Wood framing has begun

Now that the main basement walls are in place, lumber has arrived and carpentry has begun. Meanwhile, cement work for garage and front entry is underway. First picture shows view over garage (frost walls being prepared) to house site. Next is first load of framing lumber. Next are Debby and Betsy standing in basement rec room. Last is Jack checking out basement ceiling height and thinking of a challenging but dunkable basketball hoop.

Our Team

Having heard many stories of house building difficulties, we were determined to enjoy this process, both the journey and the destination. We are simply delighted with our project team. Seen below are Jeremy Bonin, Principal Partner and Lead Architect at Bonin Architects & Associates. Next is Jay Tucker, Principal Contractor and Owner of Old Hampshire Designs, both located in New London, NH. Next is Kimberly Bonin, Principal Partner and Executive Project Manager at Bonin Architects & Associates. Next is Bill Andrews, Project Manager at Old Hampshire Designs. This team has about 100 collective years experience with timberframe design and building. And they are really fun to work with! Check out their websites at www.boninarchitects.com and www.oldhampshiredesigns.com. (And click on pictures below to enlarge)

Front foundation wall

We have been blessed with some great winter weather for foundation work, at least by New England standards. Shown below is the front (up hill) foundation wall being back filled. The second picture shows someone tamping down the fill. The third picture is looking north from the kitchen end toward the bedroom end. The last picture features Deb standing where the door to the basement rec room will be, looing out toward the lake. Next week, some lumber arrives to begin framing, and the entry and garage frost walls will be poured.

Front basement wall

Today the Front (upper side of hill) basement wall concrete was poured. This is the uphill side of the house, so the wall is high. The first picture below is looking up the hill. You can see the upper edge of the already-in-place back (lake side) frost wall of the house, and the forms and concrete being poured for the front wall. The lower picture shows the front wall forms viewed from the front of the house. Fortunately we've had relatively good weather for concrete work in winter. Now we can get a much better sense of the house, and we like it.

Floor plan

We are still working out details of the floor plans, but major walls are in place, and this gives a general idea of the layout. The upper level is the main floor, providing one level living for us, except for a loft, shown as an inset, which sits over the front half of the great room. The front of the house faces away from the lake, with a screened porch across the back, facing the lake. The lower level is a walkout basement with guest bedrooms, rec room and shop.

Timberframe diagram

Here is a view of the timberframe design that Jeremy Bonin of Bonin Architects has now worked out in its final form. The upper drawing is the view from the front of the house. Kitchen to left, master bedroom to right, and great room in middle. The lower view is the same structure viewed from the back, the side facing the lake. There are some really neat aspects of this design. We challenged Jeremy be requesting no posts in the centers of the rooms, despite some fairly long spans that need to bear our winter snow load. He came up with some innovative solutions including double "keyed" beams, some cantilevered beams, and a floating loft hanging from the upper beams by steels rods. It sure will be fun to watch this being erected, since the entire frame is assembled before any walls are applied.

Winter views of site

Cold but clear day today. These pictures show the house site from lower toward the water, the house site from the rail to trail running trail across the river, and a view of the lake from our beach, featuring many "bob houses" (fishing shanties in the midwest). Quite a difference from the summer views.

Front basement wall forms

The team is now erecting the forms for the tall (front, uphill) basement wall, which will be poured this week. It's now easier to begin to get a sense of the shape of the house.

Cement work

Some interesting pictures from the site today showing modern cement work. The cement truck delivers cement to the boom loader which then directs cement into the various forms that have been placed for the footings that support posts that bear load in this timberframe (read post and beam) house. Not your father's backyard cement mixer.