Dear Louis, your video is one of the best I have seen on my late night youtube hunt for framing videos. I am going to take my time but do everything myself, just like you. Thank you so much !!!
I think I was able to get the job done only because I used various unconventional workarounds to compensate for a lack of experience / skill. For example, I’ve seen videos of guys cutting precise tenons via drop cut in like a tiny fraction of the time it took me using my approach. I think those folks and other professionals are good framers. I’m an amateur by comparison. That said, I really do appreciate the compliment.
Absolutely amazing, I have been inspired by you to build one of these structures and have a question for you if it’s no trouble. The only thing that I am having trouble figuring out is how you recessed the mortises with the router and what type of bit you used. It looks very simple when you do it but I am having some trouble figuring it out. And again I applaud you for a job very well done.
Thanks for the kind words! If you've not already done so, I recommend you learn the square rule. Here's an overview of the various layout rules. timberframehq.com/layout-rules/ Chapter 3 in this book covers the square rule, which I used. a.co/7zfZMk9. Centered brace housings are challenging. The depth of each housing is a function of the dimension of the timber in which it resides. Specifically, the distance from the housing face to its opposite side. For example, say your plans call for 8x8 posts and one-half-inch housings. You buy the timbers and discover that your posts are 7.75" x 7.75". If you put half-inch housings into your posts, your braces won't fit snugly in them. The length and width of each housing are a function of the brace dimensions. Each brace is different, so each housing is going to be unique. The only thing constant with centered brace housings is the location on the timbers of the load-bearing side of the housing. To deal with this challenge, I completed the braces (with tenons) and the mortises before the housings. I put each brace tenon into its corresponding mortise and traced around the brace on the timber to create the housing outline. I found that the location of the non-load bearing side of the housing was trial and error and depended on the brace width. If your plans call for 4x8 braces, but yours come in at 4x7.75", that 7.75" will reduce how tall your housing is in a post (when the post is viewed upright). Before starting my pavilion, I made many mockups using less expensive timbers. By mockups I mean, a single post and brace for example. I made many mistakes, but I made them in the mockups to learn and avoid them where it counts. Ok, so your question was what router bit to use. I felt compelled to provide the background above before answering. You can use any straight router bit with a bearing on top. The bit should be wide enough that you aren't spending 45 minutes on each housing but not so wide that you lose dexterity. It should be long enough to accommodate your deepest housing but not so long that you can't handle your shallowest housing. If possible, clamp a guide to your timber for each outside edge of your brace housings. Good luck!
Are you planning to build more timber frame structures ?? I see you got all the tools , including the big foot saw, and the chain mortise machine, those are not cheap.
Can you please put links to some of the tools that you used? I am interested in plunge cut tool... I'm sure others are as well. Great series man, Thanks for sharing!
Hi Louis Amazing project. Working on mine in the design phase and I am now moving to the sketchup phase and structural engineering of the beams. Do you offer a copy of your sketchup drawings of your project on your website ? So I can alter them for my design ! Also. What are the full dimensions of your beams and posts ? Mine carport will be approximately 32’ wide and 24’ deep for three cars. I’m in Lake Tahoe so there is a snow load. My next project after the deck is finished soon. Thanks for the encouragement! Joe.
I will back up your choice of music 😁 How much time did the overall project take you? Did you poor footers for the posts? How big is the structure? I may have more questions coming. Coincidently been flowing similar path to yours. I purchased the Learn to Timber Frame book and have checked out from the library Timber Frame Construction, Timber Frame for the Rest of Us and Wood Frame House Construction. Also been looking to buy plans from Timber Frame HQ. I’m looking to build a 14’x16’ pavilion in our large side yard next to kids playground I just built. Never have done anything like this, I am debating between Timber Frame vs Post and Beam (hard-wear). One sucky part in my neck of the woods is that I have to pull permit for such structures. I have to say that all those tools sure makes it go a bit smoother. As you I love my tools and always find an excuse of the project to expand the collection. These are very specific though and tough to swallow the price. Wish there was a way to rent them for a project... 😜😇
Thanks for the support. I spent about a year, on and off, planning and practicing on inexpensive wood before I started the final project. From wood delivery to the completed frame, including roof deck, was 1.5 months. When I bought my house, it came with a 12x24 slab supporting a pergola in disrepair. I removed the pergola and repurposed the slab. Like you, I considered various alternatives to a timber frame. In the end, I couldn't resist the challenge of it, and I felt like I'd be happier with no visible hardware. As for the tools, I could have dedicated an entire video to the various ways I tried (and failed) to create a repeatable process for making reasonably fast and accurate mortises WITHOUT a chain mortiser. The chain mortiser is by far the most expensive tool I've ever purchased. As you pointed out, they aren't available to rent, but the resale value seems to hold reasonably well, so you could buy one and then resell it after the job is complete. Another option for mortises is to use the drill guide jig concept. If you haven't seen it, check out my drill guide jig video. Another guy suggested in a comment that the drill guide jig might work well for mortises. I have no idea why that didn't occur to me at the time.
