2008 Eastern Conference

Friday, November 7^th

• Toshio Odate: The Morality of the Craftsman
  

• Andrea Warchaizer: Engineering Concepts for Designers
  In designing any building, I find myself juggling a number of factors, including program, site concerns, budget, and the particular character of the clients involved. A timber framed building adds another layer of complexity- the structure will be visible when the building is complete, and must be integrated with all the other design elements into a seamless, cohesive whole. As I'm designing I try to work on a number of scales at once and consider all the design elements together. In other words, I don't want to come up with a floor plan and then figure out a roof line; likewise, I don't want to come up with a "design" and then start thinking about the timber frame (or vice versa). Ideally, I want to develop all the pieces simultaneously. Of course, it never quite works out that way.
  
  In this talk I will consider frame design on three scales: overall frame design, design of individual timbers, and design of joints. Mostly I will be looking at strategies for staying out of trouble when designing a timber frame.
  
  Andrea Warchaizer is a graduate of the Yale University School of Architecture and has worked as a residential designer since 1990. In 1994 she started her own residential design firm. Andrea has taught extensively, including classes at Keene State College and Norwich University, and has been a guest lecturer at Massachusetts College of Art, Virginia Military Institute, and Yale University. She has published articles in Timber Framing, Timber Frame Homes, and Timber Homes Illustrated.
  
  Andrea has been an active member of the Timber Framers Guild since 1990 and served on the board of directors for six years (including two years as Board President). She has taught workshops on timber frame design at Heartwood School, Yestermorrow School, and Rocky Mountain Workshops. Andrea has also been a board member of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association.
• Tim Chauvin: Timber Framing in China
  China has a tradition in timber framing that stretches back at least 3,000 years. Evidence in archaeological digs suggests that a structural system much akin to that still in use at the beginning of the last century was well developed at that time.
  
  When we in the West think of Chinese architecture, we immediately think of the graceful curve upward of the roofs above cylindrical columns. It is generally not known that those columns and all the supporting structure fit within a well-defined architectural and structural system executed in wood using wooden joinery.
  
  In many ways there is a strong resemblance between Chinese and Japanese timber structures. It is yet known as to whether one is derived from the other or they both derive from a common unidentified tradition but that they are related in some way is almost a given. We in the West know quite a lot about the history and techniques of Japanese timber framing, as we have had ample access to it for study and documentation. Not so, Chinese timber framing. Until the last decade or so, access to China and its timber frame tradition has been virtually nonexistent, and relatively little attention has been paid to it as a result.
  
  The goal of this presentation is, first of all, to introduce the audience to the fact that China's timber frame tradition is very ancient and well established. Further, it is hoped that through images of significant Chinese timber frames such as the Temple of Heaven and the numerous structures of the Forbidden City, we will gain an appreciation of them and the tradition that spawned them. Lastly, there will be a short introduction to and exploration of the structural system itself.
  
  Tim Chauvin has been practicing timber framing professionally since 1983. He is the founder and president of Red Suspenders Timber Frames in Nacogdoches, Texas. He has served several terms on the Guild Board and has helped organize and participated in numerous Guild workshops and projects.
  
  In 2001 he first traveled to China where he was immediately smitten with and humbled by the timber frames he saw there. A second trip in 2003 only deepened his interest in the history and craft Chinese timber framing and he began his study of it in a more organized way. He and his family lived in China from February to August of 2007. During that time Tim revisited many historic timber frames to better document them photographically and explored several he had not seen before.
  
  Tim and his family live in a timber frame home that many members of the Guild helped cut and raise in 1994. They still wish to express their gratitude to those fine folks and the Guild community for their friendship, spirit and generosity.
• Al Cobb: SIP/Timber Frame Hybrids
• Deb Allen: Filling in the Gaps (Generational Differences)
  A program focusing on generational diversity, "Filling in the Gaps" is a highly interactive program that allows the participants to discover the different attitudes, expectations and assumptions that we each carry with us as a result of the generational cohort that we grew up with. The focus of the program is on workplace expectations and communications of those expectations, as well as the work ethic, and how management practices can be designed to provide more of what is needed to motivate employees of all generations.
  
  Participants will leave with a better understanding of each generation's unique characteristics and the possible impact it could have on organizational dynamics. Issues raised by the participants often include the "Gray Ceiling" and motivation, as well as recognition and feedback.
  
