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how many make a living on tf

Started by laffs, November 29, 2010, 11:02:21 PM

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laffs

im interested in how many people make a living at timber framing and log construction here .on what level.  how you got started. some of the pros and cons. do you eat chicken one week and the feathers the next week.
timber harvester,tinberjack230,34hp kubota,job ace excavator carpenter tools up the yingyang,

Brad_bb

For me, it's been a hobby for about 4 years now.  I prefer steak fajitas and BBQ short ribs, oh and Italian beef, oh and...
Anything someone can design, I can sure figure out how to fix!
If I say it\\\\\\\'s going to take so long, multiply that by at least 3!

Stephen1

Both have been a hobby of mine for about 7 years now, mind you I have had the interest for a long time, just life got in the way. I did have a garden design/builder drop in to buy some wood and have me cut some logs for her. They are now going to start putting some wood/TF into their designs and see if it sells.
IDRY Vacum Kiln, LT40HDWide, BMS250 sharpener/setter 742b Bobcat, TCM forklift, Sthil 026,038, 461. 1952 TEA Fergusan Tractor

witterbound

Built my own timberframe home with the aid and leadership of an experienced timber framer, and now I do some as a hobby.  Did some thinking about doing it for a living.  It seems to me that if you're already a builder, it's a good option you can offer to your customers.  If you're a newbie with or without a sawmill trying to break into the field, I think it's a tough row to hoe, and you're likely to turn up more rocks than potatoes.

laffs

there are a lot of people that do it about 80 miles south of me that do it as a living near the coast. I think they do well. the couple or so that I've talked to say that things are busy. but it seams thats where the money is on the coast. mostly out of staters. I'm a little inland. right now its just a little hobby for me. now and then I talk someone into using a few beams here and there.
timber harvester,tinberjack230,34hp kubota,job ace excavator carpenter tools up the yingyang,

Jim_Rogers

10 years ago, when I was at my second timber framing class, the one I took with Jack Sobon a fellow student from Indiana asked Jack how to get into the timber framing business.
His advice was to not give up your current day job. Get some timbers for a small shed, and cut the joints and erect the shed somewhere where a lot of people can drive by and see it.
And sell this starter shed.
If and when it sells, do another one.

I have been doing this for sometime now, however the last shed we erected hasn't sold yet. I hope it will sell this spring. I had a sawmill customer tell me that he may purchase it for a "green house" in the spring.

When I did this the first time, I created a flier with pull off phone numbers across the bottom. And I drove around all over and posted them on every free bulletin board I could find. Also, I'd travel back to the boards and replace the flier to see how many tags were pulled off and missing.

I got lots of calls about doing "larger" sheds/barns/garages and the like. Most of these calls were "that's great but can you do something bigger?"..... Of course my answer was always, yes I can.

The next question would be "how much will something larger cost?"......

The answer to that question is the hard part. In order to get an answer you have to know the size of the building and have a plan of what it will look like. So that you can establish a timber list, to get the timber costs. Then you have to estimate the labor costs to cut the frame.

Being a beginner in the timber framing circle, I contacted Jack Sobon and asked him if he had a "plan" I could use to construct a garage for the current "hot lead"......

He didn't have one that exactly fit, and he said it would be 3 months before he could even begin to think about doing a custom plan for this client.

He suggested I contact two other timber frame designers and get one of them to do the plan for me. I contacted one of them and chased them for six weeks to just get a cost of what the plan would cost for this "garage". The answer was $1800, just for the plan. I then contacted the second designer. And got a plan cost back in three days, more like I'd expect. That plan cost was $4500, however the next day he called me and lowered his price to $3900. This plan would come with an engineering stamp for MA.

I went to the client's home and explained the two price choices for his garage design.
He asked me "you want me to spend $1800 for a plan so you can give me a price?" "What if I don't like your price, then I'm out $1800!"

I replied to him, "so you want me to spend $1800 of my money on your plan, and what if you don't like my price, then I'm out $1800!"......

The project was not done, to my knowledge, by anyone.

From this experience, I decided that I needed to learn how to draw plans.....

Jim Rogers 
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

witterbound


Jim_Rogers

Having sold one shed, and worked with the customer to enclose it I was able to keep track of some of the costs of this shed.
However I didn't have them all, but from what I had, I decided to try and figure a square foot price for the "garage" hot lead customer.

I did come up with a price and told that to him and he declined that price. I heard from others that he said my price was high. Well it was; as it was a timber framed garage not a standard stick built garage.

Pricing timber frames by the square foot method isn't the best thing to do as it can vary widely from frame to frame based on the exact frame design.

Jim Rogers
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

witterbound

Many folks like the look of a timber frame, but when they realize that it is mostly just a cost add-on over and above what the shed/garage/house would have cost anyway, they don't build a timber frame.  It also presents a lot of questions about coordinating the other work on the structure, like the foundation, walls & roof, that many contractors don't want to deal with because it's not what they regularly do.

Jim_Rogers

Quote from: witterbound on December 01, 2010, 01:46:30 PM
many contractors don't want to deal with because it's not what they regularly do.

This is true.....
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

addicted


pegs1

Started building timber frames about 8 years ago.   At the time I was more interested in building than just timber frames.   But as time went on and the complications and mistakes continued from trying to marry together a bunch of people who didn't know each other and weren't really to worried about who got left holding the bag.   I decided... how much harder could it be to design and cut my own frames.  I've never looked back after that.   Had steady work even through the winters up until the end of 2008.  Then did cancer for a year and rehabilitation for another year.   Could have been worse... I could have missed something.   Managed to get a real hybrid early this year over in Wi.   Concrete ICF basement and first floor to the Eave Girders/Plates with full timber frame roof structure and supporting frame structure on the inside.   When it was done.   Only somebody who really knows timber framing would be able to tell it was a hybrid from the inside. 

During the good times.   I had 30 hits a week from the internet and shows.   Now its more likely to be 1 every 30 days.  But I would still rather be a hungry timber framer  every day than a fat stick builder.   LOL

If you can do it all you will be fine.   Design, cut, raise and enclose shells.   Because not everyone else does.   Most TFs just want to cut frames, and cash checks.   


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