@Steven Joyce The roof is 2x6 tongue and groove pine decking with asphalt shingles. I stained the boards before putting them up. One of the series's videos had footage of all this, but I worried most people would be bored with it, so I cut it from the final. If you have more questions feel free to send me an email at stormsdiy@gmail.com.
@Matthew Middleton I rented the one I used. The lift brand is Genie which is owned by a company named Terex. Here's the Genie website. www.genielift.com/en/material-handling-products/material-lifts
@johnmcnamee2368. It’s called a chain mortiser. They are expensive. Check out my drill guide jig video. If a chain mortiser is out of your price range, consider using that jig for your mortises. Still lots of chisel work to clean up, but nowhere near what would be required without the auger clearing out 95% of the mortise.
~ $13K total before tax, including the pine T&G roof deck. Note that I used "clear" WRC for the posts, ties, and braces. Had I gone with "knotty" cedar, as I did for the rafters, the total cost would have come down to ~$9.5K.
What did you use to seal the timbers? I'm getting ready to build mine out of Douglas fir but cannot seem to get an answer on what is the best way to protect the finish from weather and sun. Any input would be greatly appreciated? Btw, great job on your build!
I’m not sure if what we did is the “best” way to protect the finish but here’s what we used on the big timbers. 1. Olympic Deck Brightener & Wash or Behr Premium All-In-One Wood Cleaner 2. Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner for Oil-Based Stains 3. Custom Tinted - Sherwin Williams Super Deck - Oil Based Exterior Deck Stain - Semi-Transparent Note that the stain we picked for the timbers didn’t match when applied to the yellow pine roof deck so we ended up using a different color stain for the roof deck so it would match.
1. Bought plans from TimberFrameHQ here. timberframehq.com/timber-frame-plans/ 2. Purchased and read these three books. www.amazon.com/Timber-Frame-Construction-Post-Beam/dp/08826636 www.amazon.com/Building-Timber-Frame-House-Forgotten/dp/0684164469 www.amazon.com/Learn-Timber-Frame-Craftsmanship-Simplicity/dp/1612126685 I believe an understanding of the square rule layout method is critical. It's covered in the books above but a quick overview of the different layout rules can be found here. timberframehq.com/layout-rules/ 3. Practiced applying what I'd read on and off for a few months on scrap wood doing things mostly with hand tools. 4. Modified the plans I bought to fit my requirements/constraints. Hope this helps!
Good videos. You show a lot of the process, but at least some commentary and background would be nice. The music is just awful and adds nothing. It is clear you spent some money on tools and take pride in your work.
@Jamie Swanson. Thanks! I love your brutal honesty. Made me laugh. You aren't the first person to tell me they hate the music. My plan was to release the three-part series with background music to overview the project's different aspects. If enough folks expressed an interest in specific topics, I would create narrated, lessons learned type videos similar to the bowed beam and drill guide jig videos I made. So far...no specific video requests have come beyond isolated questions in emails. Separately, I love tools, and so I typically buy them when the tool cost is less than hiring someone else to do the work.
@J-P J. It would have cost much more than the tools I bought to pay professionals to do the work. If I had used all hand tools, I’d still be out there chiseling mortises.
@@LouisStorms i have to agree with you on that one. Only superfluous tool i see is the two special circular saws. One could get away with a normal 7.25" and a power planer i guess. Just curious, why did you bought that chainsaw-like saw AND the 12"+ circular saw?
@@pimc172 I bought the Prazi beam cutter because I wasn’t confident that I’d be able to make a perfect cut through the 8” thick timbers with the Skillsaw. It turned out I wasn’t able to get square cuts using the Prazi. My assessment of the Prazi is that it’s useful for quick rough cuts. You are right, it’s not needed.
