Publication Date:
Fri, 2009-05-29 08:16
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As a custom builder, my company has been fortunate that the market for high-end homes has fared somewhat better than the overall market. However, as with all builders, competition for buyers is fierce.
Many custom builders are skilled at incorporating the latest appliances and fixtures and providing quality finishing touches as part of distinctive homes. For my company, one additional way we differentiate ourselves is by carefully considering the structural framing as part of the overall home design and construction. It’s an area many homebuyers take for granted.
However, framing material selection impacts longevity, performance, and sustainability, as well as supporting high customer satisfaction through exceptional craftsmanship.
 Hann Builders Home, Houston, Texas, designed by architect Charles Todd Helton. |
Framing Challenging Homes
For the majority of my homes, I use a variety of engineered wood products (EWPs) for their strength, straightness and consistency. Materials like laminated strand lumber (LSL), parallel strand lumber (PSL), and wood I-joists solve a range of framing challenges, from tall walls with many window openings to long-span ceilings to large curved and open staircases. They also work especially well for providing smooth and even walls – a crucial consideration in high-end homes where specialized lighting and artwork displays require a flawless surface.
While complex floor plans present a host of framing challenges, one of the more difficult homes I’ve framed doesn’t have issues such as complicated rooflines or a façade of varying depth.
The project – by architect Charles Todd Helton [1] – is modernist, but with a warm, contemporary feel rather than cold industrial. It’s almost as if a Frank Lloyd Wright design met Colorado.
The structure is essentially rectangular, two stories tall, and built on a wood raised platform versus on slab. The roof is low-sloped and simple, while the walls incorporate extensive glazing, including transoms and clerestory windows. The architecture is atypical for a fine home in Houston, where complex roofs, gable windows and similar treatments are a mark of luxury.
Despite a minimalist design, it is actually complicated to build since there are limited places to incorporate framing. With few uninterrupted walls, options are limited for carrying the structural load. I think of it like assembling a 3-D puzzle.
The original engineering plan called for steel structural framing throughout. However, to reduce costs, maintain performance and support green building goals, we preferred to use wood framing, wherever possible. Our designers worked with the engineer to reduce the steel framing to about 40 percent of total, primarily to address lateral bracing requirements.
For the engineered wood, we used iLevel [2] TimberStrand LSL in key areas such as the kitchen walls, where the studs help provide a solid anchor point for cabinets. We also used TJI joists combined with Edge Gold OSB panels throughout the floor and roof systems to help prevent squeaks. In other areas, we used conventional lumber.
The result is a home that is structurally sound, feels solid, and has crisp, even walls. The key is using the steel, EWPs, and lumber where each performs best, and looking at the home as an overall structural system.
Green Aspects of Framing
As with most of the homes my company builds, green attributes are important. The owners of the modernist home, for example, wanted to minimize their impact on the land through a design that ties in with the surrounding natural vegetation and topography, and to utilize environmentally responsible building products wherever possible.
The framing also played a role in the green features of this home. The reality is that most green products are behind the walls or not visible. The EWPs and lumber we used come from a renewable, natural resource and are all SFI [3] certified. I prefer using wood because unlike other structural materials, it removes more CO2 from the air than is required to make and transport it, providing a net environmental benefit. Steel does have the advantage of being recyclable, but options are growing for reusing wood at the end of a building’s life.
In being sustainable, it is also important to us to make efficient use of all framing materials. For this, we worked with our dealer to optimize the framing plan using iLevel’s Javelin [4] design software. This essentially takes CAD to a whole new level. We were able to rotate the entire house on screen, color code the loads throughout and determine and fix problem areas before we got in the field. We ended up using fewer materials than we would have otherwise, and reduced the amount of product waste on site caused by reworking framing issues.
We estimate we’ll be eligible to earn up to 70 or more points in the NAHB’s National Green Building Standard [5] based on the wood framing and optimized framing plan.
Selling the Customer on Framing
In most cases, the homebuyer doesn’t ask about the structural framing. As custom builders, they look to us for that guidance.
In some cases, I’ll have a conversation with them around framing material selection, especially when it comes to showing the higher performance of EWPs. For example, I had one buyer who saw the OSB flooring and assumed it would delaminate. I explained that the product I was using was actually the top of the line panel with a 50-year warranty.
Whether I speak with them about the framing or not, once the home is completed they’ll notice the difference. We’ve all been in homes where the framing was less than top-notch. Bouncy floors or wavy walls don’t necessarily mean an unsound structure, but they show a lapse in craftsmanship. For high-end custom homes, those types of issues are a deal killer.
Discerning buyers look for quality from top to bottom, and no amount of fancy finishes or interior treatments can hide low-end framing. If you want your buyers to recommend you to their friends, be sure the craftsmanship behind the walls and under the floors is first rate.
Stephen Hann is President of Hann Builders, a full-service design/build firm specializing in building and renovating fine homes in Houston's most established neighborhoods. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) honored Hann Builders as the 2008 “National Custom Home Builder of the Year.”
