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“Every facet of the company is involved in this project, it’s been cool to see all of gears essentially of New Energy Works revolving around to make this project come to life,” says Jake Desmarais, Site Supervisor for New Energy Works General Contracting division who is overseeing the Otisco Lake build.

Developed by our in house design team, with a timber frame and high-performance enclosure by New Energy Works; the house also features details from our fine ­craftspeople at NEWwoodworks and sustainable wood products from our sister company Pioneer Millworks

Photograph: New Energy Works

Tucked on the shoreline of Otisco Lake, this custom residence is our client’s legacy home, built for them, but also for the family’s future generations. Spotlighting massive intersecting gable roofs, and a rustic timber-centric lake side porch, the homes crowning achievement is its great room. Designed for socializing and embellished by high craft Douglas fir trusses, the room is interred with our high-performance wall enclosures and thoughtfully detailed by our talented NEWwoodworks team.

The homeowners live just next door to the build site, so keeping them up to date on the work has been special for our team, who get great joy out of seeing our clients’ reactions to the daily progress.

“This has been a labor of love,” says Desmarais. “There have been some tiring days but there are other days when you get that instant gratification which is what being in the trades is all about. Days where you can step back and say, ‘Oh my gosh we got all of this stuff done.’ The site supervision is so important and gives the homeowners piece of mind.” 

Phograph: Bob Gothard

“This was going to be an agricultural utility building. It was not going to be a venue, it was not going to a classroom—the outdoors is our classroom,” says Mary Mannix, Vice President Board of Directors Natick Community Organic Farm. “Whatever the farm teaches, its mission is education.”

Established in 1974, the Natick Community Organic Farm is a non-profit certified organic farm. It serves 26 communities and features 30 acres of open space while providing farm products and education to patrons of all ages, year-round. Often referred to as just The Farm, it has become THE place for the Natick community to learn. Whether about the food chain, land management, ecosystems, or natural farming skills, the farm has provided Massachusetts youth the life skills to last them into adulthood.

“Having your child go to a place like The Farm where they’re going to explore and do things like look at bugs,” says Mannix. “That’s what makes it such a beloved place. No screens, no cell phones, and the pace is agreeable.”

Photograph: Bob Gothard

The centerpiece of The Farm was its functional 200-year-old timber frame cattle barn that dated from 1815. On March 17, 2021, in the early hours of St. Patrick’s Day, the barn was destroyed in a three-alarm fire. The destructive blaze was a devastating blow to the community who didn’t know how The Farm would ever recover. 

Whereas the tragic blaze could have torn the community apart, what it did was inspire a coming together through a grassroots fundraising campaign. The support was immediate and massive. Donations poured in locally as well as from surrounding areas. The community responded quickly because the farm had resonated and affected everyone in a positive way. 

Tucked away in the pastoral heart of the Finger Lakes region is an award-winning golf course, Ravenwood, which spotlights 18 holes, lush greens, and crisp fairways while offering a unique challenge to golfers of all skill levels. A full-service facility, Ravenwood also hosts weddings, corporate events and banquets on its expansive grounds. 

For everything that the course encompasses, to take the property to the next level they needed a clubhouse upgrade. The clubhouse is a naturally a high traffic area, a place to take a respite from the course, or to catch up with friends after a long day of golf. Adding a diverse outdoor space to the facility was a priority for Ravenwood and the most efficient way to develop this new space while still providing long term stability and a touch of class to the existing clubhouse was by introducing heavy timber. 

The incorporation of a timber frame into the Ravenwood clubhouse was to provide patrons with “a wow factor,” Jennifer Gossage, Director of Clubhouse Operations at Ravenwood said. “Our vision included an indoor-outdoor bar area connected to beautiful patio space. The timber frame was the ideal solution, combing rustic charm with elegance to achieve the impact we desired. We wanted to upgrade our facility and to provide patrons with an enhanced experience.”

Photo: Tim Wilkes

Situated on a tree dotted slope overlooking the property, the clubhouse nestles into the surrounding landscape. A central hub of activity for the facility, the upgrade needed to be inviting as well as functional. A well thought out outdoor space can have as powerful an aesthetic impact on visitors as a beautifully designed interior space. In the case of a Ravenwood, the new timer frame build offers the specialized experience of seamlessly enjoying indoor leisure activities without ever having to leave the course. 

“Accessibility is often mandated, but inclusion is a choice.” – Mike Bentley

Photo: Matt Wittmeyer

 

On a donated field not far from the shores of Canandaigua Lake in New York, a brand new and overdue community space just opened. Motion Junction is located on Outhouse Road in the Richard P Outhouse Memorial Park, so named for the family that donated the land on which the park and new playground now stand. Motion Junction has the distinction of being the first Universal Design (UD) certified and fully inclusive playground in the United States. Universal Design is defined as ‘a concept in which products and environments are designed to be usable by all people, to the greatest extend possible, without the need for adaption or specialized design’. Motion Junction is an entire complex focused on improving health, wellness, performance, and social participation for a diverse population of people.

Architects, builders, families, and volunteers united for Motion Junction’s common goal of creating a space where people of all abilities can be engaged in a sensory rich environment that provides a safe harbor from the storms of their struggles. While the facility is labeled as a playground, it is much more than that, it’s a truly a diverse community space for everyone.

The mission of any fully inclusive playground is to encourage and increase interactions between a variety of people and institute parallel play. Parallel play is when children regardless of ability interact and engage with each other in a safe and inclusive space. The hope is that the socialization facilitated by parallel play will take root and expand into later life — informing the entire community.

A request for the installation of a sophisticated front entryway came into the NEWwoodworks team—a door that not only welcomed visitors, but also emitted a feeling of grounding and balance. 

The client ‘s inspiration for their door was science, specifically the Fibonacci sequence, also known as the “golden ratio.” The golden ratio occurs organically in nature, and has historically been influential in architecture, engineering, and technology. Natural shapes born from the ratio can be witnessed in galaxies and DNA strands. They also exist at a micro level in flowers, shells and fingerprints. The designs exist in an array of clockwise and counterclockwise reciprocal spirals. The client was also inspired by a scientific journal piece titled Helix of the Heart, where the golden ratio and its connection to the shapes inside of the human heart were examined. 

Josh Savior design engineer at NEWwoodworks shared, “For this project the clients came to us with multiple designs and I kind of glommed them together and made one of my own that catered to what they wanted.

And so, the design for a golden ratio, a door from the heart, began. Savior, continued, “The whole thing is based around the golden ratio, so I figured out what the ratio was, and I drew that, and saw how it would fit onto a door. You have to compromise some things, the glass must be curved, the shape of the door has to be curved in some aspect. And we had to spill over into the sidelights. You see how it feels, not just how it looks.

What was essentially a standard door at its core, would be differentiated by its special curvatures, shapely lines and custom look. NEWwoodworks shop lead Charlie Bartholomew said, Doors are all boxes, but different shapes. All doors start out basic, it fits in the frame, you have square pieces, rectangles, the joinery is similar. What’s different here is the extra curves. They’re curves, but not lineal curves, they are flowing curves. Every bit of this door is sort of a standard thing-except for everything is different. Trying to get all the pieces to fit the same but working with curved pieces. The overall look of it is truly unique.” 

Image

 

Deep in the woods on the east side of New York’s Hudson River there’s a view. And the view is spectacular. But on a particular property, the view is not one you can see from the house, it’s one you have to be led to. To find. And to find or be shown this view by someone who has found it, is a gift. A gift from experience on the property, the journey, a gift from nature.

And thus standing at the top of this hill, peering out to this view of the Catskill mountains is architect Barry Price and his client. A client who wants to share this view, this space, this moment with his family. To perch out on the hill and become one with the scenery.

 

“So I said ‘so what? Like a pavilion? Like a deck? What are you thinking?’,” shares Price “And the client says ‘Well I don’t know. You know I think we might want to come in here in the winter…have a glass of wine…’ and it was clear from the beginning that this was something more than just a shade structure.”

And in the end, it is more than just a shade structure. In fact, The Perch is an architect’s “folly.”

“In the history of architecture there’s a thing called a folly,” explains Price. “A folly is when an architect has an opportunity to pursue something that they’re super interested in because the building doesn’t have a specific purpose other than pursuing a particular interest or passion. So from time-to-time you get lucky enough to have a client who gives you an opportunity to go down a worm hole of something that you’re interested in.”

 

Light Commerical Glulam Trusses being rasied at New Energy Works NEWBeamery Project in McMinnville, OR

 

For those new to the story, we're building a new 20,000 sqft timber frame and glulam production shop in McMinnville, Oregon, affectionately called the NEWBeamery. In a visually captivating event, we installed the final massive 90’ European-style trusses were raised in May. As we write this, the final roof SIP is being put in place, which was the method of installation. Raise some glulam trusses, install the rafters, and then place the SIP roof pieces.

This is a major milestone in our expansion and investment in the McMinnville community. The space, set to be complete by the end of 2024, is a collaboration many emerging planet-focused materials suppliers including biochar concrete from Solid Carbon, wood fiber insulation from TimberHP, net-zero carbon rebar from Cascade Steel, and glulam timbers from American Laminators in part made from sustainably sourced timber from Yakima Forest Products.

 

Light Commerical Glulam Trusses being rasied at New Energy Works NEWBeamery Project in McMinnville, OR

 

“There's a high degree of technical forecasting that we needed to do...it was such a team effort. Figuring out where to pre-assemble the trusses and then have them in a way that we could continue to raise them was a feat.” says Oliver Ogden, New Energy Works West Coast General Manager.

"We assembled the trusses on their sides, and then lifted each one on an angle and rotated it to install. The logistics of this, given that the trusses are as wide as the building, were tricky but incredibly important."

We're looking forward to continuing our legacy creating highly-crafted and lyrical timber frames in the new space, and looking forward to the additional capabilities the new space and CNC machine will lend us. 

 

Contractor Cents - Episode 314: “Owner’s Attitude" with Jonathan Orpin

Contractor Cents Podcast with Ruth King

Host Ruth King sits down with our founder and CEO Jonathan Orpin to explore what it takes to get employees to think like owners in the latest installment of the Contractor Cents podcast. 

 

Click here to listen: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/contractor-cents/id1373322977

 

How do you get employees to get an “owner’s attitude” rather than a “we just work here and collect a paycheck” mentality? And, what does giving back really mean and how does it affect operations?  Jonathan Orpin discusses the answers to these questions and more.

 

Listen and learn more:

Contractor Cents - Episode 314 - “Owner’s Attitude" | Contractor Cents (podbean.com)

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/contractor-cents/id1373322977

Ruth King - www.ruthking.info

Twitter - @RuthKing

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthking1/

 

 

 

NEWBeamery Groundbreaking

 

New Energy Works in collaboration with the McMinnville Economic Development Partnership, Representative Lucetta Elmer, and Mayor Remy Drabkin hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for our new 20,000 square foot production facility in McMinnville Oregon on Thursday, December 21st.

 

NEWBeamery Groundbreaking

 

With this new facility, employee-owned New Energy Works will be expanding our McMinnville operations adding new cutting edge CNC equipment, offices, and production space to our existing campus, which will increase our capabilities and service offerings, resulting in regional growth and expanded employment opportunities in the McMinnville community.