@@LouisStorms Having just completed a 14x18 TF pavilion (6 post) I have to agree with you. I spent a good amount of time without a chain mortiser (I already had 7 1/4", 10 1/4" and 16" worm drive saws). The work was slow and relatively tough with a lot of test fitting. I broke down and bought the Makita 7104L and completed the rest of the built a lot faster and with a lot less wear and tear on my body.
I've watch countless woodcrafting videos, I've never had this much tool envy before...
Great weekend project for a carpenter with 30 years experience and all the tools for the job 😁. Looks fantastic
That's a GIANT circular saw!
To me, the timber frame is as close to furniture a building can get. It's a beautiful long-lasting valuable addition to every home.
Dear Louis, your video is one of the best I have seen on my late night youtube hunt for framing videos. I am going to take my time but do everything myself, just like you. Thank you so much !!!
This is a big compliment and much appreciated. Best of luck on your project.
Beautifully done! I really like the style of your design. Thanks so much for the video!
Those are Beast tools and lumbers!
Thanks for sharing these. Very informative and educational even without the commentary. Final result looks great too!
Thank you very much!
You're a BEAST....
One of my favorite things about your knee Braces are housed
thank you for your reply you do a great work with the timber.john mc namee
Человек старался, переводил на русский язык название ролика и нет ни одного комментария от славян!)
Классная беседка! Вы молодец!
Amazing.
2:33
Fit Jig = genius!
I think that I kind of know that you are a good framer
And that I hope that I can learn more
I think I was able to get the job done only because I used various unconventional workarounds to compensate for a lack of experience / skill. For example, I’ve seen videos of guys cutting precise tenons via drop cut in like a tiny fraction of the time it took me using my approach. I think those folks and other professionals are good framers. I’m an amateur by comparison. That said, I really do appreciate the compliment.
Great video, very enjoyable. Waist high workhorses are a must.
@tbirdsteve1 Thank you very much!
Thanks
Absolutely amazing, I have been inspired by you to build one of these structures and have a question for you if it’s no trouble. The only thing that I am having trouble figuring out is how you recessed the mortises with the router and what type of bit you used. It looks very simple when you do it but I am having some trouble figuring it out. And again I applaud you for a job very well done.
Thanks for the kind words! If you've not already done so, I recommend you learn the square rule. Here's an overview of the various layout rules. timberframehq.com/layout-rules/ Chapter 3 in this book covers the square rule, which I used. a.co/7zfZMk9.
Centered brace housings are challenging. The depth of each housing is a function of the dimension of the timber in which it resides. Specifically, the distance from the housing face to its opposite side. For example, say your plans call for 8x8 posts and one-half-inch housings. You buy the timbers and discover that your posts are 7.75" x 7.75". If you put half-inch housings into your posts, your braces won't fit snugly in them.
The length and width of each housing are a function of the brace dimensions. Each brace is different, so each housing is going to be unique. The only thing constant with centered brace housings is the location on the timbers of the load-bearing side of the housing. To deal with this challenge, I completed the braces (with tenons) and the mortises before the housings. I put each brace tenon into its corresponding mortise and traced around the brace on the timber to create the housing outline. I found that the location of the non-load bearing side of the housing was trial and error and depended on the brace width. If your plans call for 4x8 braces, but yours come in at 4x7.75", that 7.75" will reduce how tall your housing is in a post (when the post is viewed upright).
Before starting my pavilion, I made many mockups using less expensive timbers. By mockups I mean, a single post and brace for example. I made many mistakes, but I made them in the mockups to learn and avoid them where it counts.
Ok, so your question was what router bit to use. I felt compelled to provide the background above before answering. You can use any straight router bit with a bearing on top. The bit should be wide enough that you aren't spending 45 minutes on each housing but not so wide that you lose dexterity. It should be long enough to accommodate your deepest housing but not so long that you can't handle your shallowest housing. If possible, clamp a guide to your timber for each outside edge of your brace housings.
Good luck!
DIY....feels a tad professional to me, with those kind of tools. I love the look/assembley though.
Buenísimo trabajo
Are you planning to build more timber frame structures ?? I see you got all the tools , including the big foot saw, and the chain mortise machine, those are not cheap.
No immediate plans, but I'd like to build a timber frame house on a yet to be acquired rural property.
This is amazing!
Can you please put links to some of the tools that you used? I am interested in plunge cut tool... I'm sure others are as well.
Great series man, Thanks for sharing!
@David Dettra Thanks! Links now added. See the description.
👍👍👍
amazing work! what are the overall dimensions of the covered area?
@Matt Cummings Thanks! The slab is 12' x 24'.
