THE COOPER RETREAT
1. DESIGN: Architecture by (BTL) Brandenburger, Taylor Lambardo and Associates. Preliminary design developed by Martine Paquin. Frame design by Timber Creations. Interior Decorating by Georgia Edwards. Executive design decisions by Mr. and Mrs. Cooper.
Located in a secluded Sonoma county valley, this weekend getaway home is surrounded by vineyards and vistas.
One bedroom and a guesthouse, the home will be used for entertainment and retreat.
2. THE GREAT ROOM: A view from the foyer, the great room opens itself with panache. During frame design we put forward many options for the Coopers, who made it clear, they wanted to build something that had not been done before.
Working within the parameters of the architectural shape provided, we designed a hammer beam truss used in an unconventional ‘principal-purlin’ configuration. Between the purlin trusses are standard trusses at a 6/12 pitch, common rafters are spanning from purlin truss to wall plates at 9/12 pitch.
The hammer beam purlin trusses are spanning 32’ and providing the support for the entire structure with a tile roof. 
3. OTHER FRAMING: In addition to the great room; Timber Creations provided the framing for the entry and foyer, post and plate sections that outline the garage doors and the guesthouse, and support brackets under the eaves.
All timber is reclaimed Douglas fir with our TC rough sawn texture applied to the surface. Cabot stain was used on both interior and exterior beams.
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THE CARTER HOUSE
1. EXTERIOR ELEVATION:Shown above are Leif Calvin and his son, Gabriel, in the front yard of the Carter house. Designed here at Timber Creations, and based on a farmhouse vernacular, the Carter house uses a large porch space and rough sawn timber to capture an informal, relaxed atmosphere of the country setting. Resting on 3.5 acres with horses, the home is only 2100 sq. ft. but boasts 1600 sq. ft. of deck space. With 3 bedrooms 2.5 bathrooms, an office, library, walk-in pantry and walk-in closets for the master bedroom, this floor plan feels much larger than it is. Designed without a formal dining room, the kitchen and living room are separated by a large country table.
2. THE GALLERY: From inside the living room, the stair (railing is on left side of photo) takes you to two bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor. The open hall here is 6’ wide, providing enough space for children to play.
3. THE LIVING ROOM:The view from the living room displays the white washed, rough sawn timber, and framing styles from the past. Notice the integration of heavy timber-frame elements with mortise-and-tenon joinery, and the exposed lighter framing of joists with late 19th century style cross bracing. To keep an open feel in the house, one of the interior walls of the library is made of recycled windows. This cuts down on sound and allows for a “getaway” space, yet maintains the open and informal feel of the design.
4. THE MASTER BEDROOM: Designed for morning people, this room floods with morning light, filtered through redwood trees and a field of grape vines. During afternoon and evening, the west facing space, with the 10’ covered porch also provides a wonderful space to sit outside away from the summer heat. You may also notice the roof pitch in this room is lower than in the public spaces; this helps create a more intimate feel.
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CLOUD RIDGE CABIN
1. THE PROJECT: Located in the hills outside of Healdsburg, California, cloud ridge cabin built by the Isaacs family is an off-grid home. Chris Humann of East Bay Design provided the architectural design. The layout and orientation of the home was situated to maximize the active solar gain in the roof solar panels and the passive solar aspects of radiant concrete floors. The home also takes advantage of the north-facing “summer space” that provides a cool
shaded place to be during extreme heat. 
2. LAYOUT: A simple home, designed for a retired couple to have a space to share holidays in the woods with grandchildren. The home was designed with one bedroom and a loft that provides a “bunkhouse” area for visiting family. The “summer space” on the west face provides a shaded area with lounging space, an outdoor shower, and an outdoor kitchen. Inside the main house and below the loft is a dining room, family room, reading nook and full kitchen.
3. THE ISSACS: The Issacs have made this property a labor of love for the past 20 years. It has served as a place to escape the city, camp out, and spend time with family. During construction the Issacs where involved in all stages; acting as general contractor, opting to do there own electrical work, and supplying material from the trees on the site for use in some of the framing, trim work and siding.
4. MATERIALS: During design it was decided to use smaller sized timbers to keep the budget in check. Most posts are 6x6 or 6x8, the rafters are 4x8 and the top plates are 6x10. All the timber is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified. FSC provides a “chain of custody” insuring that the timber is managed, forested, harvested, milled and delivered in a sustainable environment. We applied a coat of Natural Watco oil to the frame. The ceiling is covered with Western Red Cedar 2x6 T&G, and the walls are mostly gypsum wallboard. The wood floor covers the upper floors while the lower main floor is a radiant concrete slab finished and stained by the owners. The summer space was framed with timbers and siding supplied from trees on the site.
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THE HELMS RESIDENCE
1. EXTERIOR ELEVATION: Located just outside of Bend Oregon the Helms residence was designed by Bruce Rosenquist of Rosenquest Design. The frame was a collaboration of Earthwood homes and Timber Creations; Earthwood provided the contractural relationship and design and Timber creations provided the frame production and raising.
2. MATERIALS: The Helms frame was cut from reclaimed Douglas fir timber. The joinery and timber edge details use a 3/8” radius to soften the lines and accent the joinery. We also pre-cut all our oak dowels and put a small radius on them to blend in with the round over theme. The finish is smooth sanded and oiled with natural Watco Oil.
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GRANDMA'S HOUSE
1. BUILT FOR GRANDMA: This one room house is left open by using a glass divider wall that is 7' tall. Built as a simple rectangle with 5 scissor trusses and an added 5' front porch, this is a perfect little house for a retired couple or single. The plan is easily adapted to accommodate a full kitchen, bath, and pantry with washer dryer. The porch can also extend to both sides or around the entire house. This is a wonderful balance of traditional timber framing and modern efficient building practices. 2. BUILT FOR COMFORT AND EFFICIENCY: Breaking with building traditions, the foundation crawl space is insulated, vapor sealed and used as an air plenum to help cool the house in the warm summer months.
With an air exchanger installed, fresh air is brought into the house and tempered with the outgoing air. The incoming air is pumped into the crawl space below the house, in the summer this space, helps to cool the house as air rises from the crawl space up to the rafters, in the Winter this air and crawl space is heated by the radiant floor prior to moving up to the ceiling and pumped back to the air exchanger for discharge. All domestic hot water and heat is provided by a single exterior mounted instant hot water heater. All exterior walls are 6" Structural insulated panels that provide great insulation. 
3. BUILT TO LAST: Many details have gone into Harriet's house to insure that this structure will endure. From window and door detailing, to wall and roof structure, we strove to insure that sun, wind, water and fire are held at bay. The walls are all vented from top to bottom under the siding with Tye-Par house warp. This rain screen ensures that any moisture that is driven behind the siding has a place to drain and dry out, thus protecting the structure and prolonging life of the siding and paint. At each opening extra care has been taken to insure that the flashing diverts driven water to the face of the rain screen. Unlike conventional flashing that often depends on calking to seal the trim to the siding, these flashing details provide a mechanical means to protect the structure from trapped water. The roof is built of 8" thick Structural Insulated panels, and the fire suppression system is left exposed inside with copper pipe.
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