Hello,

I am an owner-builder who came to timber framing about 10 years ago. During that time, I have read a lot of books, attended workshops, done lots of internet research (I chuckled when I wrote this), laid out and cut a few joints, attended and participated in a few raisings, stood at the end of a sawmill and honed my eye to spot interesting barns and structures out in the world. Recently (6 months ago), I have finally put pen to paper (figuratively, of course) and taught myself to use Sketchup. A couple weeks ago, I saw this thread which was a great discussion about how a Timber Framer guides a client along through the process. Instead of hijacking that post out of respect for the original poster, I thought I would start my own and ask a few questions along the way.

For a bit more background, I own a small lot and hope to raise a small frame on it someday in the near future. I have designed a 4 bent salt box barn house (24' x 32') with plates and common rafters (enclosed by SIPs). Since we all know how complexity adds to the cost of a project, I have really tried to balance the simplicity of the design with creating something that is practical and comfortable for living. From the architectural canon, I used "A Pattern Language" to organize and guide my floor plan. As I arrive at a point where I want to start engaging a timber framer, I find that sometimes folks want to sign me up for more design work than I can afford or that I need. Although, I haven't built a house before, I am an engineer by trade and understand the level of complexity and coordination required to complete a project successfully. From a design standpoint, I have done a fair bit of due diligence to "mind the sheet size," avoid odd roof pitches, allow the bays to define the rooms, sized (load calcs) the tie beams, floor joists, rafters and even isolated my plumbing in a single service cavity to simplify the mechanical (with one AAV for the kitchen sink). Along the way, I consider my research and design to be a bit of the sweat equity I have put into the project. Essentially, I need some help alleviating my concern that I enter into an agreement with a pro who wants to unravel my design and bill me for it. I always feel compelled when I speak with a pro, to introduce myself with an 8 minute elevator pitch citing Traditional American Historic Joinery so they get a feel for my level of knowledge, albeit limited.

Don't get me wrong, I certainly want to leverage the expertise of whomever I hire and I want the project to be successful (it IS going to be my home). I guess I just want to avoid paying someone a lot of money for redrawing lines I have already drawn or drawing something that pushes me out of my budget.

To reiterate, I am hoping to learn how to best engage a prospective pro in such a way that I feel comfortable with entering into a design phase. There seem to be more pros here who have built homes (and I definitely understand the increased complexity with mechanicals and consideration required of a home versus an outbuilding). I also know that I have a lot to learn. Just hoping to avoid expensive mistakes as I enter the project.

Hopefully, I don't sound too paranoid about it. I just want to have a positive experience. Also, if anyone has any other questions, fire away. I have a great deal of respect for anyone who cuts joints for a living.

Thanks in advance.