 

NEWBeamery Groundbreaking

 

Community Pavilion in Oregon

 

Recently our west coast team participated in a community project for Miller Woods, a public woodland park located near our McMinnville, Oregon shop.

 

Community Pavilion in Oregon

 

For the project New Energy Works in partnership with Solid Carbon and Elk Creek Forest Products provided a new timber frame pavilion for Miller Woods, which was raised by hand on a sunny Saturday by a group of community volunteers, partners, and many of our New Energy Works co-workers.

 

Community Pavilion in Oregon

 

“We are always on the lookout for small community projects like this, so that we can help folks out and be good citizens in our local community,” explained New Energy Works Founder & CEO Jonathan Orpin. “John Mead, our friend from Solid Carbon, called us up and said: ‘I know New Energy Works is always looking for interesting projects, and we are pouring a carbon sequestering concrete slab for this great woodland park near your shop in McMinnville called Miller Woods, would you like to be part of it and put up a timber frame pavilion?’ and I told him you bet!”  

 

Lake Front Dream Home

 

 

When the owners of this recently completed lakefront residence began their journey to build a custom timber frame home in the Finger Lakes, they relied on the experience and comprehensive design + build services offered by New Energy Works, based in nearby Farmington New York.

 

Lake Front Dream Home

 

For over thirty years New Energy Works has been crafting sustainably minded timber frame homes throughout the Finger Lakes region. In that time their expertise and service offerings have grown to include in-house Architects, interior designers, and general contracting/ construction as well as a fine woodworking division known as NEWwoodworks, and their sister company Pioneer Millworks – who manufacture reclaimed and sustainable wood products, all of which were utilized to construct this one-of-a-kind home.

 

Lake Front Dream Home

 

The homeowners came to the project with a previous connection to New Energy Works through the company’s fine woodworking division, who had done extensive remodeling work for them on a different property in the past. But building a brand-new home on one of the Finger Lakes can present unique challenges, which Architect Kyle Barber RA, CPHC – the head of New Energy Works design team knows all too well.

 

Digital Supply Chain Podcast

 

On a recent episode of the Digital Supply Chain podcast, host Tom Raftery sat down with our founder & CEO Jonathan Orpin to discuss his journey helping to revolutionize the timber and construction industry with a staunch commitment to sustainability.

 

 

The episode dives deep into how New Energy Works incorporates an eco-friendly approach to our projects, often focusing on the use of reclaimed and sustainably harvested wood in partnership with our sister company Pioneer Millworks.


See the interview on YouTube:  https://youtu.be/kNPvRjzPLx8
 

See more from Digital Supply Chain:  The Future of Building: Sustainability and Innovation with Jonathan Orpin (digitalsupplychainpodcast.com)

 

 

 

TimberFill, a loose fill insulation, can be blown in or dense packed for high performing, affordable, safe, and carbon negative coverage in attics, wall cavities, floors, and ceilings.

 

 

Recently our founder & CEO Jonathan Orpin wrote a "SPEC" editorial for our friends at Fine Homebuilding Magazine about TimberHP's new domestically manufactured wood-based insulation product TimberFill. This series is where the magazine explores new products and solutions for crafting fine homes from the perspective of respected professionals in the industry. 

 

TimberFill, a loose fill insulation, can be blown in or dense packed for high performing, affordable, safe, and carbon negative coverage in attics, wall cavities, floors, and ceilings.

 

TimberFill is a loose fill insulation product from TimeberHP that can be blown in or dense packed for high performing, affordable, fire-resistant, and carbon negative coverage in attics, wall cavities, floors, and ceilings.

 

TimberFill, a loose fill insulation, can be blown in or dense packed for high performing, affordable, safe, and carbon negative coverage in attics, wall cavities, floors, and ceilings.

 

suburban high performance home

 

Recently our HPEz (High-Performance Made Easier™) team provided a wall enclosure system for a new 1600 square foot home located in a bucolic suburb of Rochester, New York, near our Farmington shop.

 

suburban high performance home

 

The homeowner was interested in crafting a highly efficient new home without the use of chemical or foam-based insulation. After researching available local options online, he discovered that New Energy Works enclosure services could help him achieve the performance goals he was aiming for by using natural wood-fiber insulation in our Matrix Wall™ system.

 

suburban high performance home

 

“This is a modest home in a fairly typical residential neighborhood,” explained Bryan Bleier, who leads our HPEz team. “Once construction is completed you really won’t be able to tell that this is a High-Performance home just by looking at it, but the responsible construction methods and materials this home utilizes will be a benefit in terms of heating & cooling costs, indoor air quality, and general comfort of the home for generations.”   

 

right sized high performance home

 

For homeowners Mary & Eric, building a responsibly sized and environmentally sound retirement home was a priority for them as they looked toward their own future, and the planets. Utilizing as many environmentally friendly building materials as possible, the couple were equally concerned about the homes short term impact on the environment, as well as its long-term energy use and performance.

 

right sized high performance home

“Eric is a scientist-type personality and Mary is a cool artist-type personality, and juxtaposing those two points of view together into a finished home was the challenge here. We worked with them and added more timber into the building, opened some windows, and worked with the couple to minimize the square footage of the space down to what was essential to their lifestyle. It was quite the task to meet the needs of both clients, with Mary being focused on the craft and beauty of the home, and Eric being very concerned with material selections, sourcing, imbedded carbon, and performance. It was a winning combination though, and both were willing to compromise when needed to make things work and stuck by their guns when necessary to get what they wanted. In the end we came up with a very nice design that was a beautiful compromise to what they each wanted out of this home.” - Architect David Shirley AIA, NCARB

“When we looked at the New Energy Works website and read about how the company crafts high-performance enclosures that pay very close attention to a home’s thermal envelope as part of their Design + Build process, we were very impressed that the team makes sustainability a normal part of how they do business,” Eric shared. “To our mind that is the kind of company we want to support.”

 

Ep. 178 - Triple Bottom Line with Jonathan Orpin

 

In this episode of Contractor Radio host Jim talks with our CEO and Founder Jonathan Orpin about operating a business sustainably on multiple fronts by implementing the Triple Bottom Line Company model.

Jim and Jonathan discuss why the triple bottom line emphasizes people AND profits. They turn their discussion toward aging out of your business sustainably by creating an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) that rewards your workers with ownership and leaves the former owner/founder with a sense that their company is in good hands.

In the second part of the episode Jim and Jonathan dig into the flexible definition of sustainability. They have a great talk on what it means to focus as much energy and resources into stewarding the planet as generating profit.

See more:

Custom Fine Woodworking

 

Recently our team completed a unique general contracting project in the Finger Lakes region of New York. The lake front homes interior was designed by Brooke Wagner Design, a celebrated full service design firm based in Corona del Mar California, and features extensive fine woodworking that was crafted by our NEWwoodworks team.

We caught up with Rob D’Alessandro who manages our woodworking division to talk about collaborating with a well-respected interior designer and the trends and challenges of high-craft woodwork in modern custom home design.

 

Custom Fine Woodworking

 

Q: What different kinds of woodwork did the NEWwoodworks team craft or this project?

 

A: For this project our team fabricated and finished all the cabinetry throughout the home as well as the stairs, railing, doors (inside and out), built-in storage, some of the counter tops, and elements of the screened in porches.

 

Custom Fine Woodworking

 

Q: How closely did the NEWwoodworks team collaborate with the interior designer on this project?

 

Our friend Brian Libby recently wrote this budget breakdown overview of our CLT Home project in Oregon for DWELL Magazine.

 

Dwell CLT houseDwell CLT house

Dwell CLT house

Dwell CLT house

 

 

See our case study: Cross Laminated Timber Home | New Energy Works

 

 

Project Credits:

 

Architect: Alan Morris Architect

Builder: New Energy Works

Photography: Noel Adams

 

Rochester Home Magazine

 

Our friends at Rochester Home Magazine honored us with a detailed cover editorial featuring our east coast design team.

 

Written by Helana Shumway

 

Project photos by Tim Wilkes

 

 

Rochester Home Magazine

 

Rochester Home Magazine

 

Rochester Home Magazine

 

Read the whole issue online: September//October 2023 Rochester HOME Magazine by Featured Media - Issuu

 

TimberFill, a loose fill insulation, can be blown in or dense packed for high performing, affordable, safe, and carbon negative coverage in attics, wall cavities, floors, and ceilings.

 

 

New Energy Works receives the first shipment of wood fiber insulation made in the United States. This first shipment of TimberFill arriving from the TimberHP manufacturing facility in Madison, Maine to New Energy Works Design + Build, Timber Frame, and High-Performance manufacturing facility outside of Rochester, New York demonstrates New Energy Works commitment to utilizing wood as a primary sustainable building material in an effort to address climate change.

 

This first shipment marks the beginning of sales for TimberHP’s wood fiber insulation product, TimberFill, for the North American market. TimberFill, a loose fill insulation, can be blown in or dense packed for high performing, affordable, safe, and carbon negative coverage in attics, wall cavities, floors, and ceilings.

 

“The team at New Energy Works are among the pioneers who believed in the products we’re bringing to market and who can offer immediate credibility to what we’re doing for a portion of the industry hungry for better building envelope solutions,” said Matt O’Malia, Co-Founder & Vice President of TimberHP. “There’s an amazing story to tell with the New Energy Works team about evoking change in the built environment that helped improve product availability and price point through domestic manufacturing.”

 

 

Barn Oregon

 

A few years back New Energy Works provided a timber frame for a new hybrid custom home in Oregon located on an idyllic eight-acre plot of land. Recently we returned to raise a matching classic timber frame barn on the property clad in reclaimed wood siding from our sister company Pioneer Millworks.

 

Barn Oregon

 

“We built a new timber frame house with New Energy Works a few years ago, it is not a totally timber frame house, it’s a hybrid, but one large section is completely timber framed,” said Ric, the homeowner and builder.  “The property had an old metal pole barn on it that we used during the construction of the house, but once the house was done, the old metal barn was an eyesore, so we decided to build a new big, beautiful timber frame barn that would go with the house.”

 

Barn Oregon

 

This new addition to the acreage is a space for gardening, projects, and parties, but was designed to be easily adaptable in years to come. A labor of love inside and out, this barn is part of the long-term plan for the development of the property by the recently retired homeowners. 

 

Barn Oregon

 

Motion Junction Canandaigua NY

 

Recently New Energy Works raised a modern Douglas fir timber frame pavilion designed by our friends at Eco-Logic Studio for the Motion Junction Playground, a first of its kind inclusive playground that provides an accessible play experience to children and adults of all physical and mental abilities located near our east coast shop in Canandaigua New York.

 

Motion Junction Canandaigua NY

 

Motion Junction Canandaigua NY
Nick Foley from our engineering team on local WHAM 13 News for ABC.

 

The large pavilion project is 120 feet by 35 feet and includes 270+ timbers, the largest of which are over 35-feet long. Even the local media stopped by to check out the raising and our own Nick Foley made it on the evening news!

 

Motion Junction Canandaigua NY

 

Right at home

“Lighting is an important part of designing a home from the inside out. Low voltage accent lighting highlights architectural features while stylistic fixtures identify the gathering spaces.” -Diana Gerken 

When Mark and his wife set out to craft a timber frame home in central New York State, the journey started with finding the right piece of country real estate to build on. Once they had acquired the land to develop, it became time to design their new family home.

