Package & Pricing

(January 1, 2011)

Hampshire Timber Frame is dedicated to making your ideas work and your visions fully realized. You will have the option of purchasing any or all of the quality components we supply. We would be happy to provide you with a free quote for your timber frame project at any time, per the specifications you require.
Hampshire Timber Frame’s standard package includes:

• Architectural drawings for the entire project including conventional areas
• Custom “Hand Cut” Timber Frame
• Tongue & groove ceiling finish (Pre-coated with two coats)
• Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs)
• Kolbe& Kolbe windows and doors for your complete project (www.Kolbe-Kolbe.com)
• Siding and trim for your complete project

The cost of a complete Hampshire Timber Frame’s standard package runs around $60-$73 per square foot of living space. Since there are many options available when considering a Hampshire Timber Frame package, we require up-to-date specifications and drawings (which we can provide) of floor plans and elevations for us to provide the most accurate estimates possible. We can also provide free quotes without drawings as long as we have dimensions and specifications.

Hampshire Timber Frame’s standard package components:

1. Drawings for the entire package provided

Hampshire Timber Frame’s standard set of architectural drawings includes floor plans, elevations, cross-sections and details. The floor plans, elevations & a primary cross-section are completed in the initial design phase. Once the package is purchased (contract phase), Production drawings which include additional sections & details, foundation, timber frame & SIP drawings are completed. Please refer to our Design Services page for more information. Architectural drawings are priced on a cost-per-square-footage basis specified in Hampshire Timber Frame’s Design Deposit Agreement (DDA). Upon purchasing the materials package from Hampshire Timber Frame, a portion or 100% of the DDA cost will be credited towards your Hampshire Timber Frame package price. The proportion of the cost-per-square-footage from the DDA is based on the total square footage area of timber frame in your final design. Therefore, if we design a 2,000 square foot timber frame structure, the complete original design deposit will be credited towards the package price. If we design a 2,000 square foot structure of which 1,000 square feet is timber frame, then 1,000 times the cost per square foot in the original design deposit will be credited towards the package price. Please refer to the Design Deposit Agreement for complete information.

2. Timber Frame

We offer frames in several different timber species, such as Douglas fir, Eastern White Pine, Hemlock or Oak. Hampshire Timber Frame builds frames with traditional timber mortise & tenon joinery as standard, not with hidden metal connectors or steel plates as used by some post & beam companies. However, if you are looking for a special look that includes metal plates, we will design them and manufacture them ourselves to your liking and include them in the package. We use fully housed joinery as much as possible, with larger-than-standard 4” tenons for a stronger frame. Curved braces are our standard. Some companies start with a standard straight brace and up-charge for a curved brace, we do not. The timber surfaces may be rough-sawn, hand-hewn, planed-smooth for coating with Tung oil, stained to your liking or left to finish yourself. The timber edges (corners) can be finished with a rounded bead chamfer, a straight edge, a flat 45 ° at 3/8” or 3/4”, a hand drawn edge or a custom edge. We wax all exposed end grain surfaces, including inside every joint, and offer oiling and staining options to complete the surface of the frame. Taking into account all these options, the cost for timber frames alone can range from about $14 to $45 per square foot of living space.

Timber Frame wood species tends to affect the total package price-per-square-foot the most. The cost of a standard package with a Douglas fir frame averages around $72 per square foot of living space. The cost of a standard package with an Eastern White Pine frame averages around $67 per square foot of living space. However, depending on frame complexity & spans, an Eastern White Pine frame may be more expensive than a Douglas fir frame, as Pine is significantly weaker than Fir, requiring larger dimensional timbers. The frame costs will increase for any species if engineering requires very large or glue-lam timbers. Heavy snow loads, wind loads, floor loads, long spans and seismic zones will all impact the design, engineering and cost of you timber frame.
The number of floors in a design affects the cost per square foot, since the same materials can be used to create different usable amounts of space. A story-and-a-half design is the most cost efficient design per square foot. A full two-story design should cost a little more then a story-and-a-half-design, as it has full height walls on the second floor. A single-story design will costs the most per S.F. of living space.

Cost per Square foot Best:  a story and a half design 2nd Best : a full two story design 3rd Best: a single story design

There are many different timber frame systems to choose from. The most cost efficient design is called the Common Rafter system. Our “Common Rafter” systems normally have 6x8 rafters on 4’-0” centers.  Common Rafter systems include “A” frame, Collar Tie, Ridge Beam and Principal Purlin systems. Common Rafter (also called “barn-style”) systems can cost anywhere from $14 to $32 per square foot of living space. Bent Systems are the more elaborate systems. They tend to cost more mainly due to the increased number and size of the timbers and the more complex joinery that make up these frames. Bent systems consist of timber bents (trusses with posts) spaced 4’-0” to 14’-0” apart from each other, and tied together up in the roof area with common purlins, connecting girts on the outside walls and internal bay ties. Bent systems include King Post, Queens Post and Hammer Beam designs. King Post bent systems are the most cost efficient; Hammer Beam systems usually cost a little more. Bent systems’ cost ranges from $25 to $50 per square foot of living space.

