What this covers
People often ask us what the difference is between timber frame construction and conventional stick frame construction and which is better. If you are planning to build and trying to pick what style of framing is best for you, unfortunately, there is no simple answer you can reason your way through a decision by knowing more. In this clip, Pat Hennin provides a series of points.
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Timber framing is a superior alternative to stick framing for residential construction because it uses fewer pieces, provides better insulation when combined with SIP panels, can utilize local materials, and creates stronger, more disaster-resistant structures while offering aesthetic and acoustic advantages.
- Timber frames use considerably less total wood than stick frames despite having fewer pieces
- SIP panel coverage on timber frames eliminates thermal bridging and creates superior insulation compared to stick frame construction
- Timber frames are hurricane and earthquake resistant when properly engineered with mortise-and-tenon joints and SIP panel attachment
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Timber frame buildings provide better sound dampening (noise reduction) than stick frame buildings because timber has acoustic absorption properties whereas stick frame construction is characterized as a 'gypsum palace with lots of flat drywall surfaces' that reflects sound.
“it's also a lot more dampening of noise here we're looking at it kind of a gypsum palace with lots of flat drywall surfaces it doesn't have the romance for some people that the timber frame does”
Timber frames contain considerably less total wood than stick frame buildings despite having fewer individual pieces.
“there are so many fewer pieces notice the difference there's actually considerably less wood total in a timber frame than there is in a stick frame building”
Timber frames with external SIP panel insulation eliminate thermal bridging because the insulation is on the outside of the frame, whereas stick frames have extensive void spaces between studs (typically 16 or 23 inches) that conduct heat from inside to outside.
“by having all of the insulation like sip panels on the outside of the frame there is no conduction of heat from inside to outside over here we have an enormous amount of void conducting heat from inside to outside the only places that are insulated of course either 16 or 23 inch spaces between the studs”
In timber frames with external insulation, the wood structural frame becomes part of the thermal mass of the house because the insulation is outside of it, allowing the interior wood to maintain temperature stability—remaining at 72 degrees if brought to that temperature.
“not only does the wood not conduct because it's not part of the insulating pattern the insulation is on the outside of it so you would actually becomes part of the mass of the house so when it's 72 degrees when all of this is 72 degrees it stays that way because the insulation is on the outside of it”
When a timber frame is covered with SIP panels and fire-rated drywall, and the SIP panels are attached with hundreds of screws into the timbers, the resulting structure is extraordinarily strong, hurricane-resistant, and earthquake-resistant because the system acts as two houses held together.
“if this timber frame is covered with sip panels it's extraordinarily strong it's hurricane resistant it's earthquake resistant...when the sips are attached to the outside we first of course cover the whole building with fire coat drywall and then we add two sips on the outside of that the sips are screwed in with hundreds of screws that go into all of these Timbers so that where we almost have two houses together extraordinarily strong construction”
A significant local advantage of timber frame construction is that all materials can come from the property owner's own lot if trees are available, with timbers milled directly on-site, resulting in a home that comes entirely from the owner's property.
“a very local difference between timber frame and a stick frame is that all of the materials can be coming from your own lot if you had a tea trees available all of them could be milled right on your site and you would have a home that comes right from your own property”
Modern timber frames typically use SIP (Structural Insulated Panel) panels to cover the exterior, making the entire timber frame visible and creating an aesthetic advantage.
“the second thing is that today's modern timber frame gets covered with sip panels so that when you're done the entire frame is visible”
Timber frame construction follows a process in which cutting of timbers takes approximately 10 days, but assembly of all timbers into the frame occurs on site in a single day, with the entire frame erected in about four hours by tipping up multiple bents sequentially.
“you might take 10 days to cut out all of these Timbers and then in one day you simply lock them all together and you lock them all together next to the building why not top of the other and then simply tip them up so here we will have done that four times and it happens in about four hours”
Timber are attached to each other in timber frames using mortise and tenon joints with pegs, engineered so that the uplift force from wind trying to blow the structure away, the lateral push of wind trying to shear and bend it, and all other stresses are calculated with precisely the right amount of wood left at each joint, and steel is added if necessary.