 

Right at home

“During the design process we often ask ourselves: How will they know where to go? Here the main entry is called attention to by a trellised walking path from the face of the garage to an expressive covered entry, which extends to be the most prominent extension on the main facade.” - Kyle Zinteck, RA New Energy Works

“We customed designed our home, so it is exactly what we wanted. My wife and I are not youthful anymore, so we had a clear idea of what we needed for the next 25 years or so,” Mark shared. “We have a large extended family, so we designed the house around our need to host large groups of people to accommodate our family when they visit.”

 

Right at home

“The main entrance is substantiated with stone walls on either side of the door to support the timber porch that draws guests in to a custom NEWwoodworks door. Taking inspiration from a previous New Energy Works project that the homeowners loved, we designed this Douglas fir door with transom and sidelights in a finish that blends harmoniously with the timber color and stained cedar siding.” -Diana Gerken 

Simplicity of form

 

Rolling seaside hills serve as the backdrop to this barn styled home that was inspired by traditional timber frame barn designs familiar to the surrounding area. This home truly celebrates the simplicity of its form and takes the interior timber structure outward to the exterior.

 

Simplicity of form

 

“The western side of the home was purposely designed to be the primary entry to the house, and you approach that entry by car,” said Michael Schmitt AIA, the Architect on the project.  “Our idea was that space could be where the whole design revealed itself, where part of the exterior is pulled back to reveal some of the interior timber structure and express some of the frame from the inside on the outside. It is also where the garage is, so even guests would arrive on that side of the house and come up a few steps into the exposed barn structure and then into the interior.”

 

Simplicity of form

 

“The design idea was to express the barn frame from the interior out to the exterior in that one location of the home, but It also breaks down the monotony of a 100-foot by 30-foot barn,” Michael continued. “The visual actually erodes at that corner and becomes the barn frame, which is what we tried to express throughout the whole project, the beautiful simplicity of the barn’s timber frame.”

 

Family Time

 

For homeowner Brett, the idea of spending quality time with his wife and young children outdoors in a timber frame pavilion was one that followed him from one home to the next. Originally discussing the idea with his father, who is also his homebuilder, several years ago for his first home, it was here in his second home the idea finally took form. 

 

Family Time

 

“It was actually an idea we had in our old house, then we decided not to add on and move, so the idea followed us to this new house,” Brett told us. “This project was an idea of ours for 5 or 10 years, quite a while. We love the outdoors and after seeing some of the other New Energy Works projects online, this idea just came together overtime to build a three-season timber frame room.”

 

Family Time

 

 

The porch has quickly become the focal point of the house, with evenings and weekends now largely shared by the whole family on the porch when the weather is nice, and sometimes even when it’s not.

 

Family Time

 

FHB

 

 

 

FHB

 

 

 

 

FHB

 

See more: Fine Homebuilding Magazine

 

Project Credits: 

 

Solar Partner: SunCommon

Timber Frame: New Energy Works

Engineer: Sellers Treybal Structural Engineers 

 

Now available in New York & Vermont

Coming soon to the West Coast U.S.A.

 

See our case study: The Solar Canopy | New Energy Works

 

 

 

 

Community Pavilion in Oregon

 

What do pizza boxes, a canceled wedding, and a community hand raising have in common? This backyard pavilion in Oregon.

For homeowners Matt & Laura, 2020 was rough. Both work in the front-line medical industry and their dream wedding was looking less and less likely to ever happen. The couple decided that they would turn tradition around, forgoing a traditional one-time wedding ceremony and instead spending what would have been their wedding fund on an outdoor timber frame pavilion they could enjoy with their friends and family for many years to come.

 

Community Pavilion in Oregon
“The design process was awesome. I love how New Energy Works cared about making it what we wanted it to be. Any idea or dream was met with a “let’s find a way” attitude and not a “no, we can’t do that”, that communication was great. It was just an awesome experience.” - Laura, Homeowner

 

At first, they used empty pizza boxes laid out on the ground to envision their ideas for the space, eventually deciding on a layout for their timber pavilion that included an outdoor pizza oven and Argentine grill, among other amenities.

 

Community Pavilion in Oregon

 

HPEz

 

One of the best ways to reduce the long-term energy consumption and carbon footprint of a new home is to incorporate a high-performance enclosure system into the design. Using semi-automated tooling, good old-fashioned experience, and natural materials our pre-panelized wall, floor, and roof systems are customizable to your project and offer an accessible solution to building a higher preforming home.

 

New Energy Works calls this program HPEz, or High-Performance Made Easier™, and we caught up with Bryan Bleier who manages our HPEz shop to learn a little more about the technical specifics and benefits of pre-panelized enclosures.

 

HPEz

 

Q: What makes our HPEz enclosures high-performance?

 

A high-performance enclosure is a wall system that is fabricated far above code-minimum construction standards in terms of insulation, airtightness, thermal bridging, and overall quality. This is achieved by increasing insulation values and airtightness using industry leading products such as intelligent membranes, tapes, and gaskets. Our airtight, vapor open assemblies offer increased indoor comfort & air quality, reduced energy consumption/costs as well as long term performance and durability. It’s our goal to build enclosures that last generations, not just 50-100 years.

 

HPEz

 

the woodshop

 

When Julie built her ranch style home in Oregon back in 1989, she wanted a classic timber frame, but was unable to find anyone in the area building timber homes at the time. With a background in the construction industry and woodworking, she was her own general contractor on the home and got as close as she could to the timber frame aesthetic by including exposed beams and wood pillars.

 

the woodshop

 

“We are retired now, but what we did for a profession was excavation and heavy equipment rental, site work, a lot of high-end homes, municipality, public excavation work, like high schools, streets,” Julie told us. “Funny enough, we helped develop the neighborhood we live in about 35 years ago. We built our family home here, and at that time I wanted to do a timber frame structure, but no one in the area was doing them. What we have in the main house is open beam and wood pillars, which is as close as I could get to timber framing in 1989.”

 

the woodshop

 

More recently when Julie began considering retirement, she reached out to New Energy Works to design and build a timber frame addition to her much-loved family home. The reverent timber space that now houses her at home woodshop is designed to be a flexible space that can adapt to her fine woodworking needs today but could also be converted to functional living space in the decades to come.

 

Bryan Bleier from our High-Performance Made Easier ™ team sat down with our friends at Upstate House Magazine for their annual Passive House Guide issue to talk about why a homeowner should consider an enclosure system as an accessible way to craft a new high preforming home.

 

HPEz

 

Learn more:

 

Passive House Guide 2023 by Chronogram

 

High Performance Building Enclosures | New Energy Works

 

High-Performance Home Building - Q&A | New Energy Works

 

Passive House Enclosure: Partnering for the Future | New Energy Works

 

 

 

 

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(585) Magazine recently covered one of our favorite recent Design + Build projects in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. This project combined all our related services, Timber Frame, Design + Build, HPEz, fine woodworking from NEWwoodworks, and our sister company Pioneer Millworks.

 

 

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585

 

 

More from (585): (585) magazine - Rochester, NY (585mag.com)

 

Related Content:

 

Long-Term Lake Front | New Energy Works

 

Natural materials for a custom home: Design Q&A | Pioneermillworks

 

 

Project Credits:

 

Architect: New Energy Works

Builder: New Energy WorksHigh-Performance Enclosure: New Energy Works

Engineer: Fire Tower Engineered Timber 

Reclaimed Wood: Pioneer Millworks 

Sisters Oregon Timber Frame Home by New Energy Works

 

I’ve been timber framing for more than 30 years. Very often over this time we’ve worked with owner builders. These folks span the same wide range as any other custom builder, from hands off the tools and just managing everyone, to placing every form, nailing every connector, and setting the last piece of bathroom tile.

Mostly though, it’s somewhere in between, smack in the middle. Scott & Jill are that way, and on a recent stop in after we’d been done with our part for a couple months, I was once again reminded of my oft-stated, “Human potential is an amazing thing”.

When I first visited their site in Sisters, Oregon, the two were busy clearing brush and building a pump house. They could see where they were going, had the views of The Three Sisters Mountain Range captured just right, and knew how the driveway and entry porch would eventually welcome guests. My coworker David had finished their plans but truthfully, Scott had sent us about the most detailed set of preliminaries we have ever received. They knew what they wanted.

And they knew how to work for it. You might remember the post from August when we raised their timber frame in 100+ °F and bright sun. We then went back and installed tongue and groove and structural insulated panels (SIPs). But everything else was Scott & Jill and their own set of subs and coworkers…and a lot more hard work of their own. Here are some shots on a recent snowy afternoon by our coworker Kelsey Boyer.

These are images of a well organized, quality job site. And of so much of a dream unfolding. I once asked those two how they are still so much in love (as was evident, if you get my drift).  “Shared dreams and the perfect partner,” was about the response. Stay with us over the next months. We’ll visit again and share the progress.

 

Bryan Bleier from our HPEz team and Kyle Barber from our design team recently attended the 16th annual PhiusCon (formerly North American Passive House Conference) at the historic Palmer House in Chicago IL. The guys specifically attended this year’s conference to connect with like-minded professionals in the industry and talk about New Energy Works investment in our High Performance Made Easier ™ (HPEz) enclosure systems as well as the teams ongoing commitment to develop sustainable and accessible higher performing homes.

 

Photo from Instagram @ passivehouseinstituteus
Photo from Instagram @ passivehouseinstituteus

 

PhiusCon is the leading passive building conference for climate-specific zero energy design, construction, and building science expertise. The conference is presented by parent organization Phius which is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to decarbonizing the built environment by making high-performance passive building the mainstream market standard. Phius also certifies the majority of passive house projects in North America with their locally tailored, globally applicable passive building standard.

 

living room

 

Anthony Venezia  has been spending his weekends this past year building a highly crafted high-performance home in Canandaigua New York. This construction project is designed to be a modern and sustainable home for Anthony and his family and features dark stained Douglas fir timber accents as well as two-tone Shou Sugi Ban exterior siding and white oak flooring & stair treads from our sister company Pioneer Millworks.

Most importantly, the home utilizes our High Performance Made Easier ™ (HPEz) enclosure system which enabled Anthony and Luke to construct the home to the efficiency standards they wanted to achieve with the project. 

Now that the family home is nearing completion, we caught up with Anthony to discuss how the project got started, why he wanted to build sustainably, and what it was like building a home for his family with a high-performance enclosure system that was manufactured off-site.

 

Exterior

 

Q: How did this high-performance construction project get started?

 

HPEz

 

Our HPEz (High Performance Made Easier™) team has been busy in the past year crafting and installing enclosure systems for numerous projects throughout the country. In addition to designing our own High-Performance enclosure systems, on select projects we offer off-site manufacture of panelization systems as a subcontractor.

One of those projects is a Pre-Certified Passive House near Philadelphia PA where our team partnered with Holzraum System to manufacture and install their Holzraum XP20 Wall Systems on a home designed by architect Macht Architecture and built by Hanson Fine Homebuilding. Our team also installed the floor and roof system on site as well, focusing on the intricate panel joining process to ensure the home meets Passive House thermal envelope standards.

 

HPEz

 

“Holzraum System came to us with this project, they did the 3D computer model configurations of the enclosure and other components. Once they had it in architectural drawings, we helped them break it into panel sections for manufacturing in our HPEz shop,” Kevin Gilbert, Construction Superintendent from our team told us.

