast, timber frames can be made off-site, and wood is easily mobilized. This shortens the time span of development by weeks.  Renewability  Wood is a very abundant and available...

Timber framing provides not only a warm visual but a warmth you can feel, too. Have you ever wondered why log cabins are the home of choice in cold, mountainous areas? Timber products surely take precedence in these locations over concrete materials, but why? What's the appeal? The answer is simple: wood is excellent at keeping you warm and comfortable, even as a frame. Here's why:  Wood products, such as logs, absorb heat during the day and release it at night during temperature changes. Timber is great at adapting to humidity and weather fluctuations. It is true that when it is dry it can lose its insulation properties. However, its versatility allows it to adapt to and absorb moist conditions. So if you live somewhere that emits plenty of moisture in the air, like Ohio, this likely won't be a problem (this is why log cabins are perfect for mountain areas, where the weather is changing all the time). And, if you're considering only timber frames, you will still benefi...

Timber framing is a very common and traditional style of construction. This is where a structure is framed with crafted heavy timber as opposed to mass-produced thinner, dimensional lumber. The look of a timber frame is easy to identify — it offers an exposed wood appearance, often with minimal finishing. Hickory Circle offers both hands sawed or planned finishes to the client’s preference. The most popular and common types of wood for timber wood framing are:  Oake Pine Cedar  Douglas Fir  So, What are the differences between timber framing and conventionally built homes, log homes, and post and beam houses? Timber homes are complete structures made of heavy timber vertical posts supporting horizontal beams. These form cross-sections called bents, and multiple bents create bays. Conventionally built homes are framed with smaller dimensional lumber that is readily available at the lumberyards. Because the materials are smaller, load-bearing walls must be incorporated into...

  Timber vs. Steel          While the material to build your house is chosen mostly out of personal preference, there is no clear answer as to which material is best, timber or steel. There are a lot of things to take into consideration when picking between the two materials, it is not just about how it looks. Speed of construction, environmental impact, sustainability, cost, and your location are all good points to take into consideration. Here we will go through each point to help make your decision easier on you. Speed of Construction:     While both materials are assembled in a similar manner, timber can actually take a shorter time to put up due to steel needing more tools and labor to attach each element together. On top of this, timber frames can be put up by carpenters or even used in DIY situations, and it helps that most professionals have experience with wood more than metal. Steel will always need a steel fabricator to put yo...

If you're considering designing a new home soon, a timber frame structure could be the way to go! There are many advantages to using timber for your building that can help you make the choice of creating your home with a custom timber design from Hickory Circle Construction.  One obvious advantage to using timber for your home is the fact that it is a natural resource, one of the few that is used for building in our modern society. This means that it is non-toxic, safe to handle and also naturally ages with your design. Along with being natural, timber is more sustainable and environmentally friendly than many other building materials. Timber can be grown faster than it is used and in many places in which timber is harvested, the harvesters are then required to plant more trees in the same place to ensure the renewability of the building material.    Timber frame structures have other benefits as well, such as a decreased energy need for the home. Timber is a natural i...

            Congratulations on taking the first step into building your own timber home frame. You have a couple of critical decisions to make in the coming weeks. One of the most important is which species of wood your timber framer will use in the construction of your home. There are an abundance of options available, all with their owns strengths and weaknesses. This important decision may include you looking at the availability, sustainability, cost and suitability of the wood.  The most common types of wood species for timber framing are: white pine, red and white oak, Douglas Fir, hickory and cedar.  Availability       Depending on what part of the country you're in, will largely impact what materials are available to you. It is cost efficient to use local materials as the cost of transporting posts and beams across the country can rack up costs in a hurry. It's unlikely that the area you reside i...

 There are many ways to make your house our own and unique. A great way to help your house stand out is merging styles with timber frames. It can make your perfect project look distinctive and truly capture what you imagined. With Hickory Circle Construction , it becomes a possibility for that dream idea to come to life.     Adding classic style timber frames can be something as simple as having arched frames or as complex as having a distinct design while providing functionality. The styles could be similar to French Colonial, Southern, and Country styles. These styles with timber frames can make a simple project become timeless. On the other end of the spectrum, timber frames can be mixed with modern styles like Industrial and Vintage, by adding the timber frames that are smaller in size and less detailed, it can be used to enhance the rest of the project. It makes the house or building look more formal and professional by adding the details of linear lines and gives ...

Heavy Timber Trusses can add a beautiful structural design to any commercial business or home, no matter if the building is fully timber frame or not. They offer unparalleled support of the structure and bring a bit of classical, country feel to wherever they are placed!  Design and actual style will defer depending on who the contractor is for a project, but there are multiple different styles that can be picked from, oftentimes strictly by what you had in mind as many of them offer similar support levels as all of the other options. Below you can find the common types of heavy timber trusses that are used in the various buildings.   Although these are all of the most common designs, many times trusses can be custom-made to fit your project. Just consult with your contractor to find out if this is something they are able to do to effectively fit your needs!  If you are in need of heavy timber trusses, either standard or custom, or even looking to build a full tim...

Find yourself really dreaming of timber-framed home , but also like the style of conventional framing? Luckily, you don’t have to compromise anymore, just look into designing your own custom hybrid framed home! Overall, hybrid framing actually has two major advantages when compared to building a completely timber-framed home, so now there is an incentive to take both styles and mesh them together in your home. - COST – Price is everything when building a home, and this is a major plus to hybrid framed homes, they are cheaper than a strictly timber-framed building. This price difference means that you can still have a timber-framed home, but also stay within your price range by mixing in some conventional framing to the design as well.    - FLEXIBILITY – This is another bonus to hybrid-framed homes . Because of the mix of two different framing styles you, as the person who is paying and designing the home, can make rooms look very unique by selecting which ...