Common Rafter Systems “A” Frame Collar Tie  Ridge Beam Principal Purlin

Bent Systems King Post Queen’s Post Hammer Beam

3. Tongue & groove (T&G)

As our standard, all of the T&G we provide has one smooth finished side (the side visible in the final construction); all 6 surfaces have two clear coats of polyurethane. The finished face is buffed after each coat to guarantee a beautiful smooth finish. Please do not consider using the top side of a 2x6 T&G as a finished flooring as it will be very noisy and dirt will filter through to the space below.

There are two types of 2nd floor deck systems that you can choose from which we detail in our section drawings.

The first system we call a “thin floor” because it ends up being around 3” thick. 2x6 T&G Pine is placed on top of timber joists (4’-0” on center), then ½” sound board is placed on top of the T&G and then padding and carpeting is placed on top if the soundboard, giving the first floor a wood ceiling the 2nd floor a quite floor system. Hardwood flooring can also be used if placed on top of two (2) layers of ½” sound board. Bathrooms need to be stacked, or designed in a conventionally built section of the project to hide the plumbing when a thin floor is specified.

The second 2nd floor deck system is a cavity or conventional floor system typically made up of 9½” manufactured wooden I-joists, at 16” on center, with ¾” T&G plywood sheathing. The most common materials used for 1st floor ceilings are drywall or 1x6 T&G Pine. 6x8 timber joists may also be used with this floor system, but are only aesthetic as the conventional floor system will handle the floor loads.

4. Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) on walls & roofs

      Hampshire Timber Frame offers 3 types of SIPs:

• Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) (standard, best buy) (Recyclable)
• Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) (add around 50% in cost above EPS per R value) (Recyclable)
• Polyisocyanurate (polyiso) (add around 25%  in cost above EPS per R value) (Non-Recyclable)

Expanded Polystyrene (closed cell foam)
panels offer the best combination of cost efficiency, dimensional stability & ease of installation.  In a package with both wall and roof SIPs, the price of the Expanded Polystyrene SIPs average around $12 to $20 per square foot of living space depending on the complexity of the roof design and the length of the eave and rake overhangs.

Extruded Polystyrene (closed cell foam)
panels are a very good product as well and have a denser foam then Expanded Polystyrene. There are only a few companies that produce Extruded Polystyrene panels keeping the cost very high.

Polyisocyanurate (open cell foam)
panels have a tendency to warp and shrink over time? There are only a handful of companies that manufacture Polyisocyanurate panels keeping the cost high as well. Polyisocyanurate panels have had their troubles in the past when they would release formaldehyde gases and they also depleted the earth’s ozone layer with the use of CFC blowing agents. These panels unlike Expanded Polystyrene and Extruded Polystyrene are not recyclable.    

5. Windows and Doors

Hampshire Timber Frame is proud to be a distributor of Kolbe & Kolbe windows and doors, which are among the highest quality windows and doors in the industry. Kolbe & Kolbe windows and doors are available in all standard opening types: casement, awning, slider, double hung & and bay windows and sliding & French doors.  Special window shapes are available, and all Kolbe & Kolbe units are available in many colors, trim styles &      hardware options. Kolbe & Kolbe’s windows and doors include a 30-year manufacturer’s warrantee.

As a distributor for Kolbe & Kolbe windows & doors, we sell to our clients at about 40% off list pricing. Windows and doors average around $16 per square foot of living space, but can go much higher depending on choice of window manufacturer, options and window & door layouts.

6. Siding and Trim

Hampshire Timber Frame offers real Cedar, Hemlock or Pine siding and trim, unfinished or pre-stained to your liking that feature a 15-year warranty. We offer all siding styles such as clapboards, shingles, vertical tongue & groove, shiplap and board & batten siding. We also offer cement siding in many different styles with a fifteen 15-year warrantee that work well in humid climates. Siding, trim, and stain pricing runs around $3 to $7 per square foot of living space?

Items supplied by home owners or builders

The following items are not supplied by Hampshire Timber Frame and are the responsibility of the owner.

• Land and site preparation, including excavation
• All building fees and permits
• Engineer's review and or certification (if required)
• Materials for construction of foundations, first floor decks, stairways and porches
• Furring material (usually 5/8" OSB) to space the panels away from the frame and decks
• 2x blocking, to be placed in the SIPs for window & door rough openings, as nailers for siding and trim
• Transportation of package (Hampshire Timber Frame can set up the transportation of the package)
• Covering (tarps, sheds) for materials to prevent water damage
• Crane, fork lift (with extendable forks), equipment and temporary bracing for unloading and or installation of building materials
• Electrical power generators, food and/or water at job site
• Any and all internal partition and bearing walls
• Finish flooring and dry wall materials and supplies
• All plumbing and electrical materials and supplies:  home owner to supply electrical layout, on-site, prior to frame and panel installation.  If desired, the home owner may supply the electrical layout information to Hampshire Timber Frame to be included on the SIP layout drawings.
• All heating and HVAC materials and supplies.  We recommend installation of an air-exchange system; an optional humidifying system may also be desired.
• All roofing materials and supplies. Standing seam metal roofs may cost 3 to 5 times as much as asphalt or fiberglass shingled roofs.
• All siding and trim fasteners, metal drip edge, felt and all other finishing components and supplies