  Deb Allen is a professional facilitator and coach who interacts with clients in their working environment to help foster better communication and improve workplace performance. A banker for 18 years, she left the financial industry as a Senior Vice President with experience in lending, business development, human resources, branch administration, and training. She now facilitates meetings, training sessions and provides coaching to small groups and individuals. Here training focuses on management development, interpersonal skills, sales, change in the workplace, and generational diversity. She has been trained in experiential learning, is qualified to deliver the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, and has attended the Skilled Facilitator Intensive Workshop with Roger Schwarz.
  
  Her clients appreciate her enthusiasm and humor, and her no-nonsense approach to management issues. Participants know they will not get bored, and management knows the lessons will be delivered in a professional and supportive fashion.
  
  Deb has a B.A. in Economics from St. Lawrence University and a graduate banking diploma from Stonier Graduate School of Banking. She lives in Vermont and can be reached at 802-877-6381.
• Clark Bremer: Joinery Design with Google SketchUp
  The presentation will open with a demonstration: the creation of a set complex shop drawings from an existing model, to show how easy it is if you've laid the proper groundwork beforehand. We will then learn the basics of SketchUp while building a simple timber frame model from scratch. This model will not include joinery, but will be suitable for getting feedback on the design from the client. We will then discuss how to customize SketchUp for timber framing using Ruby plugins (developed by the instructor). Finally, we will go through a detailed example of how to create a timber frame model that can be used for creating shop drawings. The following broad points will be covered:
  • Timber Component Libraries. Discuss and demonstrate the use of component libraries to quickly assemble a frame from pre-defined timber components.
  • Joinery Libraries. Discuss and demonstrate how to create new timber components using pre-defined joinery components, which are used to expand the timber component library.
  • Joinery Creation. Discuss and demonstrate how to create new joinery components for expanding the joinery library.
  • Shop Drawings. Discuss and demonstrate how to create precise, four-sided shop drawings automatically. We will then polish them off with dimensions, and shop notes.
  Participants will leave the seminar with a list of resources, including:
  • Where to find general tutorials for using SketchUp
  • Where to get the timber frame ruby scripts
  • Where to get joinery and timber libraries
  • Where to share their timber and joinery components with the rest of us

• David Hourdequin, PE, Moderator: Timber Frame Engineering Panel
  
  Panelists: Janet Kane, PE and Tom Nehil, PE
  This TFEC Forum is being conducted to answer questions the timber framer and designer may have about general or specific issues in the design of heavy timber structures. Structural concepts, principles, rules of thumb and possible solutions to specific conditions will be discussed. Depending on the response from participants, the presenters are committed to making this a regular feature of future conferences.
  
  The moderator and panelists all are owners or co-owners of their own structural engineering consulting practices that specialize in heavy timber engineering design, with Janet Kane located in New England, Tom Nehil in the Midwest, and David Hourdequin in the Southeast. They also are all very active in the Guild and the TFEC. Tom Nehil is currently serving as TFEC chair; he is the author of numerous articles on the structural design of heavy timber systems. Collectively, they have designed hundreds of heavy timber projects of all kinds, sizes and descriptions. As a group, they are enthusiastic about sharing with anyone who is interested the structural aspects of heavy timber engineering, and are especially committed to helping facilitate the design process and reducing the liability for the heavy timber system contractor and the owner of the project.
• Paul Discoe: High-End Traditional Japanese Joinery
  The high-end traditional joinery process from beginning to end, including wood selection, tracking inventory, layout, cut-out and assembly. An ordained Buddhist priest, Paul Discoe studied art history and philosophy as an undergraduate in the United States and Buddhist temple design and construction in Japan. He became a student of Suzuki Roshi at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in California, and, after four years, Suzuki sent him to Japan to train under a traditional master builder for five years. Upon returning, Discoe founded Joinery Structures in 1988. His projects include the Kojin-an Zen temple in Oakland for Akiba Sensei the founder's hall and kitchen at Tassajara the Lindesfarne guesthouse and Wheelwright Center, and the abbot's house at Green Gulch, as well as several prestigious homes and projects internationally. His current project is a system of prefabricated building parts, made of salvaged and recycled materials that can be assembled in many forms. He is the co-author of Zen Architecture: The Building Process as Practice (2008: Gibbs Smith). The featured Zen architecture of Paul Discoe:
  • Tassajara Zen Mountain Center
  • Green Gulch Farm
  • City Center
  • Felsentor
  • Kojin-an Zen Temple
  • Occidental Road House
  • Wall Road House
  • Northern California Guesthouse
  • Woodside Home and Garden Complex
  • Manhattan Loft
  • Rikyu Kit or Parts
  • Cardboard Zendo
• Dan Boyle: Disassembly of Historic Timber Buildings
  The adaptive re-use of historic timber frames has become increasingly popular throughout the country. In many cases, the preservation of the timber frame is the intended goal, including the joinery. Simply cutting the frame apart is not acceptable preservation practice, and in the long run creates more work.
  
