Introduction
You may be wondering why I am devoting an entire section of my website to explaining my business philosophy that most others like to keep hidden. It revolves around a single word that I use quite often when dealing with clients: Transparency. Because in any relationship, and especially in one of this nature, I truly believe that detailed business transparency on my part will facilitate a high level of trust and comfort on your part, with the goal being a successful working partnership between you & I.
My two-part objective here in this section is: 1) offering insight into the business side of how I operate SPTJ by explaining the parameters that I work within while also incorporating a structured model to ensure a quality and respectful relationship on both our parts, and 2) presenting a brief planning guide that outlines the steps involved in the various stages of planning, designing, and building of your timber frame or log structure.
Our Business Partnership
By this time in your research of the different log and timber companies that are out there, hopefully you’ve seen how I differ from those mainstream companies that predominately feature a modern/contemporary look and decided that the historically based designs, handcrafted structures and traditional manner in which I build is the right fit for your tastes and lifestyle.
Some folks, when they first come in contact with me have a pretty good idea regarding the specifics of their project that they are interested in, while some only have a vague concept. In either instance, a good investment of time will be required on both our parts to reach a common ground.
Upon initial contact, I will provide 8 hours of free consultation, during which time you and I will engage via email, phone, or in person to exchange ideas in formulating a conceptual timber frame or log design, or to discuss/refine/modify any existing structural plans that you may be interested in. During this time, the all-important discussion of budget will also take place (log/timber frame budget as well as total project budget).
We both need to make sure in these initial talks that neither of us find ourselves in a situation where we are both wasting time, energy, and emotion on a project that can never be brought to fruition, while at the same time, taking steps to ensure that the entire scope of your desired project will fit within your planned budgetary parameters.
Once we have established an approximate log/timber design, I can then arrive at an introductory estimate concerning the log or timberwork that will be about +/- 10% of project cost (log/timberwork only), giving you the necessary information to make an informed financial decision.
Consultation beyond this point and a willingness to begin a working collaboration between you and I will require a financial commitment on your part in the form of a signed PCSA (Pre-Construction Services Agreement — sample available upon request), which requires a 4% fee based on the agreed upon preliminary timber frame or log cabin estimate.
SPTJ will then develop a scaled, hand-drawn, initial draft of this conceptual design for your review, while also composing & providing you with a detailed, itemized, and refined estimate in written form to be within 3%-4% of final project cost. Once a PCSA is established, consultation and communication time between us will be unlimited, as there will be many hours involved in the exchange of ideas in finalizing the specifics of your project.
The quality of our business relationship is very important to me and is just as important as the quality of the work that I turn over to you. There has to be a high level of trust and belief on your part, as well as a high level of project commitment on my part. And I can fully appreciate the fact that trust can be a very fragile and potentially fleeting component in a business relationship unless complete transparency concerning all aspects of my business are spelled out in every stage of our relationship.
This high level of transparency on my part begins with the PCSA and continues forward during all stages of our interactions, proceeding to my 13-page, project-specific fabrication contract (sample available upon request). This contract will yield exact dollar figures for the project and is extremely itemized & detailed, where every labor & material charge is spelled out for you. A contract in which you are not taken advantage of for my monetary gain due to fictional charges for project value that I have not created. It also contains a very “client-friendly” payment schedule, a list of client references, and a bit more info dedicated to my “old-school” business philosophy; a non-conventional approach that I hope you will appreciate.
For my budgetary role in your project, and in particular as it relates to overall project cost, initial skeletal framework estimates will depend greatly upon whether it is a dovetail log or timber frame structure.
For example, a 30′ x 36′ dovetail log home supplied by SPTJ will contain a larger volume of material and therefore come in with a higher estimate than the same size timber frame (assuming both structures share the same type of timbered roof framing), because in dovetail log-work the log walls, chink space insulation, & chinking compound (all included in SPTJ’s package) comprise the enclosure system of the lower half of the structure, but then “dry-in” costs (factored into your overall project cost) will be lower, with those materials only needed for the roof framing.