 

Photos by: Jane Beiles
Photos by: Jane Beiles

 

For one couple in rural Connecticut the concept was to create a multigenerational space to enjoy with their five children, friends, and extended family. Part of a sweeping master plan for their property, this understated antiqued party barn is intended to adapt as the family grows and ages over time.

 

Photos by: Jane Beiles
Photos by: Jane Beiles

 

Architect Mark P. Finlay, who has a long-standing relationship with the family, defined the core concept for this family barn as a multigenerational building with a long-term plan. The current incarnation of the space is that of a party barn where the owners children can spend time with their friends out of the main house while remaining on the family property.

 

Photos by: Jane Beiles
Photos by: Jane Beiles

 

“It’s a multigenerational design.” Explains Mark. “We worked it through and talked about the functions of the building, how it’s going to work, who is going to use it, how it would be used in 20 years versus now. We really talked through the whole thing. It’s part of a three generation, or 50-year, plan. It is a building with a singular design idea that will work really well in the future because it can adapt to a lot of different functions.”

 

On a recent weekend I visited 21 sites in New York from Friday night until Sunday evening.  I was touring with some west coast-based members of our timber framing team.  The goal is sharing, connecting, and learning from recent and ongoing projects as well as some from our long past.  I think I’ll write more about this trip in an upcoming post, as we were all deeply affected, with a Friday night ride on the Buffalo Heritage Carousel and ending with an acapella performance at Christ Church in Rochester and touring the Baroque period organ project there.

 

Buffalo Heritage Tesla
The Buffalo Heritage Carousel | New Energy Works Dana, Jonathan, Kelsey, and Bill riding the carousel in Buffalo
Organ Project
Tuesday Pipes – Organ, Sacred Music, and Historical Keyboards - Eastman School of Music (rochester.edu)

 

The tour left us all pretty stunned.  Even for me, who had been part of these projects.  Seeing it all together like this was magic, if a bit overwhelming.

Towards the end of Sunday, we were at our longtime clients Tom and Karen’s place in the Finger Lakes when Tom said, “Hey our neighbor Larry stopped by and when he heard you were coming was adamant you guys visit him as well.”  Wow, a total warm wind of memory whipped right through.  Larry H.  We built for him in 1988.  And when his name comes up, so do the stories…

 

Partnerships

 

Affectionately referred to as “Trout Point” by the homeowners, the timber framed addition to this family home was built with recreation at heart. Seamlessly integrating with the existing house, the bar and game room is a place where the homeowners and their friends can kick back and relax while enjoying Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. 

Featuring a custom woodworked bar, dart board, wine storage area and integrated shuffleboard court crafted by NEWwoodworks, this space allows for year-round fun with family and friends. The entire project allowed for creative expression in its design and execution with results that the homeowners describe as a dream come true.

Because of the homeowner’s willingness to freely embrace the talents of the design and build teams they assembled for the project; these clients are regarded by everyone who has played a role in the addition as dream clients for creating an atmosphere where creativity could flourish, and partnerships thrived. We caught up with a few of the key players who shared their experience on this most beloved of projects.

 

Partnerships

 

Pavilion Raising

 

Recently we raised a pavilion/carport for Tom Kime and his wife Karen as part of a large-scale renovation project of their property on Seneca Lake in New York. Tom is the president of Lyons National Bank (or LNB), who has worked with New Energy Works on projects large and small for many years. We caught up with Tom & Karen recently to talk about the raising of the pavilion, their remodeling project, community partnerships, working with likeminded folks, and the goodwill a well-made pie can bring to a jobsite.

 

Pavilion Raising

 

The renovation project itself is part of a group of connected family properties the couple enjoy with their adult children and grandchildren. Bringing in contractors with longtime business ties to LNB to work on the property is nothing new for Tom & Karen, they have long believed that close relationships are the key to doing good business and that a sense of community among vendors leads to better results.

“Most everyone we work with are customers of the bank.” Tom says. “We like doing business with people who are customers of ours and that relationship goes both ways.”

 

Pavilion Raising

 

For owners Doug Doetsch and his wife Susan Manning, their roots of apple farming in the Catskills Mountain Region of New York run deep. Doug has apple farming in his blood, tracing his ties to the area back five generations on both sides of his family including apple farms of the 1800’s, through prohibition era bootlegging of hard cider and applejack, to his own childhood growing up on orchards in the area. Apple farming is something of a Doetsch legacy.

 

Seminary Hill

 

After moving away for thirty-or-so years to establish a career in international finance law, Doug returned to his roots and recently founded Seminary Hill, an organic orchard & cidery in Callicoon.

With the help of renowned orchardist Michael Philips and an expansive team of local like-minded folks, the Seminary Hill team started planning the holistic twelve acre orchard in 2012. It now includes more than 1,500 trees with an astonishing 60 varieties of American, English, and French heirloom apples and pears with plans to expand in the coming decade. The orchards ecosystem is based on the sympathetic planting of pollinating and pest-repellent plants and flowers so that the apples and pears can be grown without the use of chemical pesticides. Organic all the way.

 

Seminary Hill

 

Boat only

 

About a year ago, Dave Cratty wrote about a timber frame raising on a remote lakefront job site in the Adirondack Mountains that was only accessible by boat with no roads, no Wi-Fi, and no cell phone service.

 

Boat only

 

Recently we returned to the site in the Adirondack State Park to hand-raise a second structure to complement the first Lake House.

 

Boat only

 

This new main cabin had to fit into the existing footprint of an older structure with a design that was limited by height restrictions. It also had to be completely raised by hand in the off-grid setting. Since there was no way to get heavy equipment to the site, each timber was delivered by barge and offloaded by hand.

 

Boat only

 

Every morning the New Energy Works team would drive an hour from their hotel, boat across the isolated lake to the job site, work until dark, and then make the journey back. As arduous as it sounds, the team loved the remote nature of the work, the commute, and the old-school methods of the timber frame raising.  

 

Jake and Javier
Javier and Jake at the tree, with Randy photo bombing.

 

Our friend Randy is building a new house, or maybe two, as he is planning a little house/big house progression (more on this later). I plan to chronicle Randy’s journey over the next year or so with a small number of posts, starting with this one, the beginning.

Randy’s building a new home because his burned down. Put together a week without electricity (storm damage), a kerosene lantern, a cat named Barnie who jumps up on a table, outstretched hands too late to catch the spill and the house went fast. Randy got out with little but the cat and some clothes. Eventually an insurance settlement and some steel resolve provided his path forward. Not to get ahead of ourselves, but the idea is to first build a tiny home, so he can get out of the dang RV fast, and then build a larger forever home. More on this next post.

Randy tends to think so far out of the box that I often wonder if he even knows the box exists. I wasn’t surprised, then, when he called to say he wanted to cut down one of the trees in his woods by hand, old fashioned, as a symbolic start to his building process. Wouldn’t miss this, says I, so wife Maxine, friend Ari and Luca the dog get into the camper van one Saturday morning not long ago and head to his place for the weekend. We’ll be joined later when son Jake and his friend Javier arrive back from motorcycling in Canada to find they might miss this fun?  No way. Add my friend Bill, Randy’s friend Alex along with his builder Andrew, and we have a party.

For homeowners Ben & Kate and their three young children, the seven-year journey to their forever home just outside Ithaca New York was a long and winding road filled with life lessons, dreams, and joy.

Image removed.

 

“For our entire adult life, my husband and I, we always dreamed about building a house. We just wanted to build a home that we would live in forever that would suit our own needs and come from our own ideas.” Says Kate. “Seven years ago, our dream started to become a reality when we found this plot of land and we really fell in love with it. It was all woods, and we cleared a section of the land, but we needed to save to build our dream home. So, we decided to buy a double wide trailer and live in that, in the corner of the property, while we continued to plan and dream.”

 

Image removed.

 

When the Kate & Ben began this process and took a leap of faith into trailer life seven years ago, their youngest son (who is now 5) hadn’t even been born yet. As the happy family grew and evolved over time, albeit in tight quarters, so did the design of their future dream home.

 

Image removed.

 

We work all over the country, but you already knew that.  And while there is no doubt that it’s great to get back home the night of a raising when it’s local to either our Western New York or McMinnville, Oregon shops, the truth is most of us like to travel, and that we get to do!  

Summer Photos

 

Out here on the West Coast, where I spend most of my time, we’ve had a summer of unreal views and sights (and sites). Someone asked me recently where we’ve been.  Lessee...  Yosemite, Leavenworth, Flathead Lake, Carmel, Lake Lapeer, Michigan…  Wait Michigan?  You bet.  

 

Most of our clients and much of our industry are looking for their timber frames in Douglas fir, so doing these out of our west coast shop makes a lot of sense as we are in the midst of Doug-fir-land here in Oregon.  We also feel strongly that whenever possible our timbers should be kiln dried.  It just makes a better final product.  And yes, we’re in the middle of kiln country as well.

 

So, sending a large set of hammer beam trusses and bents to a beautiful Michigan lake fits.

 

Summer Photos

 

Summer Photos

 

As does Yosemite, where we are returning next week to finish the exterior timbers on the top of this hill.  

RCN Pavilion

 

Rochester Childfirst Network has been serving the children of Rochester New York and the surrounding area since 1857. To provide some context as to how long that has been, the American Civil War began in 1861, four years after R.C.N. began their mission to care for children in Rochester.

Over the years RCN has changed with the needs of the community, beginning as an organization aimed at addressing the dire needs of orphaned, poverty stricken, and homeless children with vocational schooling, which were commonplace issues of the late Victorian age continuing into the industrial revolution. Today the group has transitioned to offering community based early education and care programs on their South Avenue campus in downtown Rochester.

 

Photo of Children
Photo courtesy of Rochester Childfirst Network

 

RCN’s mission centers on not-for-profit advocation at local, state, and national levels for early education and care practices for all children with a guiding vision that every child should grow up safe, strong, and able to achieve their full potential.

 

Children
Photo courtesy of Rochester Childfirst Network

 

One of the best ways to reduce the energy a home or building consumes is careful consideration of the envelope. Our journey to creating the most efficient building enclosure/envelope began in the mid 1990’s with the first version of the Matrix Wall™. We regularly adjust this wall system, incorporating what we’ve learned and what new sustainable materials may be available to reduce consumption and increase comfortable living. In 2017 this journey took us to Poland to learn more about wood fiber insulation from Steico. In 2018 we landed in the Netherlands to explore semi-automated custom tooling. Fast forward (let’s all just skip 2020) to 2021 – welcome to High Performance Made Easier!

Our High-Performance Enclosure System
We’ve incorporated semi-automated tooling from the Netherlands to help create the latest version of our Matrix Wall™. The tooling is set, calibrated, and currently running its first wall system for a timber frame home.

We’ve added a new building with new semi-automated tooling to produce the latest evolution of our Matrix Wall™ systems–we’re calling it HPEz, High-Performance Made Easier–to our campus in Farmington NY. Earlier this month we ran the very first wall panel for calibration and plain old getting-to-know-the-tools practice: 

When Vogue Magazine listed the most anticipated hotel openings for 2020 there was a rumble through our community. The magazine cited properties in Paris, Palm Beach, Palermo and…Canandaigua Lake, a mere 10 miles from our Farmington NY campus–The Lake House, a project we were already intimately familiar with.

