“I worked in my grandfather’s timber frame barn back in Montana, and loved the feel, the open spaces…the whole mountain/ski lodge thing,” says Butcher, an airline pilot who moved into the ...

and sheathed with plywood to stiffen the frame and keep it from racking. Tips to make timber framing easier: Use pressure-treated wood for the sill plates and floor joists, Northern pine for the rest.

Q What’s your opinion on timber frame construction for a home compared with traditional stick-built designs? A “Stick-built” refers to the studs, joists and trusses that are used to build ...