But in keeping with that same 30′ x 36′ footprint in a timber frame estimate, the quantity of timber & related material will be less than a dovetail log structure, while still weighted heavily in joinery-related tasks, but material costs regarding the building envelope will be higher (again, factored into your overall project cost), as the entire skeletal timber framework will need an enclosure system not reflected in my estimate. Enclosure systems designed to “dry-in” a timber frame (SIPS or built-up 2x arrangements) are provided by others and not reflected in any of my estimates but explained in great detail on that page in this website.
While others in this trade of heavy timber carpentry find it convenient to compare skeletal timber frameworks using the generic metric of “Price-per-SqFt”, I find that to be an extremely misleading and deceptive level of comparison, because those comparisons are very simply based on a given volume of space, instead of the quality of the timber frame/log structure itself. In reality, we should be looking at: what will your chosen craftsman produce that will create quality, value, & tradition that will define that volume of space?
In contrast to a lot of the larger, more costly, commercialized companies that have sales personnel, architects, engineers, pre-designed sets of building plans for model homes, and even contractors on staff to handle all aspects of the building process, Square Peg Timber Joinery LLC is a one-man operation, specializing in the handcrafting of dovetail log cabins and timber frame structures.
I do not include structure installation as part of my business model, as I feel that is very impractical to obligate you to pay for potential long-distance travel and lodging accommodations for myself and an installation crew, when the task of structure installation can be handled much more economically by someone in your local area with access to the required mechanical assistance and crew to handle this part of the project. If this individual happens to be your chosen GC, then it’s a great opportunity for them to get familiar with the framework at this early stage, as they will need to be onsite anyway to handle all the many finishing tasks required.
For local projects, I can be onsite for the duration of the installation phase in an advisory capacity if requested. For long-distance projects, I always have and always will make myself available via phone or email for consultation during the installation phase regarding certain details that are unique to handcrafted timberwork. I offer all my log cabins & timber frames as “DIY-ready-to-assemble”, with every wall log & timber having detailed labeling according to its orientation within the structure. Additionally, I have prepared for you a very in-depth, 7-page, project-specific assembly manual that will easily guide you through the assembly process.
Planning Guide
The process begins as we will need to assemble a “team” which will represent three levels of service: 1) Designer or Architect, 2) framework engineering, 3) timber frame/log shell fabrication.
Structural Design – In the event that your local building code does not require any level of professional design work — and this is most typically the case if you are building a small cabin in a remote, rural region — I provide my own drawn-to-scale hand drawings for dovetail log projects that detail wall elevations, window/door locations, alignment pin placement, as well as details and elevations of any chosen timber frame elements (roof, loft, porch). The same holds true for small timber frame builds, with a few CAD-assisted drawings (by others) required where I need them.
For larger-scale projects, professional design work will be necessary, both for the integrity of the project and most likely to satisfy local code requirements. In that case, I have aligned myself with several very trusted individuals that have an established background in traditional timber frame designs, dovetail log structures, and the historically proven joinery details that I employ in my work.
One of the companies I work with is RCMCAD Design (www.rcmcaddesign.com). In addition to a professional set of drawings, they also offer beautiful 3D color CAD renderings of your dovetail log or timber frame home.
I will be very involved in the structural design phase, collaborating with you and the designer regarding specifics in timber joinery details that I will be responsible for. The entire process of going from rough ideas to final design will usually require some level of compromise, adjustment, and refinement by all those involved.
Structural Engineering
When there are no building codes to meet, my hand drawings for small, rural cabins will be enough for me to accurately build from. For all spanning timbers (joists, rafters, tie beams, etc.) whether in a log cabin or timber frame structure, I include 10 pages of structural calculations (sample available upon request) that validate the timber sizes & strength values of those spanning timbers.
While that does not substitute for a P.E. evaluation, it does provide a solid and satisfactory level of structural security. But in order to validate the structural integrity of larger or more complex timber frame/log structures, a deeper, engineer-guided evaluation of the design itself — relative to the various stresses that the timbers themselves impart to the design & then to the wood-to-wood joinery — will be required.
In that case, having an engineering firm involved with the project that specializes in the structural analysis of heavy timbered structures and the pegged mortise & tenon joinery that ties them together, dovetail log work included, is a critical investment. As the design phase gradually progresses, engineering review that may necessitate adjustments to timber sizes and joinery will also be taking place. Local building codes will vary from region to region and will determine to what degree engineer involvement will be required (if any) with regard to your project.