Natural Timber Frame Homes: Building with Wood, Stone, Clay and Straw
In the rush to acquire bigger and better homes and to pay off increasingly larger mortgages, many of us have been left feeling dissatisfied. Why is this so? There is compelling evidence that what we really desire is not bigger homes, not more space, but better space.Natural Timber Frame Homes lays the philosophical groundwork for how locally available materials result in more durable and beautiful homes. It asks us to consider the source of our wood, stone, clay, and straw and suggests that this awareness contributes to our perception of character in a finished house. Building naturally also gives us the feedback necessary to be conscientious environmental and economic stewards and allows us to play a meaningful role in the creation of our dwelling.This book puts the theory of natural building into practice by providing the tools to evaluate your area for potential building materials. Photographs and drawings pull the theory together into workable timber frame construction details with floor plans that are adaptable to your specific needs, including your climate and landscape.Beauty and character of traditional timber frame homes are a result of natural materials being crafted by the hands of the builder. By injecting ourselves into the process of home  construction, we have the potential to live more connected to the natural world and influence the future of the Earth for the better.Architect Wayne J. Bingham assists owners and builders in planning, designing, and constructing natural timber frame and strawbale homes. His work has been published in Architectural Digest, Popular Science, the Salt Lake Tribune, Intermountain Contractor, the Deseret News, Nikkei Architecture, and The New Strawbale Home. Wayne, along with Bill and Athena Steen, authored the book Small Strawbale: Natural Homes, Projects & Designs. Wayne and his wife, Colleen, have built their own timber frame and strawbale home in Teton Valley, Idaho, and coauthored Strawbale Home Plans.Jerod Pfeffer combines a background in carpentry with a formal education in photography and journalism. A lifelong woodworker, he built everything from vinyl-sided apartments to custom log homes before getting hooked on traditional building. Jerod teaches others the craft of timber framing and hand-tool woodworking through demonstrations and workshops. His current focus is the development of nonelectric living systems to enable houses and people to elegantly respond to the climate and energy challenges of the coming decades. In his spare time, Jerod works on his own natural timber frame home and adds mulch to his forest garden in rural Idaho.