 

The Sandbar located in the Canandaigua, NY
We want to help people understand what hospitality truly means. We want to set a new standard of taking hospitality and guest experience to a level never before seen,” shared project manager/developer, Bill Caleo in a Finger Lakes Times article. Bill is co-founder of The Brooklyn Home Company and grandson of Marvin and Micky Sands of Canandaigua Wine Co. and then Constellation Brands.

 

We often say that the land, the building site, teaches us how to design the home. This is simplistic. There are many inputs that are needed to start the design process, including:

Who will live here?

What is their lifestyle?

What are their tastes? Their loves? Their feelings about Home?

What are the needs and have-to-haves?

What is the budget?
 

Waterside view
Unlimited views from every angle of the property

 

 

We’re fortunate to have a variety of landscapes within New York State. Those who are passionate about the outdoors, mountains, lakes, and the accompanying passions of skiing, hiking, water sports, and more, can find a bit of it all “upstate”. The Adirondack Mountains, the Finger Lakes Region, and even Western NY each offer opportunity for these pastimes. Shane and his family found their East Coast calling near Old Forge in the Adirondacks. 
 

exterior
 

Upon purchasing a special plot of land, planning and projects began. Beginning with a garage that included a living space, the family then spruced up the grounds, rebuilt the boathouse, and in the final stage, turned attention to creating the main house. 
 

porch view
A deep wrap-around porch standing on stone pillars dominates one side of the home overlooking a pristine Adirondack lake. Materials and tones match across the property from garage, to boathouse, to house with two-tone brown cedar shakes, Saratoga granite, and timber trusses under gables.

 

Businesses around the country were forced to make significant changes to how they operate in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. When our friends at the Benedictine Brewery called with a need to raise an outdoor pavilion for their customers, we were happy to jump into action.

 One of only three breweries in the United States owned and operated by monks, the Benedictine brewery raising in 2017 was a community effort and one that we will always remember.  You can catch up on that story and watch a video of 100 folks hoisting the frame here: (https://newenergyworks.com/blog/a-community-raising-the-benedictine-brewery-mt-angel-oregon)

Benedictine Brewery

 

Benedictine Brewery

Designed to mimic the original brewery and taproom with their close to 14,000 board feet of Douglas fir, we created the structure of the pavilion with matching embellishments, using chamfered edges and a clear, natural finish to the wood.  Just as the original raising started in 2017, the Douglas fir timbers quickly defined the shape of the pavilion and now serve as a way for the brewery to continue serving as a welcoming way for the community to gather, taste, and believe.

Design project

 

This particular design project utilizes six salvaged trusses that were reclaimed from a church demolition and serve as the bones for the “A” frame shape of the 17/12 pitched roof.  Our architects sketched the trusses in such a way that the two areas created a twin main volume, connected by a glass breezeway.

Taking inspiration from modern design aesthetics, we incorporated steel and strapping on the reclaimed trusses to accentuate the existing hardware and character of the wood.  Each volume was then treated with a different finish material in order to provide a visual delineation.

This 3,600 Square foot design offers a split floorplan with the great-room, kitchen and accompanying loft on one side, while the bedrooms occupy the other.

 

Guest Author: New Energy Works, Dave Cratty

We all have those dreams of wanting to leave it all behind and live off the grid.  Find a place in the Adirondack mountains, on a remote lake, and just surround yourself with nature and the outdoors.  The question is, how do you deliver and raise a beautiful timber frame lake house to a location that no roads have touched?  The answer, by boat.  

external shot

 

Our New Energy Works timber frame crew spent seven tireless days, traveling back and forth by barge to deliver, off load and raise by hand, this beautiful 1361 square foot bungalow.  The homeowner’s plan to utilize this location in the warmer seasonal months, created a unique opportunity to use a 3x tongue and groove design for the walls, while every door frame and window were outlined with timber.  The layout offered an open floor plan and offering visitors an unobstructed views of the private lake from this cozy, secluded cabin.

Timber Frame In the Adirondacks--The View

 

Timber Frame In the Adirondacks

 

Tucked into Puget Sound in Washington, this site allows the homeowners to feed their passions: boating, family time, and entertaining. Easy access for boats and creating spaces large enough to house large family and friends gatherings drove the design, secondary only to the desire for a “refined lodge” aesthetic.

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Known as a full timber frame, the entirety of the home and garage were crafted with timbers, specifically reclaimed Douglas fir timbers. When plans began, the design was quite traditional. “The more we looked at the site and the possible views, the more it transitioned, evolved,” explained David Shirley, AIA, member of our design team. “We angled the house in a soft arc of sorts which maximized views of the Sound as well as those of the Cascade Mountain range in the distance.” This change capitalized on the views and the natural wrap of the land.

No, it is not built into an earthen bank, rather this traditionally inspired timber frame ‘barn’ has had a financial bank built into it. Welcome to the newest branch of LNB (Lyons National Bank):

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Waving corn fields and tight rows of soybeans have given way to smooth grass, colorful signage, and numerous clusters of homes within the Town of Farmington in Ontario County, NY. Grow though the Town has, respecting and celebrating their rural roots is of utmost importance to the community. When LNB approached the Town about a site that was home to the second oldest structure in the County, a farmhouse that has stood for two centuries, there was some skepticism. But at the core LNB is about community. The Town became excited by the bank’s proposal: LNB wanted to embrace the old homestead, the Hathaway House, endeavoring to preserve, celebrate, and open it to the community as part of their new branch. 
(More on the history of the home and property was provided by the Hathaway Sisters, who shared stories, photos, and personal memories around the old homestead, as celebrated by LNB here.)   
 

The Canalside waterfront entertainment district in Buffalo NY, a popular destination for locals and visitors, will add another attraction this summer: a fully restored 1920’s carousel! The carousel will be housed within a gazebo-inspired timber frame pavilion with glass walls.

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“The timber frame is an 80’ octagon with a clerestory. A 1500 lb steel octagon ring in the center will allow timber rafters to connect and light to come down from the clerestory,” explains Owen MacDonald, our lead timber frame engineer for the carousel. “We’ll have plenty of equipment for the raising: a large scissor lift, all-terrain forklift, two large cranes…and lots of muscle.”

We’re excited share more of the story on our long-time banking partner, LNB (Lyons National Bank), and their newest community branch which we raised just up the road from our Farmington, NY shop.

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The first bent is raised for the new LNB Farmington NY branch, early 2020. Photo (C) Jim Kerins.

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While the branch is quickly heading towards completion, we wanted to re-cap some of the processes involved in getting there:

LNB has a focus on people and is always very involved in the local communities, ethos that parallel our own. The Farmington branch site includes a historic home that is being preserved and refreshed. A new timber frame, connecting to the historic home, will accommodate the bank’s main operations.

The March 24th 2020 raising date is quickly approaching for the Lyons National Bank – Farmington NY branch. Our craftsmen are putting finishing touches on the timbers for the barn-inspired timber frame bank:

 

One finishing touch to the LNB timber frame includes a custom carving, commemorating the year the project will be raised, applied by the skilled hands of Jake, one of our long-time craftsmen and project champion.
One finishing touch to the LNB timber frame includes a custom carving, commemorating the year the project will be raised, applied by the skilled hands of Jake, one of our long-time craftsmen and project champion.

 

Andy (below) was explaining–to the camera–the layout process which includes double-checking length, joinery, coding, and more, plus applying notes for all the hand touches that happen to each timber in the frame.

 

Some of our craftsmen have been on camera while working on the LNB frame. More to come on this fun happening!
Some of our craftsmen have been on camera while working on the LNB frame. More to come on this fun happening!

 

5,000 feet above elevation, a 5-month build window, US Forest Service rules controlling everything from color to shape to size to the anthropology of the site…This project required extraordinary planning, prefabrication, and architect/builder/client coordination. The cabin is located on Odell Lake which sits atop the Cascade Mountains of South-Central Oregon, God’s country by all of our definitions. Dan Hill, architect and co-founder of Arbor South Architecture the design & build group that spearheaded this west coast cabin project, provided more of the story in a guest post below: 

 

Photo (c) Loren Nelson Photography.
Photo (c) Loren Nelson Photography.

 

Daniel Hill, founder, architect, and certified master builder: Arbor South Architecture in Eugene OR. Pictured with canine companion, Willow.
Daniel Hill, founder, architect, and certified master builder: Arbor South Architecture in Eugene OR. Pictured with canine companion, Willow.

 

The site is located on the west side of Odell Lake in the beautiful Cascade Mountain Range in an area with small, early to mid-century cabins under land leases by the US Forest Service. Our client had purchased the cabin and land lease with the intention of remodeling the existing 1940’s cabin. It became clear that the old structure had too many issues–including extensive mold (sick house), no perimeter foundation, multiple structural, electrical, and plumbing problems–to salvage or remodel.

 

State College, PA: Homeowners Jim and Cheryl came to us with a dream home request: design and craft a home for two which could also easily accommodate much larger gatherings with family and friends. The resulting simple and classic cruciform plan for their hybrid timber frame home fits the couple while incorporating space—inside and out—for others.

a

Jim and Cheryl, their children, and their friends attended the same university near State College in PA where game season is a great reason to join together. The couple found a site nestled at the base of a long rise to the mountains on one side, and open to expansive views into Nittney Valley on the other. “We wanted to take advantage of the views and offer additional space for intensive entertaining to flow outside,” explained Ty Allen, our design/build manager. “The result is nearly 2,000 sq ft of outdoor deck, porch, and patio space in addition to interior living areas.”

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Screen porches and a terrace for grilling connect to the fire pit stone patio area which in turn is tied back to the rec area with connecting landscaping. The lower level of the home offers guest and rec space with overflow sleeping ready in the bunk house over the garage. Photo (C) Scott Hemenway

Designing a home, timber frame or other, is a very personal endeavor full of desires, questions, needs, and dreams. Through communication and concentrated craftsmanship, a physical form is developed, a shelter that will be “home”, hopefully for generations to come. Each custom project brings our team new experiences from overall site planning to materials and finishes. This month finds us in close connection with a couple who are looking for a relaxed and secluded single-level home for their land in central New York. Diana, one of our design team members, created a fly-through tour of the home and adjacent barn renderings:

Above: Architectural design software helps our teams produce images and videos with textures and color which help homeowners ‘experience’ their plans in a more realistic 3D perspective.

 

The fly-through begins with a view of the entry side of the home and barn/garage to the right. As the approach begins, exterior materials take form: cedar shakes and stone cladding on the home and board & batten with cedar accents on the barn. Turning to the right, we enter the end of the barn/garage into the “man cave”. This auxiliary space is high and open with the steeply sloped ceiling that will be supported by custom bow-string trusses. Reclaimed Oak will flow from the back wall across the ceiling, emphasizing the open height and contrasting with the deep-toned trusses.

Perhaps our most passionate filter, everything we do is based on the premise that we have but one earth, and it needs us to do better. In a sweet bit of coincidence, this also means that the house we build is more comfortable for you: There are fewer drafts, less outside noise, a more responsive heating and cooling system, and cleaner indoor air quality. The utility bill is less, as well.

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HPE layered wall system.