Hi Louis
Amazing project. Working on mine in the design phase and I am now moving to the sketchup phase and structural engineering of the beams.
Do you offer a copy of your sketchup drawings of your project on your website ? So I can alter them for my design ! Also. What are the full dimensions of your beams and posts ? Mine carport will be approximately 32’ wide and 24’ deep for three cars. I’m in Lake Tahoe so there is a snow load. My next project after the deck is finished soon. Thanks for the encouragement! Joe.
@Joeman Flyer. Hi Joe, send me an email. stormsdiy@gmail.com.
I will back up your choice of music 😁 How much time did the overall project take you? Did you poor footers for the posts? How big is the structure? I may have more questions coming. Coincidently been flowing similar path to yours. I purchased the Learn to Timber Frame book and have checked out from the library Timber Frame Construction, Timber Frame for the Rest of Us and Wood Frame House Construction. Also been looking to buy plans from Timber Frame HQ. I’m looking to build a 14’x16’ pavilion in our large side yard next to kids playground I just built. Never have done anything like this, I am debating between Timber Frame vs Post and Beam (hard-wear). One sucky part in my neck of the woods is that I have to pull permit for such structures. I have to say that all those tools sure makes it go a bit smoother. As you I love my tools and always find an excuse of the project to expand the collection. These are very specific though and tough to swallow the price. Wish there was a way to rent them for a project... 😜😇
Thanks for the support. I spent about a year, on and off, planning and practicing on inexpensive wood before I started the final project. From wood delivery to the completed frame, including roof deck, was 1.5 months. When I bought my house, it came with a 12x24 slab supporting a pergola in disrepair. I removed the pergola and repurposed the slab. Like you, I considered various alternatives to a timber frame. In the end, I couldn't resist the challenge of it, and I felt like I'd be happier with no visible hardware. As for the tools, I could have dedicated an entire video to the various ways I tried (and failed) to create a repeatable process for making reasonably fast and accurate mortises WITHOUT a chain mortiser. The chain mortiser is by far the most expensive tool I've ever purchased. As you pointed out, they aren't available to rent, but the resale value seems to hold reasonably well, so you could buy one and then resell it after the job is complete. Another option for mortises is to use the drill guide jig concept. If you haven't seen it, check out my drill guide jig video. Another guy suggested in a comment that the drill guide jig might work well for mortises. I have no idea why that didn't occur to me at the time.
I'm building something similar, what did you use for the roof? Tiles or metal? Would be good to see a video on that.
@Steven Joyce The roof is 2x6 tongue and groove pine decking with asphalt shingles. I stained the boards before putting them up. One of the series's videos had footage of all this, but I worried most people would be bored with it, so I cut it from the final. If you have more questions feel free to send me an email at stormsdiy@gmail.com.
@@LouisStorms great, thanks!!
Nice job where did u get your beams?
Thanks. www.lucascedar.com/
Can you put a link to that lift that you were using?
Good idea. Done.
what design software did you use?
@Joe Smoe The program is called SketchUp. Jay Bates has great guidance and tutorials here. jayscustomcreations.com/sketchup/
❤
Great work really nice video I want to ssk what’s the dimensions os the post 8”x8” ?
Thanks. 8”x8”.
@@LouisStorms thanks for your answer one more question what type of wood you use for this project thanks
Posts, ties, braces and rafters are western red cedar. The plates are Douglas fir.
Great video and really enjoyed watching! Do you happen to recall the lift that you used?
@Matthew Middleton I rented the one I used. The lift brand is Genie which is owned by a company named Terex. Here's the Genie website.
www.genielift.com/en/material-handling-products/material-lifts
@@LouisStorms Thank you much! Have any future build plans?
what is the name of the tool to make mortice joints are they expensieve
@johnmcnamee2368. It’s called a chain mortiser. They are expensive. Check out my drill guide jig video. If a chain mortiser is out of your price range, consider using that jig for your mortises. Still lots of chisel work to clean up, but nowhere near what would be required without the auger clearing out 95% of the mortise.
Nicely done. How much did you spend on lumber?
~ $13K total before tax, including the pine T&G roof deck. Note that I used "clear" WRC for the posts, ties, and braces. Had I gone with "knotty" cedar, as I did for the rafters, the total cost would have come down to ~$9.5K.
You have a tool list? Specifically the chainsaw adaptor to your Dewalt circular saw?
@richardvg03 The tool list is in the video description.
How do you like you Makita chain mortiser? Looks like it's precise and mortises nicely!