  Disassembly can often be more difficult than raising the same structure, due to damage of the frame from overloaded elements or rot. With that in mind, the concerns for safety, not only of the workers, but also the integrity of the building, must factor into every decision during the process. The process begins with a complete documentation of the frame. By studying the frame, a disassembly plan can be established. Within this plan should be included stabilization, proper rigging of fall protection equipment, accessibility, and rigging of bent sections and damaged timbers. Once the frame is down, correct storage of the frame is important to prevent damage. With proper care during disassembly, an old frame can have a new life with a legacy that cannot be matched by a new frame.
  
  Dan Boyle has worked for Preservation Timber Framing, Inc. in Berwick, Maine for 12 years documenting, repairing, and raising historic timber frames. He lives in South Berwick, Maine with his wife Sarah, and their two sons, Caleb and Simon.
• Lisa Ford, Moderator: Panel Discussion: Building for Green Certification
  There are multiple green certification programs that are gaining popularity in mainstream building markets. Our panelists will provide overviews of Energy Star, LEED and the National Home Builder's Association certification programs. They will also explain how timber framers can use these programs to grow their customer base with little added cost.
  
  Moderator: Lisa Ford has been marketing director at Foard Panel Inc. for 4 years. Making customers aware of energy performance programs for new construction has been her priority for Foard Panel promotions. All customers are given information on how SIPs can qualify homeowners for ENERGY STAR and LEED certification.
  
  Panelists
  David Milliken of Horizon Residential Energy Services LLC of South Portland is a nationally certified HERS Rater. He consults with architects, builders, engineers, and homeowners to help design and certify high performance homes. He has delivered the Energy Star and LEED for Homes programs for residential buildings of all sizes, from small cottages to multi-unit apartment buildings.
  
  Amy Cornelius of Hugh Lofting Timber Frame Inc. is a LEED Accredited Professional who has provided project management for several timber frames going through the LEED certification process. She has extensive experience in commercial construction and real estate management as well as marketing for the building industry.
  
  Ashley Richards has been building energy-efficient housing for 30 years and is a certified energy auditor. Ashley is the president of the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Maine as well as an executive board member of the National Association of Homebuilders and a founding member of the USGBC chapter in his state.
• Mbah Salle: Some Important Species of Wood Found in Cameroon, and a Demonstration of How to Carve an African Wooden Bowl
  Even though there exists several species of wood in the Cameroon Forest, I will focus on the eucalyptus and mahogany which are most commonly used for construction. I plan to talk about the importance of these wood species, where it is used for construction such as in the building of bridges and houses, making of furniture and fences. I will show slides of how some of these trees are grown, and areas where they are growing well. I will show samples of cubics of wood sawn from these trees, explain how to differentiate them from others, how to nurse and plant from seeds, and problems facing these trees when growing.
  
  Demonstration: How To Carve An African Wooden Bowl
  In my country, Cameroon, and in Africa as a whole, wooden bowls have a lot of significance and functions. First they serve as decorative objects in finished houses; they are also used to serve and prepare special food such as pounded yams, locally called achu or fufu. There are about five different types of bowls and each has a different function. I plan to show the different steps involved in carving these bowls from start to finish, show samples of some finish items, and the different species of woods suitable for carving.
  
  Mbah Salle, who is the Guild's only African member, attended Government Technical College in his native Cameroon from 1992-1996, obtaining a CAP Certificate in Woodwork, Carpentry and Joinery while learning carving from his uncle on weekends. He worked as an apprentice at a tropical modern furniture and carving shop in Kumba, Cameroon, from 1999-2001. In 2001 he visited the U.S., presenting at the TFG Western Conference at Asilomar, attending a course at Heartwood School in Massachusetts, and working as a short-term apprentice with the following timber frame companies in the U.S: The Cascade Joinery, Bellingham WA, Earthwood Homes of Oregon, Red Suspenders Timber Frames in Texas, San Juan Timberwrights in Colorado, Centennial Timber Frames in Montana, Christian and Son in Ohio and Bensonwood Homes in New Hampshire. He has written several articles in Scantlings, the TFG newsletter, and produced a 45-minute documentary (available on the Guild website) about Forest Sustainability in Cameroon.

