Building a Dream Home with Local, Sustainable Timber Frame Construction: Contemporary post and beam incorporates owners’ design ideas
Paul and Leslie Demmert had been contemplating their dream home for more than 35 years. By the time they settled down in Pennsylvania to build it, they had a very specific idea of what they were looking for. Leslie explains,
"Timber framing took hold of Paul in the mid 80's. However, it took us until 2007 to choose a timber framer."
"We weren’t comfortable with the national brands. Buying a house should be different from buying a pair of shoes at Payless or a pillow at Wal-Mart. We took a green homes tour in 2007 and noticed a house by Envinity that was under construction. The craftsmanship caught our eye immediately. Another Envinity house on the tour used a live edge post—it integrated the natural form of a piece of wood directly into the structure of the house. We knew then that we wanted to follow up with this company."
The house evokes an immediate sense of warmth and craftsmanship. This was intentional: the Demmerts wanted a house that would be a reflection and extension of their lifestyle. They were visualizing a home that would allow them to appreciate the beauty of their environment without spoiling the integrity of their surroundings. They also wanted to use native and local products in the construction of their timberframe home.
They were drawn to the contemporary post and beam style, and wanted to showcase and surround their living area with natural wood. The finished house uses hemlock, hickory, two pines, oak, maple, cherry, walnut, fir, and cedar—the majority of which was harvested locally.
Energy efficiency was also a priority. The house features structural insulated panels (SIPs), geothermal heating and cooling, passive solar, and an efficient wood burning stove. Because the home is so energy efficient and airtight, a heat recovery ventilation system was installed to maintain high indoor air quality.
Leslie Demmert says, "We wanted a house that would allow us to live on the land while still integrating with the landscape. We were visualizing a little house in the woods, but we didn't want to tear out any more trees than necessary for safe and easy living. And we wanted windows. Lots of windows."
The primary living area of their house is located on the ground floor. Leslie explains, "Our plan is to live here as long as possible. Since we had gotten a late start on building our dream house, we opted for one-floor living: laundry on the first floor; minimal lip; hand rails and seat in the shower; and lever door handles."
"Originally, we were contemplating a 2+ story house. But Jerry Learn, our timber framer, encouraged us to rethink that. We realized that the scale of a huge rising ceiling in the great room would be too much for the footprint. As an added benefit, by lowering the ceiling, we saved a bit of money while gaining a great deal of comfort."
Indeed, the results are breathtaking. The wood and the views are definite focal points of the house, but there are other areas with which the Demmerts are particularly enamored.
Leslie says, "The railing around the loft and catwalk is a work of art. The only direction that we gave the builders was that I needed some softness in the house. Everything was 90 and 45 degree angles. Chamfered edges on the big posts and beams helped, but I wanted a curve somewhere. Bill, one of the Envinity carpenters, presented us with a concept drawing of beautiful copper waves through walnut railing. We'd never talked about copper as a favorite accent metal or our collection of copper measures. These craftsmen are woodworking geniuses."
Leslie continues, "I had a long cherry live edge board from my mother's property near Philadelphia that Doug—another Envinity carpenter—was able to fold into a powder room vanity. He did a beautiful job on the dovetail joinery. I had a picture for him, but his finishing made this piece more beautiful than the original. He used a piece of local cherry in another detail in that room."
"We love the character of all the wood, alone and in combination. The colors, knots, checks and variations in grain prove to us it's real wood. They’re as beautiful as any painting or sculpture."
The Demmerts are also impressed with the special features that are incorporated in the tile: a tile "rug" under the wall of windows and a ribbon of glass tile around the shower that feature an inset diamond on the shower seat. A pile of bluestone was even transformed into a beautiful hearth for their wood burning stove.
Leslie, a former teacher, says, "I love looking at the joints of each post and beam and wishing that my (former) math and science students could have met Jerry and John to learn a real world use of geometry."
The children in her life do have a great appreciation for the house, albeit from a different perspective. Leslie says, "Our grandson loves the knee-wall (AKA foxhole) storage that he uses as a fort. When I told him they were full of toys, he told us he would pull them all out. The tiny window pass through could have easily been covered over, but Doug saw the potential play factor and finished it as if it were to be seen by crowds of visitors instead of a couple of little boys."
The house is not only beautiful, but functional as well. The Demmerts have been impressed with the air flow and ease of cooling. "We just open the windows at night and close them mid-day to keep the house comfortable even without air conditioning." Even the basement has special features. Leslie elaborates, "The manifold for the water is a design in symmetry and elegance—yet another work of art for this house. Extra heat from the heat pump is fed into the hot water to boost the temperature. We are glad to have 8' ceiling space so that at some point in the future we may finish a room down there."
The Demmerts are enthusiastic about the house and about their work with Envinity. Leslie summarizes, "The original concept for house design came from an Internet search and my grandmother's home. There are pieces of each home we've lived in incorporated into the design—in particular the foxhole, the pantry, laundry near the bedrooms, and the window seat."
"We started out answering the carpenters’ questions but soon learned that through conversations and listening to their ideas we'd get a finished product that was much better than what we'd thought of. Envinity always came to us for approvals before they started work but it didn't take us long to just trust them to have great ideas."
"We hadn't pre-built this house in our minds and were very open to ideas that incorporated Envinity’s experience and craftsmanship. We were never disappointed."