I was very happy with the Makita. It beat doing the mortises by hand which was the original plan until I did a few.
@@LouisStorms Thanks for the reply! I'm about to start a project of my own and your videos were very helpful.
Do you happen to have a plan you'd be willing to share for the pavilion part? Even a cut list would do. Thank you.
Slab is 12’ x 24’. Plates and ties 8”x12”. Posts 8”x8”. Rafters 4”x10”. Braces 4”x8”. Roof decking 2”x6” T&G.
@@LouisStorms thank you so much. This give me an idea to plan for a similar project.
What did you use to seal the timbers? I'm getting ready to build mine out of Douglas fir but cannot seem to get an answer on what is the best way to protect the finish from weather and sun. Any input would be greatly appreciated? Btw, great job on your build!
I’m not sure if what we did is the “best” way to protect the finish but here’s what we used on the big timbers.
1. Olympic Deck Brightener & Wash or Behr Premium All-In-One Wood Cleaner
2. Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner for Oil-Based Stains
3. Custom Tinted - Sherwin Williams Super Deck - Oil Based Exterior Deck Stain - Semi-Transparent
Note that the stain we picked for the timbers didn’t match when applied to the yellow pine roof deck so we ended up using a different color stain for the roof deck so it would match.
@@LouisStorms thank you!
I need a coat break down on this, please.
Where could I find those unique power tools?
@Tommy TwoThumbs There are links in the video description.
WOW. SO did you go to a school/class to get the basics, or just UA-cam University?
UA-cam, a book and lots of trial and error, first in 3D modeling software and then with practice timbers.
I know this video is old, but what computer program did you use?
@James Van Pelt The program is called SketchUp. Jay Bates has great guidance and tutorials here. jayscustomcreations.com/sketchup/
How did you figure all the dimensions & cuts !!
1. Bought plans from TimberFrameHQ here.
timberframehq.com/timber-frame-plans/
2. Purchased and read these three books.
www.amazon.com/Timber-Frame-Construction-Post-Beam/dp/08826636
www.amazon.com/Building-Timber-Frame-House-Forgotten/dp/0684164469
www.amazon.com/Learn-Timber-Frame-Craftsmanship-Simplicity/dp/1612126685
I believe an understanding of the square rule layout method is critical. It's covered in the books above but a quick overview of the different layout rules can be found here.
timberframehq.com/layout-rules/
3. Practiced applying what I'd read on and off for a few months on scrap wood doing things mostly with hand tools.
4. Modified the plans I bought to fit my requirements/constraints.
Hope this helps!
Really nice video but this music........
Good videos. You show a lot of the process, but at least some commentary and background would be nice. The music is just awful and adds nothing. It is clear you spent some money on tools and take pride in your work.
@Jamie Swanson. Thanks! I love your brutal honesty. Made me laugh. You aren't the first person to tell me they hate the music. My plan was to release the three-part series with background music to overview the project's different aspects. If enough folks expressed an interest in specific topics, I would create narrated, lessons learned type videos similar to the bowed beam and drill guide jig videos I made. So far...no specific video requests have come beyond isolated questions in emails. Separately, I love tools, and so I typically buy them when the tool cost is less than hiring someone else to do the work.
Too many professional tools in use. Who really has at home such a tool arsenal.
@J-P J. It would have cost much more than the tools I bought to pay professionals to do the work. If I had used all hand tools, I’d still be out there chiseling mortises.
@@LouisStorms i have to agree with you on that one. Only superfluous tool i see is the two special circular saws. One could get away with a normal 7.25" and a power planer i guess. Just curious, why did you bought that chainsaw-like saw AND the 12"+ circular saw?
@@pimc172 I bought the Prazi beam cutter because I wasn’t confident that I’d be able to make a perfect cut through the 8” thick timbers with the Skillsaw. It turned out I wasn’t able to get square cuts using the Prazi. My assessment of the Prazi is that it’s useful for quick rough cuts. You are right, it’s not needed.
@@LouisStorms Having just completed a 14x18 TF pavilion (6 post) I have to agree with you. I spent a good amount of time without a chain mortiser (I already had 7 1/4", 10 1/4" and 16" worm drive saws). The work was slow and relatively tough with a lot of test fitting. I broke down and bought the Makita 7104L and completed the rest of the built a lot faster and with a lot less wear and tear on my body.
Music is horrible
Noted. :). You aren’t the first to express that sentiment.
«Просмотрите, что у меня есть» 😅