Lillian,
You are almost neighbor, my current abode is in western Fairfax County near Centreville.
What little I can glean from your request for help sounds like a classic case of the county or the engineer not knowing the forces which are found in a timberframe. Even mayhap some poor assembly at the expense of strength. Has the county inspector cited specific code violations or he just doesn't understand the problem trying to apply standards that do not apply ? This is a not infrequent dilemma depending on your locale. I would suggest you communicate with our esteemed Mr Exalted-TF-Engineer Sobon (no rock throwing here, only awe and appreciation). See the two works of his on the current guild home page.

Sometime within the next 24 hours your snow load may be tested. After I shovel myself out we can go forward from there.

deralte