• Mike Beganyi: SketchUp for Timber Framing
  
  1. Quick Overview
     • Intro to the program
     • Briefly discuss how I work (overlap of paper, AutoCAD / HSB, SketchUp and Photoshop)
     • Where to get it / who uses it / how it can be a powerful tool
  2. Create a Floor Plan
     • From scratch
     • By importing from AutoCAD
  3. Build a Roof Plan
     • Simple Gable
     • Add cross Dormer
  4. Timber Frame
     • Post Plan
     • Components / Elements - Creating and Using (braces, rafters, etc.)
     • Working out the roof (with a bit of compound roofs)
  5. Presentation
     • People, furniture, etc.
     • Shadows / shading / location
     • "sketchiness"
     • Slide shows, movies, JPGs, etc.
  6. Open Forum with other SketchUp users sharing their experiences
     • Open for questions "How do you do . . .?"
     • Open for sharing of ideas / techniques
  
  Mike Beganyi has wandered through the design, woodworking, and timber framing world for the past 15 years. He has worked and played as sculptor, carpenter, architecture student, instructor, barn restorer, timber framer, designer, project manager, and mover of heavy objects. He currently lives and works in Vermont pushing pixels as an independent designer and fulltime father.
• Toshio Odate: Japanese Tools - Plane, Chisel and Saw
• Rocco Bellebuono & Ryan Bushey: High performance Homes — Two Case Studies
  The Chilmark and Aquinnah Residences are two homes designed and built by South Mountain Company, a 30-year-old employee-owned design/build and renewable energy company on Martha's Vineyard committed to high-performance building. Both homes minimize fossil fuel use and energy consumption while maximizing comfort, simplifying operation, utilizing recycled materials, and ideally, inspiring the families within. A variety of design strategies, systems, and material choices help achieve these goals.
  
  
  
  In our opinion, good architecture uses a combination of art, craft, and science to reflect the needs and nature of its inhabitants. As a result, the architecture is as intrinsically tied to its occupants as they are to it. South Mountain houses — from high end custom homes like these to subsidized affordable housing — implement cutting edge technologies and advanced building science, and do so with the intent of both nurturing the souls of those who dwell within, and respecting our natural resources to the best of our ability. We are moving slowly but surely along the path to zero energy.
  
  Rocco Bellebuono has been working with South Mountain Company for the past three years. Before moving to Martha's Vineyard, he worked in and around Boone, N.C., building timber frames, log homes, conventionally framed homes, staircases, and furniture. He serves on the Projects Committee for the Timber Framers Guild and participates in as many Guild projects as possible. He is also easily distracted when in sight of a soccer ball.
  
  Ryan Bushey has been designing homes at South Mountain Company for five years. He graduated with a B.Arch from Wentworth Instutute of Technology in 1999.
• Jerry Rouleau: Public Relations
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• Arron Sturgis: Maine's Steeples Project
  Arron will talk about historic church trusses via case studies of the Abyssinian church in Portland Maine, the UU church in Yarmouth and a couple of others to be determined. He will also describe the Steeples Project, which is a privately funded grant source for church steeple repair and his model where local craftspeople are trained to do church work through a highly defined scope of work and close supervision by his company, Preservation Timber Framing.

Saturday, November 8^th

• TFG Membership Meeting

• Jim DeStefano: Timber Trusses
  
• Peter Wechsler: Sashigane - The Japanese Square
  There are several different traditional methods for using the Japanese framing square, or sashigane, for obtaining the angles involved in hip or valley layout, which are laid out very clearly in Japanese manuals on carpentry and the use of the square. These were supposedly once handed down in secret from master to disciple, but as the system of apprenticeship started breaking down around 50 years ago or so, a variety of books became available on the use of the sashigane, called "kikujutsu". One nice thing about having various methods is that it allows you to check one against another, to see if you get the same result, before you start cutting into that twenty foot long beam.
  
