First off let me say hello to y'all. This is my first post here.
I've been Googling to death timber framing and finally found what looks to be like THE site to be in for so much of what I want to know.

I'm from Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island in NY and have my house up for sale now (I know...bad timing...ugh). The house is one we live in that I've restored and built onto with the intention of selling it when it was done. Well.....it's done...finally.
Its a circa:1680 that sat on the market before I bought it for a long time unsold being it was in such horrible shape...well..if ya wanna know about it you can read about it in my web site. Its the Goose Hill Rd Project.(see my web site below if you want)

Anyway...the long and short of it is I'm now looking to learn Timber Framing to add to my tool box and hopefully keep at it eventually pretty much exclusively once I move. I'm now looking for a company that would want to hire me pretty much anywhere. I'd be happy to relocate "right away" as long as the job served my needs. I have a real lot to offer a good company and all I want in return is to learn timber framing and a fair salary. I also understand that I may not get to "timber frame" every day for someone but as long as it was incorporated into the scope of my work some how, I'd appreciate that. I know I need to make any company I work for money. That's no doubt a given! And with all the years of knowledge under my tool belt, I know that's one of the assets that I offer.. which is also a given.
I have tons of tools and equipment along with my skills to offer.
I want to be part of a good team because I know from so much past experience how incredibly important that is. I've been a builder for a few decades now and during all these years of climbing through windows..over roofs, down roof rafters and across ladders and scaffolds I'd sure welcome the chance to walk some 8x8 timbers. I can't think of anything more refreshing (well almost anything...lol).

Soooooooooo...if anyone knows of a company that might be interested in me please give them my name and web site (below) which has my phone and email addy..


In the interim....I'll be here listening and asking questions as well as reading anything I can get my hands on but I know from experience its all about gettin my rig on and cuttin' some wood and poundin' some nai....uhhhhh...pegs
andy

edit: and oh yeh...how might paying my annual $85 to join the Guild help me in my current endeavor??? I hadn't really explored that in any depth yet.

Hi Andy,

I have checked out the House on Goose Hill on your website and assuming that your ascribed date of ca 1680 is correct then this is only 43 years "newer" than New England's oldest standing timber framed house - The Fairbanks House, Dedham Mass, ca 1637. To describe the House on Goose hill as a "fixer upper" is probably more than a little insensitive but I am very pleased to hear that you are now seeking to improve your knowledge and understanding of timber framing and timber framed buildings - presumably in relation to your interest in the "conservation" of old buildings.

I would strongly recommend that you purchase, read and absorb the contents of "The Framed Houses of Massachusetts Bay, 1625 - 1725" by Abbott Lowell Cummings (ISBN 0-674-31681-9).

Regards

Ken Hume
http://www.kfhume.freeserve.co.uk

Thanks Ken for the book recomondo and I will for sure check it out. And yeh...this house IS 362 years old...one of THE oldest around. It was real sad to see how it was so abused over the years. It breaks a good carps heart to see what was done to the carps of olds hard and dedicated work.
Some people asked me "why" I wanted to take on what appeared to them as a monstrosity of a job..and all I could think was that I felt honored to be able to. Even left a few full bottles of Guinness and Bass in some of the walls I closed up...lol.Really!

So now MY pursuit to learn timber framing is on and I'm dedicated to making that happen any way I can. This old house really put me on that natural path. There seems to be a really organic process in my dharma thats surfacing within all of this.

Any help I can get from this forum and else where sure will be more appreciated than any one has an idea about.
I tend to become completely absorbed and immersed in whatever it is that I do and this feeling I have now...with the Goose Hill Rd Project complete...my daughter Jolie off to college this year and the house up for sale...what more of a landmark could I come up with even in a dream?

Sounds like the start of a blog doesn't it? lol
Thanks again Ken for the book recommendation and we'll talk soon...
PS..My Dad was from Crickelwood London...where ever that is.
andy

Andy:

You will NOT regret joining the guild. Your eyes will pop out of your head when you get your first issue of the Journal of Timber Framers Guild. The current issue has photos of a spiraling church spire on the front cover. There are usually articles about both historical studies and modern techniques. And the conferences are fantastic. CB.

Thanks mucho daiku thats kinda what I was hoping to hear
Appreciate the response!

Ya know one other thing...and I see you here in a lot of the forum posts. You REALLY seem like a main guy I could ask.

I had someone say this to me in another forum which I'm going to post without his name
_________________________________
TO ME FROM POSTER-->"I may be wrong on this, but I get the feeling you are going about things all wrong.
Most folks pay for schooling in timber framing, where you want a company to pay you to learn.
Now I know companies in other industries offer paid training, but I'm not sure you'll easily find that in TF, let alone at a "fair salary"."
________________

and I'd love to get your opinion, and other people too if they want... of my response to the post.
___________________

MY RESPONSE TO POSTER--->Well, I suppose how I'm looking at it is that with several decades of renovations and restoration work under my belt along with truck loads of tools and equipment available I'm offering to do more than JUST learn timber framing and I believe I state that saying " I have tons of tools and equipment to offer within my knowledge of work as well." I'm really more than willing to do more than just TF.
I see in a quite a few of these companies sites that they offer the customer not JUST erecting the frames but finishing the insides as well. I've also seen companies that do more than just timber frame within their scope of offerings.
another thought too is..if someone had me working for them they "might" even consider leaving a small crew behind to finish off a few rooms...or side the exterior..or put up a wood shingle roof. On my house alone along with two other guys I hired to work with me we installed over 40 sq. of wood royals along with copper flashing I fabricated on my brake.
I just thought I might add another element that might not be there. I donno...maybe I'm crazy.

