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Down East Timber Frame
We offer a wide range of services
in the Down East region of Maine
from design to completion. With over 25 years of experience in the
post and beam building industry, Down East Timber Frame offers a high
level of expertise and knowledge in the design and construction process. We work closely with Habitat Post &
Beam's architectural design center in South Deerfield, Massachusetts to
carefully plan your new Maine post and beam home or addition and facilitate the various phases of
the timber frame construction using the highest quality trades people through to the
completion of your home. With an office on the Blue Hill
peninsula, Down East Timber Frame has the ability to meet you at your
Maine building site and to sit down at our Maine office for a design
discussion. This
combination of local representation, superior quality materials and
engineering from Habitat Post & Beam, and assembly of the pre-cut post
and beam system by skilled Maine craftsmanship, provides our
customers with a beautiful timber frame home or addition that will be treasured for generations. We look forward to serving you.
A Little Post and Beam History for You
Post and beam was the timber framing technique used when this country
was first settled. Until the onset of the Industrial Revolution,
many of the finest--and enduring--homes and public buildings
throughout the United States were built using the Post & Beam
technique; the vast majority of barns continued to be built with Post &
Beam until well into the 20th century. Many of these early
timber frame structures are still being used right now.
How are today's Habitat Post & Beam homes built? It's fairly
simple. A series of large, vertical timbers (posts) and horizontal
timers (beams) are carefully joined together using pre-cut joints to
form a complete structural framework. Habitat's unique pre-built
wall system supplies the support for windows, doors and siding along
with a factory supplied rigid insulation thermal break,
leaving the frame itself exposed inside the building. Aside from
the posts and beams, no interior partitions whatsoever are needed to
support the upper floors or roof, so the building's interior may either
be left completely open or divided into individual rooms.
 Wood is nature's most beautiful building material, and in a
Habitat Post &
Beam home the exposed timber frame is more than just an important
structural element; it can be a visual focal point as well.
Habitat uses only the highest quality of wood available, #1 Douglas fir,
chosen for strength, durability and stability. And whether you prefer to have a lot
of wood left exposed in any particular room, a little, or even none at
all, a Habitat home can be designed to suit your taste.
Habitat's homes may indeed resemble the post and beam buildings and
timber frame construction of
our forebears, but they are in no way old-fashioned. The
combination of a pre-built panelized wall with a rigid insulation wrap
allows for fast and accurate onsite construction with easy access for
electrical and plumbing subcontractors while providing a superior R
value to conventional 2x4 or 2x6 construction. Habitat's unique
dado sheetrock groove in the exterior posts, plate beams and rafters
provides for a clean drywall finish and an airtight fit while
controlling seasonal expansion and contraction of the timber frame.
Habitat Post & Beam also provides Andersen® High Performance™ windows and Frenchwood® patio
doors, Thermatru® fiberglass exterior entry doors, select kiln dried
cedar siding and trim, and 40 year GAF® Timberline™
architectural shingles. |
