New Roots
Timber Homes Illustrated – Annual Buyers Dir. 2006
A hybrid, timber frame home designed in the “American Shingle Style.”
Download the article (see below) to learn more!
Using a Hybrid Approach to Build the Ultimate, Timber Frame Home
Joe and Trish Emerson moved to southwestern Virginia for new jobs and, after striking out on resale options, grabbed a three-quarter-acre lot in town with long views and protected open land behind it. An ad led them to nearby Blue Ridge Timberwrights in Christiansburg, Virginia; a Saturday meeting with sales manager Rick McCurdy sealed their interest in timber framing for their new home. Their hilltop site looks toward the Eastern Continental Divide, setting the tone for a home rooted in place.
To balance budget and beauty, they chose a hybrid approach; concentrating an unseasoned oak timber frame where it counts (great room, kitchen, dining, entry hall, and loft) and using other systems elsewhere, a decision that trimmed costs by about 25 percent. Designer John Mumaw fit the frame inside a central volume with American shingle-style cues outside and Arts & Crafts clarity inside, while builder Ed Erwin prepared the site. Blue Ridge finished the oak with tung oil and highlighted key spaces with white-pine tongue-and-groove ceilings.
A signature touch included nine black cherry trees harvested from the property were milled into naturally shaped tie beams (“taiko beams”), cabinetry, trim, and the front door; the frame is pinned with 12-inch walnut pegs for contrast. The frame was raised in five days, with SIPs installed in about a week — an elegant blend of energy efficiency and Old-World craft that the homeowners say delivered their dream home.