I thought I might be an asset when it comes to these areas of expertise'.
I understand a lot of companies don't offer that but I think some do.

I even noticed quite a few companies don't really even erect the frames...it seems like they just sell the frames.
It seems to me there's several different varieties of companies out there.
All I can do is offer up what I have to offer along with my honesty.
If I'm not anyone's cup of tea than I suppose I won't hear from anyone and I'll have to go about this differently.
You never know what someone might happen to need and appreciate at the time.
I've certainly heard of stranger things.
I appreciate your input though along with the welcome.
Thanks much
andy

Hi Again, Andy.

I'm one of those who does only the frame. It's what we're best at. One issue with doing a turnkey is the travel. We often work on job sites that are many hours from home, and commuting just isn't an option. So we do stay near the site for a week or two for the raising, but then we typically turn the job back over to a local general contractor, who has local subs, etc.

I can only speak for myself here about who I look for when I'm hiring. I look for enthusiasm above experience. I can provide the training and experience myself. Timber framing is labor-intensive, and that shows up in our bottom line. When I don't get a job that I've bid on, it's rarely because I was underbid by another timber framer - it's because I was underbid by a stick framer. In other words, the client decided they did not want to pay the extra cost to get a timber frame. (of course if they ask their stick framer for open floor plans, vaulted ceiling and lots of woodwork, well.... but that's another topic). My point is that I'm not in this business to get rich. And it's sometimes a struggle just to make ends meet. So I try to pay my guys a decent wage, but I know it's not what union carpenters are getting. They know that too. They choose to work for me because they share my passion for the work, and because of the work enviornment I provide. That probably does not completely answer your questions, but that's what I have to offer on the topic. CB.

I can really appreciate those sentiments daiku!!
I guess for me...right now... until my house is sold I need to earn some kind of salary so my thoughts were like I said in my prior post.

I'm about as enthusiastic as a person can get which is why I've been brainstorming to death trying to figure out a way to make this happen "to some degree" right now rather than waiting until my house is sold.
Once it is sold thats a whole other ball game. I'll be some what relaxed financially and will have lots of options from apprenticing for awhile or doing one of the many schools or short workshops/forums/books and jumping right in on a small project for myself to start. Get a small saw mill going once we buy some land...
But for now...I'm just going to take this how ever far it'll get me with what I have.
I'm a pretty determined and resourceful guy. Persistence is my middle name!!
Any which way it turns out with this immediate thought it's nice that i found this forum.
If you look in my web site you'll see "Andy In the News" and the forum I "used to" be so heavily involved with from Taunton's Fine Homebuilding (Breaktime). I even had a fest here two summers ago that posters from all over the country came to, to match faces with screen names. We spent three days partying, swapping stories, some demo's and food and drink. It was a blast!!

Haven't been back to that forum in months. With me its, all or nothing it seems. I'm seriously enthusiastic about this new chapter.
Talk soon bro and thanks for the input !
andy

OK, so I'm hijacking my own post...lol..but I had some thoughts/questions. Maybe I should start a new thread with this if anyone thinks it would be of any interest to anyone else.

Anyway...I'm understanding what daiku and a lot of other guys are saying about moving on once the frames are all finished. I understand the reasons...especially if you're days away from your home base but I was thinking about guys that have a hard time keeping their core crew together with enough work.

Its really the same in renovations from time to time. You take on other projects that you may normally never do. Stuff you'd sub out you end up having your own crew do just to keep everyone working.

I wondered why more companies don't at least have a few guys..or a small crew within their core that could stay behind (or not) to take on more of the project such as the windows and siding. The roof and trim work. Just a piece more of the action, especially outside so the owner can feel there's that much less of a burdon once the framers have gone.

Maybe even finish two three main rooms inside..enough so the owners can move in.

It seems that might be an attractive feature to offer. i don't really know...just curious about all of that.

It would be on one hand expanding the team/company which could act on the additional finish work or if the TFing was so busy then "everyone" moves on to the next project.

That finish crew could do nothing BUT renovations if things worked out better for periods of time that way..or not.
I know someone such as myself would LOVE an arrangement like that. To hold up the finish end of the business or move on with the crew to the next frame.

Just seems like a good way to grow a business but I may be missing something.

Think I should move this post to it's own folder or is it a moot point?
anyway...wheels are always turnin'..lol

Coming from another "stick" builder that continues to make the transition to timber framing, I think you'll find that the hardest part is not learning the craft, or working for another tf'r, but is selling your first frame job! Good luck with the move!

Frame on...DBall

LOL.. selling the house I have up for sale now in this lousy market should be good priming for "tougher" times ahead. Everything else after this should be gravey. Try selling a 326 year old house about an hour from NYC.
What I need is a niche buyer that loves old houses but most people want something thats just a hair newer...lol.
You should hear the questions people ask me...lol.
Meanwhile I have this house tight as a ship and in mint plus condition as you can see in my site..

A TF should be cake after this one...but first things first, right?
I think that's what blogs are made for. I better get one attached to my web site purty soon.

Good luck in your endevors as well bro.