 

We have pre-panelized our energy-efficient wall system, the Matrix Wall, since 1993, and have been involved with over 2,000,000 square feet of structural insulated panels (SIPs). The combination of wall and roof components create our HPE (High-Performance Enclosure System). While recent improvements to the nationally recognized Residential Energy Code for new construction are exciting, these traditional energy requirements have always been inadequate, and continue to be so. In the last half dozen years we’ve seen the interest in thoughtful energy design skyrocket among our clients. We’re thrilled!

This renewed interest, in combination with new understanding and technologies in off-site pre-construction, suggests our enclosure practices have been spot on. 2020 will see a substantial evolution of our HPE efforts through the addition of a new line of European semi-automated wall and floor building equipment.

This video showcases the framing line:

 

When we “semi-automate” our processes, we’re not eliminating jobs, we’re doing better work more efficiently while allowing our coworkers to work longer into their career and be safer as they do so. By increasing the amount of off-site pre-panelization we can do, our goal is to bring our quality and expertise on energy and resource efficiencies to more homes, to more builders, making High Performance Easier. We code name this effort HPEz. Here are some of the wins we see:

• Less Labor—Using more automation, reduces overall and on-site labor.

Quality design is the thread that weaves through all we do, beginning with architectural plans. Whether you are the designer or architect, or you come to us with a professional design, or you hire us to design your project, it all starts here.

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The focus of our design efforts has many branches including: efficiency–both in energy and how the home functions for the family–comfort, durability, and future needs. “A home should inspire a better way for us to live,” shares Ty Allen, AIA, our design/build manager. “It should respond to your needs today and also stir us to live better, to do better tomorrow.”

 

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“A home should respond to your needs today and also stir us to live better, to do better tomorrow.” Photo (c) Loren Nelson.

 

We find designing shelter in this way is both a challenging and an exhilarating process. Ty: “When we begin the design process we ask a lot of questions and we do a lot of listening. It is important for us to get to know our clients. Who they are; how they think; the patterns of their daily lives; the subtleties of how they live. We want to understand their vision, and how they envision themselves living in their new home.”

With this understanding, we become an extension of them throughout the process of designing and building their home so that in the end, they have a home that simply fits.

From tree to canal lock to restaurant: In a historic timber reclamation and upcycling story, 500-year-old timbers enter their fourth life (or third use) at Point of the Bluff Vineyards in the Finger Lakes Region of NY:

 

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In the late 90’s our sister company, Pioneer Millworks, salvaged massive, 37″ x 42″ x 48′ Douglas fir timbers from one of the Welland Canal locks in Ontario, Canada. The trees culled for the timbers were 400+ years old when they were harvested and served the canal for nearly 60 years.

From the beginning–a bit history of on the heavy timbers:

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37″ x 42″ x 48′ Douglas fir timbers from the Welland Canal Lock. The trees were at least 400 years old when they were harvested in the early 1900’s. 

The falls and rapids of the Niagara River presented a major obstacle for an uninterrupted waterway from the Atlantic Ocean to the American heartland. To circumvent the river, the Welland Canal, with eight large locks, was built. Initiated by local businessmen, the first canal was built in 1829. The present-day Welland Canal is the fourth to be constructed. The difference of 99.5 m (326.5 feet) between the levels of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie is now overcome with 43.4 km (27 miles) of canal.

 

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The finishing touches are complete! This timber frame lake home in the Finger Lakes started with our design team and wrapped up with our build team over the Summer:

 

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New Energy Works (NEW) has done a phenomenal job for our family from the design concept to the finished lake house. In the very beginning, the team made a point to learn what was important to us and what we envisioned. Throughout the process, NEW made sure those things that were important to us were their focus.” – Jim and Tina, homeowners.

 

The home has quickly become the hub of family gatherings for multiple generations. Open in a 180-degree expanse, on a point locally known as Allen’s Point, our design group explained that the home’s layout is intended to make the most of the sweeping lake views.

Located on a point, expansive lake views can be enjoyed from nearly every space within this home. Our teams are always thinking efficiency–this home includes our High-Performance Enclosure system and high-efficiency mechanicals. Photo (c) Scott Hemenway.

Located on a point, expansive lake views can be enjoyed from nearly every space within this home. Our teams are always thinking efficiency–this home includes our High-Performance Enclosure system and high-efficiency mechanicals. Photo (c) Scott Hemenway.

When we met Nancy and Larry to first chat about their timber frame home aspirations, we learned that Larry is a beekeeper and suddenly we were as full of questions about beekeeping as we were with answers to home designing and building. The couple shares a special affinity for nature, much like our various teams (if you’ve ever read our bios, you’ll see a reoccurring theme of ‘hiking, biking, and being outdoors’). Taking a look at the bucolic piece of farm and woodlands near Ithaca, NY was one of the first steps to designing the couple’s home. Ty Allen, AIA, our design build manager and architect, met with Larry and Nancy on their site to explore the possibilities. Ty shared with us a bit about the overall project and process:

 

Ty explained that the site offered a good combination of open space and mature woods. There was a desire to embrace both with this custom home.
Ty explained that the site offered a good combination of open space and mature woods. There was a desire to embrace both with this custom home.

“When we walked the site it became clear we could create a design that would give Larry and Nancy a home which engaged with both the surrounding woods and open spaces. We knew they wanted something of manageable size and easy to maintain where they could enjoy their retirement,” Ty shared.

Recently we did a project with Black Oak Builders and Barry Price Architecture in Saugerties, NY. Interestingly for us, the majority of the project was not timber frame (though they do have a sweet little timber piece off the side of the garage that may someday house a small maple sugaring operation). No, in this case Black Oak Builders reached out to us to partner on the enclosure system for three additions to this 1800’s home; a master bedroom suite, an office/bedroom wing, and a two-story garage.

 

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Our goal with High Performance Enclosures (HPE) is simple—to help builders achieve better building performance for their clients and to make the projects go as smoothly as possible. With our knowledge in systems building (from years in timber framing, as well as construction experience in our Finger Lakes backyard) we can bring the nuances of off-site construction to enclosure building and pre-panelization to those looking for custom solutions. Our construction team built 66 panels in about 2 weeks and headed out in a snowstorm to install the them in January. This off-site minimizes the time needed on-site, saving projects weeks and speeding up the deliverable of a finished space to a client.

The owners of this timber frame lakeside retreat enjoyed the original lake farmhouse on the site for many years. When it became apparent that their beloved lake house had outlived its use, they made the bittersweet decision to deconstruct it in favor of a new home.

 

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The land, the lake, and home’s impact there was a driving force in the design. Our design team started with respecting the local vernacular and maintaining existing trees and then included advanced enclosure and mechanical systems, FSC-certified® and reclaimed wood flooring and siding, roofing made of recycled wood fiber and rubber, and a geothermal heat system—all resulting in energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact.

 

In keeping with local vernacular, the road side facia of this cottage home is modest and welcoming.

In keeping with local vernacular, the road side facia of this cottage home is modest and welcoming.

The broad stroke design of this home harkens to sap houses and agricultural structures of the Northeast and the flare of mountain homes for a balance of rugged and modern aesthetics. Forms evoke the traditional, such as the clerestory and the cylindrical stair tower but are tempered within via the non-traditional great room space and helical, modern stairs.

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Transom windows express the Northeast vibe but are combined with big expanses of glass reminiscent of western mountain homes.
Transom windows express the Northeast vibe but are combined with big expanses of glass reminiscent of western mountain homes.

 

“Often I find the most beautiful designs are when you can see the function of a structure. I enjoy thinking of a balance of the purpose of a structure and function, and how the builders achieve that goal,” shared Shannon, homeowner of the Circle in a Square project. “I enjoy seeing the inner workings of things. That’s why I love timber frame structures. Take a home and its many reasons for being; there is an endless way of accomplishing the goal. You need a roof and walls and other parts and ways for them to be held up and attached. The timber frame is probably one of the most unique ways of showing how that can be done.”

 

Project enclosure systems are one of the biggest areas to benefit from high-performance building techniques, and there are several options: SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) and our Matrix & Matrix-S Wall system, to name a few. As we push for better envelopes and efficiencies with every project, we’re applying decades of experience in creating turnkey timber frame structures to crafting prefabricated wall systems.

 

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“When you buy a car, no one shows up at your house with all the parts and builds your new car in your driveway, right? So why build walls on-site?” asked Eric, our Timber Frame General Manager.

 

A project’s design is further developed in building modeling software where potential problems can be identified and solved immediately, prior to fabrication and prior to being on-site. Redundancy assures accuracy: we believe in building it twice—virtually then actually. Creating these systems off-site allows for a climate-controlled environment, reduction in material waste during construction (off-site and on-site), and increases the efficiency/speed of site production. All while minimizing our coworkers’ time out of town.

 

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From Jonathan:

For years I’ve resisted writing this post. It can come off as very self-serving. Please don’t let it. Instead, I’ll attempt to be as neutral-valued as I can, and share some of my 30-year history, and perhaps just a tad of the experiences, and sometimes frustrating stories, our clients have shared…and some that I have witnessed.

The timber frame industry has a great many good people in it, associated with it, and as I’ve often said, many of the coolest clients I can imagine. So first, think about a timber framer who is involved with the Timber Framers Guild. At our Guild conferences and our meet-ups, in the committee work we do, in the publications we create, two important things occur: we learn, and are better professionals because of it; we share, and our craft is better for it. In both cases you win.

Author, Jonathan Orpin: founder and president of New Energy Works and Pioneer Millworks; board member and past president of the Timber Framers Guild, enjoys some time on the water.
Author, Jonathan Orpin: founder and president of New Energy Works and Pioneer Millworks; board member and past president of the Timber Framers Guild, enjoys some time on the water.

 

Photo courtesy of the Timber Framers Guild.
Photo courtesy of the Timber Framers Guild.

 

And when you ask, “Is your company a member?” be sure to dig just bit deeper. Do you attend the conferences? Do you send your shop folk and your designers? Do you give, as well as receive?

 

Thanks, Phil and Rocio. Little did you know how perfect your timing was when you came to us and asked for a “small but perfect home”. Fertile ground indeed, and our minds raced with the many thoughts about working on something like a precious gem, or what we called a NEW Jewel. The project is completed and officially “home” to Phil and Rocio, who continue to generously share their Jewel and their words:
Phil and Rocio along with pups Luca and Sherlock enjoy a moment on the porch of their nearly completed NEW Jewel.
Phil and Rocio along with pups Luca and Sherlock enjoy a moment on the porch of their nearly completed NEW Jewel.

 

“Jonathan, et al…

As I write out the final check for Invoice #9, it seems the right moment to pen a note of appreciation for the bundle of work, energy, and creativity that we currently reside in. It is not lost on us for a moment that we discovered NEW at a moment in time that was just right for everyone; Rocio stumbled onto your website looking for a builder of ‘barn homes’ and was immediately captured by the concepts and pics displayed. Everything seemed to line up:  small house, close to shop, (relatively) simple design, similar vision, seasonal timing, etc. to enable you all to pull off an amazing, wonderful, beautiful, efficient, stunning, one-of-a-kind home for us.

It is quite difficult to express the deep sense of gratitude we feel towards everyone that contributed to the Jewel…many of which I don’t have the ability to send this to, or even be able to name. The artistic, creative flair combined with real-life practicality is a major component of our place we will love for many years to come.