“Timbers are attached to each other again according to engineering you know what is it that you're trying to do if this timber frame is covered with sip panels it's extraordinarily strong it's hurricane resistant it's earthquake resistant so these timbers are as I said engineered but typically we would have mortise and tenon joints we have a tenon going up here into the beam we will have pegs going through all of these are designed so that the uplift of wind trying to blow it away the push of wind on the side trying to share and bend it are all calculated so that there is the right amount of wood left at each joint and if necessary our steel will be added”
A timber frame building can be constructed as a series of 'bents'—cross-sectional frames spaced at regular intervals—such that four bents spaced 10 feet apart create a 40-foot building, making the entire structure derivable from a simple repeated frame.
“basically we're going to be building a bent of a building which is the cross section and for instance on this one there are four of these vents if they're ten feet apart that gives you a 40-foot building so it's just four simple frames that give you the whole structure”
Pat Henan has been teaching people how to design and build their own timber frames for the past 45 years through the Shelter Institute, offering five classes per year.
“for the past 45 years I've been teaching people how to design build their own timber frames we have five classes a year where we build an entire frame five times a year”
Timber frame buildings with SIP panels are significantly more resistant to hurricanes and tornadoes than stick frame buildings, and stick frame homes are commonly seen to be easily blown apart during extreme weather events while timber frame with SIP would not be.
“I have to say that when I see hurricanes or tornadoes or whatever we often see these homes easily blown apart timber frame with sips would not do that it would be a lot stronger a lot more resistant”
Stick framing evolved primarily due to economic factors, the availability or non-availability of trees, and labor pressures rather than because it is superior for actual construction purposes.
“stick framing did evolve because of the economy because of the availability or non availability of trees because of pressures and labor unions all kinds of things that don't really have to do with the actual construction of the building”
Most of the construction industry knows how to build stick frame buildings but does not know how to build timber frame buildings, which is why subdivisions with hundreds of homes are commonly built using stick framing despite potential structural disadvantages.
“the advantage to a thick frame construction is that most of the construction industry knows how to build this but does not know how to build this so this is very common and easy to find subdivisions with hundreds of homes in them are all built like this”
Timber framing produces a more enjoyable construction process than stick framing because it involves cutting out fewer pieces using hand tools rather than repeatedly using a noisy circular saw on identical pieces.
“the third thing that is very personal is just the joy of cutting out a timber frame instead of using a very noisy circular saw cutting out the same piece over and over and over again we have very few pieces that we know are going to be mated in a certain way to erect a building”
In timber frame buildings with exposed wood interior, occupants have the joy and aesthetic benefit of seeing and experiencing the visible wood that has come from their own forest or property, which creates a personal and emotional connection.
“a very local difference between timber frame and a stick frame is that...in a timber frame with the frame being inside you have the joy of looking at the live wood that have been in your own forest it's also a lot more dampening of noise”
Participants in Shelter Institute timber frame classes go from having no prior timber framing knowledge to becoming capable timber framers in five days, with about 20 participants per class, and leave wanting to build at their own house sites.
“in five days you'll meet some twenty other people who like you didn't know anything about timber framing and in those five days you will be a timber framer you will know how to do it and you will be just dying to get to your house site and build”
Some people do not prefer the aesthetic of exposed wood interiors and thus would not find timber framing an appropriate choice, but cathedral ceilings and wide-open spaces that timber frames enable are attractive features for others.
“I've met plenty of people who don't like looking at wood sofa dammit timber frame would not be the right answer but the cathedral ceilings these wide-open spaces that a timber frame gives you are quite attractive so people”
Milling out individual pieces for stick framing would take an extraordinarily long time compared to timber frame production, which is done in modern production facilities very quickly, creating a fundamentally different production ambiance and workflow.
“with these it would take an extraordinary a long time to mill out every one of these two parts so they that's this is done in production and there's industry that does that lickety-split so it's kind of a different ambiance so if you if you will”
All methods of framing—stick framing, timber framing, straw bale, heavy steel, and concrete block—have their place in construction, with the choice depending on local factors and whether engineering specifications are met.
“all methods of framing have their place whether it's stick framing or timber framing or straw bale or heavy steel or concrete block all of these methods of construction have a place that has to do with a whole bunch of factors that are local to where it's being built”