Does anyone have a timber frame philosophy?
That's a tough question. I would like to think I do.
I have never been very good at distilling the chaos into paragraph form, but I'll give it a go.
One thought is that I believe that timber framers (and all tradesmen) should be paid well for what they do. This, of course, assumes a certain level of professionalism and skill.
Another might be that I think we should use local materials and use them more fully. You can build beautiful and strong frames with lower quality, even crooked wood. It is a waste to ship perfect doug fir across the country to completely overbuild something. Locally available materials used to totally shape the built environment. It still should.
I think a lot of people introduce a quixotic quest for perfection into timber framing that can be quite humorous. To perfectly cut a poorly configured joint or a poorly designed frame is to miss the boat. It is important to keep things in perspective. I like to see old frames where the framer was simply building something. He wasn't obsessing over making dollar bill tight shoulders and perfectly 2 inch thick tenons. Make a good fit where it counts and keep it neat where it doesn't. The same thing any good carpenter is thinking today.
I think we lost something in terms of the approach to the craft that we did not rediscover on a large scale in the revival and subsequent timber frame boom.
Is some introduced standard of fit and finish keeping traditionally joined timber framing from being a more widely available (affordable) building system?
I would rather see beautiful designs and raw wood than poor designs and beautiful finishes.
Oh and one more--
I like the thought of frames being built by carpenters. But then again I have always been a bit of a luddite.
Anyone else have some philosphy to share? or comments about my thoughts?
cheers,
Gabel