Please pass on our thanks to everyone that was involved. We look forward to visits from any and all as time goes by.

Sincerely,

Phil and Rocio

Dayton, Oregon”

 

Much of our design and construction planning focuses on reducing the energy our projects consume, not only to the benefit of those enjoying the home, but to the larger community and the planet. One of the best ways to influence this: special consideration, planning, and detailing of wall and roof systems (aka: the project’s envelope). I chatted with Ty Allen AIA, our design-build manager, who took us a bit deeper our current innovations and processes with our home enclosures:

 

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Ty (left) discusses plans on the job site with a few other members of the design/build team.
Ty (left) discusses plans on the job site with a few other members of the design/build team.

 

Megan: Thanks for walking through this, Ty. I’m curious, what do you think are the key things to consider when you are designing the building envelope for a high-performance home?

Ty: Air leakage is one of the biggest areas of energy and efficiency loss. Think of it this way; you can have as much insulation you want, but if you leave the front door open, it doesn’t matter. Add up all of the thousands of potential points of air leakage, and it can quickly turn into a big energy and efficiency loss.

Generally, when we think about envelope design, one of the most fundamental things we want to do is define the pressure boundary. In other words, the line throughout the building in the wall-makeup where you’re creating airtightness. If there’s a break in the pressure boundary, say cold air leaking through the floor system into the living room, performance is lost.

 

After using Cross Laminated Timbers (CLTs) from KLH to form our fine woodworking shop we were excited to incorporate the big wooden panels into other projects. We’re working again with the CLT manufacturing, design, and engineering teams at KLH, this time to raise a complete CLT home in Scappoose, Oregon.

Our team has been raising/joining the CLTs this week. Here’s an animation of the planned process:

 

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And a few current progress photos from the craftsmen on site:

 

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Onlookers huddled in their coats and chatted excitedly on a cool breezy day in upstate New York while our craftsmen raised the frame for Jim and Tina’s home on Cayuga Lake. Multiple generations of the family were joined by a few guests at the site. Seeing the timbers come together and their home take shape brought plenty of smiles from Jim, Tina, their children, and grandchildren.

 

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While there are very few flat build sites available around the Finger Lakes these days, the couple found a special spot on Cayuga Lake that is not only flat but includes a point, known locally as Allen’s Point. Open in a 180-degree expanse, our design group explained that the home’s layout is intended to make the most of the sweeping north, west, and south lake views. With plans calling for a modified “L” shape, the position of the home on the site collects those views as well as links together the north beach side with the south boat dock side of the property. (It also allows private spaces to reside in the long straight of the “L”, separate from the open public spaces.)

 

 

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With the foundation in and first-floor framing in place, it was time to put the frame up. Raising days are momentous occasions, a culmination of years of dreaming and planning. We’re always glad to join these significant days as the excitement is infectious and there’s nothing quite like going from an open site to a full frame in the span of a day or two.

 

We’re excited to be working with Jim and Tina to create their family heirloom home in the Finger Lakes. While there are very few flat build sites available around the Finger Lakes these days, the couple found a special spot on Cayuga Lake in New York that is not only flat, but includes a point, known locally as Allen’s Point.

 

Views all around! Our build team has been enjoying the lake while completing the foundation and floor framing for the Allen’s Point home. They’ll continue readying the project for the timber frame raising taking place later this month.
Views all around! Our build team has been enjoying the lake while completing the foundation and floor framing for the Allen’s Point home. They’ll continue readying the project for the timber frame raising taking place later this month.

 

The home design took special focus on entertaining, employing a modified “L” shape for the home that allows private spaces to reside in the long straight of the “L”, separate from the open public spaces. At around 5,000 sq ft the plans include bunk rooms over the garage, two guest rooms, one master suite, and one guest suite meant to comfortably accommodate many.

 

As progress continues we’ll talk with our design group about other features such as a stone wall connecting the north and south ends of the home/property, a huge 2′ threshold into the entertainment areas, deliberate routes in and out of the home to the lake, and a continuous wrap-around porch. Before we get to that, we need to raise the frame!

On one of our typical cool, rainy, and windy Autumn days in upstate New York, I had the chance to chat with Laurie who was enjoying some sun and warmth down in Texas. We worked with Laurie and her husband Dan for over a year designing, building, and completing their multi-generational lakeside retreat home in nearby Canandaigua, NY. I asked Laurie if she would share her take on what it was like to build and decorate a custom timber frame home. Her enthusiasm was infectious and I know I spent much of our conversation nodding and smiling. Here’s what she shared:

 

“It’s a destination, a resort for the whole family. With NEW’s help we built the forever home in New York. The meaningful pieces are already there and we hope to pass it on to the next generation. To keep it in the family for decades.” –Homeowner, Laurie
“It’s a destination, a resort for the whole family. With NEW’s help we built the forever home in New York. The meaningful pieces are already there and we hope to pass it on to the next generation. To keep it in the family for decades.” –Homeowner, Laurie

 

Laurie and Dan (left) captured images as the frame came together for their lake home.
Laurie and Dan (left) captured images as the frame came together for their lake home.

 

Megan: So much is about the build site. Why Canandaigua? 

Thank you to all who joined the celebration of the opening of our CLT building, the first complete CLT in New York State. While cutting a ribbon is as common as champagne for celebrations of this sort, we opted to go with something a bit more “us”. Surrounded by a crowd of co-workers and fans, our fearless leader, Jonathan, wielded a chain saw to cut a timber at the main entry. See the sawdust fly in our symbolic opening:

 

 

It has been quite a ride involving nearly every coworker to create this building. We’re excited to have our fine woodworkers of NEWwoodworks settling in and sharing their craft with us daily. Our sister company, Pioneer Millworks, is enjoying smooth shipping and receiving from their new storage space at the back of the building. We’re anxious to experience the performance of this structure over the typically bitter New York winter. We have high expectations from the combination of CLTs, timber frame, and wood fiber (out-sulation).

If you’d like to see the opening ceremony event in its entirety check below. And for other vids of our adventures check out our YouTube page.

 

 

From catastrophe came opportunity: Come help us celebrate as we officially open our Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) building!

 

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After the devastating collapse of half of our fine woodworking division’s WWII era shop in February 2015, we regrouped and put our heads together on how to move forward. Following our ethos of the Triple Bottom Line (people, planet, and profit), it became our goal to design and re-build with new-to-New-York environmentally savvy and energy efficient materials. The result: the first complete Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) building in New York State.

 

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The extensive remodel of a well-loved 1980’s family home is complete. An overhaul of exterior materials and addition of spaces updated and reinvigorated the home aesthetically and functionally. 

 

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What began this timber revolution? The timber frame boat shelter, a favorite and iconic part of this effort.

 

The boat shelter that started it all!
The boat shelter that started it all!

 

As viewed from the new porch on the main home.
As viewed from the new porch on the main home.

 

A new garage and breezeway made strides toward accessible living while a refreshed porte cochere showcases what we affectionately call our “everything” truss for this remodeled home.

 

Thanks, Phil and Rocio. Little did you know how perfect your timing was when you came to us and asked for a “small but perfect home”. Fertile ground indeed, and my mind raced with the many recent thoughts about working on something like a precious gem, or what we’re calling a NEW Jewel.

So many of our clients now are building smaller homes because they simply don’t need a bigger one. Seems smart for many reasons: less vacuuming, less heating and cooling, less taxes. And for many, less strain on the finances as we get to the point where retirement shines bright and hopeful.

 

Phil and Rocio with their new Aussie pup Sherlock.
Phil and Rocio with their new Aussie pup Sherlock.

 

I’ve closely followed the whole Tiny House thing, and a few of my friends have been drawn to it. There’s plenty about it on the web, but simply put they’re tightly designed and crafted homes of 200-400 square feet, often built on a chassis and wheels. Cool idea, but hard to live in for most, I’d reckon. For the jewel of a home in my own mind, I wanted to start with 1,000 square feet. Enough room for a pleasant common area, a couple of away rooms for bed and work, a couple of bathrooms and yes to a mudroom and pantry. (For Phil and Rocio’s, we ended up with 1,140 square feet.) 

 

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Enclosure, mechanicals, and moving in. What’s the latest with our CLT build?

We began raising the first complete Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) building in New York State on our main campus in Farmington, NY in late January 2017. A combination of mass timber, heavy timber, and CLTs, the 21,000 sq ft building will house our fine woodworking division, NEWwoodworks, and offer a bit of storage/shipping for our sister company, Pioneer Millworks. Progress since May has included:

Wood fiber installation, another product which is new to the US. Also referred to as “out-sulation” since it is installed on the outside of projects, the Wood Fiber panels offer 3.5R per inch, are FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified, and are a carbon sink – for each 1 m3 used, up to 1 tonne of CO2 is bound within the product. Made by Steico, we found this product installed with a fair amount of ease and is performing well.

 

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The custom CNC cut corner tree received a coat of stain and is now sheltered behind glass.

 

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When we last visited Dan & Laurie’s project on Canandaigua Lake, Pete, one of our design group architects and the design leader for the home, walked us through the site planning. I nabbed Pete again, this time to take a look inside the project at the design considerations for creating the layout and formal floor plans.

 

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Just like last time, Pete made a quick inquiry about little orange fish crackers. I had to let him down softly; I had nothing. Looking disappointed for a beat, he moved on reminding me that Dan & Laurie’s site overlooked the lake and came with strict site constraints (not uncommon to building near water) including height restrictions, erosion/sediment concerns, setbacks, and more. He explained that the constraints drove the overall siting of the house and garage, but there were still the interior spaces (and floor plan) to negotiate.

“Dan and Laurie’s project is meant to be a multi-generational home that will act as a central gathering spot for family and friends. Overall the home has an open floor plan with the public spaces centralized on both the main and lower levels which can easily accommodate larger gatherings. Balancing that are private spaces on the ends of the home which allow folks the opportunity to enjoy their quiet space or step inwards to join the party.”

 

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In our experience, homes are most successful when they adapt, age, and grow with their inhabitants. It’s always pleasing when we can plan ahead for changes, such as transitioning a weekend vacation space to full-time home. Hank and Julie have given us such an opportunity. The couple has a delightful build site in Vermont and enlisted our team to design their vacation home, which will eventually become their full-time retirement retreat.

Sublime views between ski areas to the north and south guided the overall home orientation, and specifically the great room layout, for Hank and Julie’s project.

 

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Careful consideration was also given to the traditional Vermont farmhouse vernacular. The design acknowledges this aesthetic with a main gable roofline that intersects with an asymmetrical salt box gable roofline. It incorporates the couple’s desire for mountain-rustic style with mixed exterior materials and subtle timber elements. The corner of the home’s “L” shaped layout is defined with a stair tower that has evenly stacked windows and will feature shou sugi ban siding.

 

The stair tower anchors the corner of the home’s “L” shaped layout.
The stair tower anchors the corner of the home’s “L” shaped layout.

 

With a combination of woodlands and open agricultural space, the site will allow the home to be set partially within the trees at the end of a curving drive through open land. A banked garage is angled into the hillside, giving the front of the home a modest street-side facade.

 

The final (final!) Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) panels have been installed on our CLT project. Forming the front corner of the building these panels represent a piece of the flexibility of building with solid wood panels and speak to our passion for planet, forest, tree, and wood.

