Hybrid

In many cases, the expense of timber construction puts the possibility of living in a timber home out of reach for many people. An approach that does not compromise the quality and nature of the timber structure itself, but reduces the cost dramatically, is to design the house so that the timber components are concentrated in the most public and dramatic parts of the home: some areas typically chosen for structural timber are the great room, the master bedroom, the kitchen and dining areas, the main entry and to support a large exterior roof that shelters a deck.

There are a few common ways to do this. A small complete timber structure can serve as the  core of the house from the entry back to the great room, while the wings are framed conventionally or with SIPS panels only. Alternatively, the walls can be conventional, and the entire roof structure can be a timber frame system. Finally, stand-alone timber trusses can be used to support the roof, and these are over-framed conventionally. These options can be used in combination to fit timber construction into your budgeted building cost.