  Using a model of a traditional Japanese hip joint with all of the various pieces, Peter will demonstrate how he laid out all the angles, with printouts showing how everything was done. While the joinery is somewhat different from a standard Western style hip, the angles should be the same.
• Clark Bremer: Compound Joinery with SketchUp
  This is a follow-on presentation to Timber Frame Joinery Design and Shop Drawings with Google Sketchup. We will further explore the capabilities of Google Sketchup for joinery design to include compound joinery. Compound joinery can be designed in situ, without using trigonometry. Participants will be able to create dimensioned shop drawings of compound timbers using the TF Rubies, which are custom extensions to Sketchup developed by the presenter. We will begin the session by reviewing several examples of compound joinery designed using this system. We will then step through a detailed example of how to create a compound timber and it's joinery in an existing model. The existing model will be a simple common purlin design, to which we will add a third gable bumpout. This will involve adding valleys and jack purlins. If time permits, we'll look at some other examples. Due to the limited amount of time, this will not be a hands-on workshop.
  
  Clark Bremer is the owner of Northern Lights Timber Framing in Minneapolis. He also teaches timber framing at North House Folk School, in Grand Marais, MN. His former career was as a computer designer and researcher for Bell Labs. He enjoys inventing new tools for timber framing, both hardware and software.
• Maureen Blackwell: Communicating Your Ideas with Passion
  Have you ever listened to a presenter and been totally engrossed in the message? Have you ever wondered what made that presentation so special? Presentations that grab their audiences make a huge difference. They can help you reach customers, communicate your ideas with passion and move your organization forward. In this session, you will learn how the three key components of a presentation - the presenter, the audience and the message - can be combined to deliver this type of impact. We will explore ways to understand each area of the presentation to create a better overall experience for your audience and achieve your objective. While this approach is critically important for business leaders, these techniques can be used in any area of your life.
• Toshio Odate: Sharpening Power Planer Blades
  
  Toshio Odate will demonstrate, in the Trade Fair area, a method and jig he has developed for sharpening power planer blades.

• Slide Show

• Al Wallace: Sustainable Building Materials and Systems
  This session will provide you with the information and resources to truly understand and incorporate the best building practices, systems and green products into your homes. The target audience is home builders, contractors, design professionals and home owners. This session will discuss what makes mainstream building products and systems green, provide specific examples of the features and benefits for many products incorporated in LEED home design, and provide handouts and technical references for additional information. Technical and marketing literature from many of the green manufacturers will be available at the end of the session. There will be photos and lessons learned from building his own home destroyed by a fire as a case study in rebuilding a LEED Platinum house.
• Gabel Holder: Intermediate Square Rule Layout
  We will take a look at how to use the square rule to frame hewn, crooked, twisted, round, and curved timber and make it look natural. We will discuss the following:
  • How the old-timers did it (with historical examples and reference material)
  • When and how to use reference lines
  • Counter-hewing and counter-planing
  • The aesthetics of square rule-making it look good
  • And we will finish up with some case studies of specific issues we have faced and how to deal with them.
• Bonnie Pickartz & Reid Greenberg: Website Marketing
  Reid Greenberg is a search engine optimization (SEO) fanatic and lives and breathes by Google's algorithms. He has been involved with the online world since 1997, when he ran online marketing and ecommerce for a medium-sized toy company. Reid then spent seven years with a quaint little online auction site called eBay, where he ran part of Global Customer Support and spearheaded the marketing for eBay's Trading Assistant and Power Seller's program. He was hired as employee #183 and left when the company had more than 11,000 employees worldwide!
  
  After eBay, he ran eCommerce for Ibex Outdoor Clothing and started a robust online marketing program. Two years later, he was recruited to run all of marketing for Davis Frame Company and in the words of the owner, "Bring them from Web BC to Web 2.0!" In his nine months at Davis Frame, he has built two websites, created a blog that receives more than 3,000 visitors per month, and has increased organic traffic by an amazing 218%.
  
  Reid holds an undergraduate degree in Forestry and Biology, and has a Master's in eBusiness. Outside of work Reid enjoys fly fishing with his five-year-old daughter and two-year-old son (more like knot untying!), spending time with his wife, adventure racing, cycling, and winter sports.
• Toshio Odate: Flattening Wide Boards with Small Hand Power Planers
  Toshio Odate will demonstrate, in the Trade Fair area, how to use a small 4-inch hand power plane to flatten a wide (20"+) board.

• Benefit Auction
  

Sunday, November 9^th

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• FEATURED CLOSING SPEAKER
  Tedd Benson: The Unity House: Progressive Building Strategies for LEED and Net Zero Energy
  After his presentation to close the Conference, Tedd will lead a brief tour for those interested to a nearby project, the BrightBuilt Barn, that highlights many of the points in his talk.