 

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Our fine woodworking division, NEWwoodworks, used ingenuity, software, and CNC tooling to draw, layout, and cut the “tree” design. Our timber frame and construction teams, including Jason, Kevin, and Jim, installed the panels on a chilly Monday morning. Roofing and final enclosure, including wood fiber insulation, are underway.

 

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Read more about this build, the First Complete Cross Laminated Timber Project in New York State, in a previous blog post.

We began raising the first complete Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) building in New York State on our main campus in Farmington, NY in late January 2017. A combination of mass timber, heavy timber, and CLTs, the 21,000 sq ft building will house our fine woodworking division, NEWwoodworks, and offer a bit of storage/shipping for our sister company, Pioneer Millworks. CLT construction is an economically and environmentally conscious alternative to steel and concrete construction, a material that is new to the U.S. building industry.

Many thanks to Adjusters International BLC. When our roof collapsed their team was unfaltering. They were there to explain the insurance policy, help the process along, and get us what we needed.

UPDATE: May 2017 – nearing completion:

 

Photo (C) Scott Hemenway
Photo (C) Scott Hemenway

 

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Photo (C) Scott Hemenway
Photo (C) Scott Hemenway

 

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The challenge was set: take a well-loved 1980’s family home and transform both aesthetics and functionality. Our design and build teams embraced the challenge with gusto. Ty Allen, head of our Design/Build groups and our in-house Architect, gave us the cliff notes.

 

During the first site visit Ty and team captured this image of the home’s roadside facade.
During the first site visit Ty and team captured this image of the home’s roadside facade.

 

The homeowners built their family lake home over 25 years ago. They raised their children and made countless memories. Yet, the 1980’s contemporary design was no longer meeting all of their needs and had become dated in style. We were building a new timber frame home on a neighboring lake and we’re told that project was part of the inspiration for couple to join our community and incorporate timber framing into their lives.

Ty explained, “I think 80’s contemporary homes are the best type of existing home to transform. They are often a clean slate with open volumes and simple details.” Remodeling requires balance – the changes for this home would be bold. “We wanted to respect the integrity of the existing home, using what was already existing as a springboard to modernizing how the home looks, feels, and works.”

 

The original roadside facade (above) and with updates (below).
The original roadside facade (above) and with updates (below).

 

“I’ll give you the whole story if you share those with me.” I glanced at the white box with orange fish dancing across the outside. Crackers for information, the deal of the day. With a smile I handed the box over to Pete, one of our design group architects and the design leader on our current Canandaigua Lake general contracting project.

 

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“So Megan,” Pete began in his usual serious-but-joking-and-easygoing manner, “You want to know about the Canandaigua Family Retreat? Well, Dan & Laurie have been looking for the right site for about three years now. They gave us a call and asked if we’d come check out the spot they’d found. They felt really good about it, but wanted our take, which I thought was pretty cool. I like being involved from the beginning, especially because I had a good idea of what they wanted their project encompass.”

 

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“Had their three year search reached an end?” I asked as the crackers disappeared with unnatural speed.

“It had,” he confirmed. “We knew our design plans would be influenced by stringent site constraints associated with being near the water (height restrictions, erosion/sediment concerns, set-backs, etc) and the nature of the narrow, deeply sloping land. But it was perfect for Dan & Laurie’s home.”

 

Timber Home Living magazine documented the Olsen’s journey to building their family retreat in the Berkshires from 2014 to completion in 2016. What happens during a custom home building project? Starting with our design team join the story from the Olsen’s point of view as we craft the timber frame, enclosure, and custom woodworking. Click through each part of the eight part series below to get the inside scoop.

The Olsen’s story, and the Welcome Home Series, begins with the land…

 

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Part 1From Dream to Design
The Olsen’s begin designing their dream home on land they’d been spending vacation time visiting for 10 years. Harmony with the land and the family was a must.

 

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Part 2: Laying The Groundwork
Breaking ground – an exciting day, especially with a few last minute modifications.

 

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Part 3: Built to Last
Our team raises the frame and the Olsen family watches their dream home take shape.

 

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“I definitely think we designed the right size house with the perfect layout. The house lives on the land and captures views. We’re so happy we decided to build this house and we’re so happy we decided to work with New Energy Works.” – Greg Olsen.

We can’t thank Greg enough for his kind words, but we can try! Many, many thanks to Greg and Dee for working with us and becoming part of our community. Designing, raising, enclosing, and completing the fine woodworking for their home was truly a pleasure. Please enjoy this final article by Timber Home Living magazine of the Olsen’s retreat home journey. (And if you missed the others, click here.)

 

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We’re excited to announce that we’re building the first complete Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) building in New York State on our campus in Farmington, New York. Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) construction is an economically and environmentally conscious alternative to steel and concrete construction. The new building will house or fine woodworking division, NEWwoodworks, and offer storage/shipping space for our sister company Pioneer Millworks.

 

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“We’re extremely excited to bring this alternative building method to New York State. We see CLTs as the wave of the future and are investing in our Western New York campus to better position the region and our industry to ride the wave,” states Jonathan, our Founder and President. “The opportunities with CLTs are abundant for businesses and housing and offer dramatic environmental benefits. Wood is a naturally occurring and renewable resource which stores carbon. It has proved time and again to preform as well, and at times better than, carbon heavy steel and concrete.”

 

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CLTs are large wooden panels, typically consisting of 3, 5, or 7 layers of dimensional lumber, oriented at right angles, glued together. This results in exceptional strength, dimensional stability, and rigidity. The pre-fabricated wall, floor, and roof panels can be installed quickly with little job-site waste. European countries have been utilizing the panels for multi-story buildings with great structural, financial, and environmental success.

 

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Timber Home Living magazine continues coverage of the Olsen family home, a reclaimed timber frame raised in 2014. The Olsen’s are nearly complete with their timber frame retreat home near the Berkshires. They’ve combined a mixture of materials and custom fine woodworking for a striking and modern tone. Read more:

 

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Timber Home Living magazine continues coverage of the Olsen family home, a reclaimed timber frame raised in 2014. Beginning the furnishing stage for their retreat home the Olsen’s discovered stopping to listen to the experts surpassed their expectations for style and eco-friendly materials, including reclaimed wood from our sister company Pioneer Millworks. Read more:

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Timber Home Living magazine continues coverage of the Olsen family home, a reclaimed timber frame raised in 2014. Harsh winter weather delayed progress for the mountain home. Rather than risk safety and quality, the Olsen’s and our teams decided to pause construction. Read more:

 

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We started this job in the end of the summer of 2015 when Dan Hill and Ryan Rojas from Arbor South Design-Build approached us about building a timber frame for their client’s lake cabin on Odell Lake, Oregon. Our crew had a great time working on the project. We had 3 of our long-time team members (myself, Todd, Jimmy) plus we added our new project engineer, Quinn, to the mix so that he could see all the intricacies of how one of these projects go together on the ground. (He’s now migrated to the office to start his frame joining education.)

 

Timber bents are pre-assembled on-site, stacked on the deck and ready to be raised for the Odell Lake cabin.
Timber bents are pre-assembled on-site, stacked on the deck and ready to be raised for the Odell Lake cabin.

 

Jimmy, Todd, and Quinn secured joinery while I manned the boom.
Jimmy, Todd, and Quinn secured joinery while I manned the boom.

 

Odell Lake is a stunning mountain lake with beautiful vistas and HUGE fish. The cabin is in an area of Historical Significance, which means that though the owners are building a new cabin they don’t actually own the land beneath. The cabins in this area are all on a long-term lease with the US Forest Service. Because of its historical designation, the site had to have an archaeological survey done to ensure that there weren’t any important artifacts the new structure was going to disturb. It was a gamble for the owners to take as this area had been a prime fishing spot for not only the last hundred years, but for millennia before. A few arrowheads and pottery shards were found but nothing significant enough to stop the project.

 

Find the Beetle: Honeoye Falls, NY

 

Our Beetle, the giant wooden mallet that is a vital timberframing tool, was last seen in the village of Honeoye Falls, NY taking a break in the sun.
Our Beetle, the giant wooden mallet that is a vital timberframing tool, was last seen in the village of Honeoye Falls, NY taking a break in the sun.

 

Timber Home Living magazine continues coverage of the Olsen family home, a reclaimed timber frame raised in 2014. Progress on the home continues as our construction team encloses the frame with high efficiency SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) and our Matrix Wall:

 

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Timber Home Living magazine is covering the adventure of building a timber frame home from the ground up with the Olsen family. In this second installment, we raise the frame:

 

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Timber Home Living Magazine is documenting each step in the design/build process for the Olsen family’s reclaimed Douglas fir timber frame home in Austerlitz, NY. Online and print articles will cover the home’s journey from architectural planning, to the frame raising, to enclosure, to completion.

Part 1, below, can be found in the October issue on sale now.

 

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Brad, of our construction group, recently became certified in Passive House Basics with a specialization in “Building Envelope,” making him a Certified Passive House Tradesperson. His expertise in air sealing and the building envelope is a practice that New Energy Works is implementing to continue building well-insulated and comfortable homes.

 

This is Brad!
This is Brad!

 

A Passive House is a super-insulated home that balances a comprehensive set of factors from design through construction (including heat emissions from the people and the appliances used, to the solar gains from window locations in the home) to reduce the amount of energy lost and provide a superior indoor air quality. We are continuously picking Brad’s brain on the latest design and construction techniques used to build high performance homes.

When building a Passive House, there is much to consider starting in the design phase and throughout the entire process. Location of the property along with the home’s orientation and outdoor shading are just the first steps to maximize solar gains and reduce energy consumption. Passive House building principals use innovative materials in all aspects of the process including intelligent air barriers, insulation, windows, doors and mechanical ventilation system. Special care even comes down to choosing the correct appliances, hot water distribution and energy efficient lighting.

 

Intello barrier being installed by our design group
Intello barrier being installed by our design group

 

Life in the Finger Lakes magazine featured one of our homes, designed and built in Honeoye Falls, New York for a young, growing family. Read the full article below:

 

Blurring the line between modern comforts and the great outdoors, porches and balconies are this family’s favorite spaces (especially enjoyed by the family canine, Molly).
Blurring the line between modern comforts and the great outdoors, porches and balconies are this family’s favorite spaces (especially enjoyed by the family canine, Molly).

 

“From the white pine timbers to the beehive light fixtures, each element of the home reflects inspiration from nature,” explains Ty All of New Energy Works Timberframers.
“From the white pine timbers to the beehive light fixtures, each element of the home reflects inspiration from nature,” explains Ty All of New Energy Works Timberframers.

 

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We worked closely with Bully Hill Vineyards on this two phase project to create open-air spaces that would allow patrons to enjoy stunning views of Keuka Lake along with great wine and food. Raising and construction was completed during the winter months while the business was mostly closed down, and finished for the grand re-opening in May. Life in the Finger Lakes Magazine featured this recap of the changes at Bully Hill Vineyards:

 

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Jonathan & Maxine were interviewed by AOL Real Estate after hearing The Vermont Street Project had won Fine Homebuilding Magazine’s Home of the Year in the Houses 2011 issue. Filmed about a year ago, we still take our hats off to the production team for capturing their story so well. Enjoy the video!