"From Dream To Reality"

An Ontario couple builds their perfect retirement home.
Article By: Scott A. Murray
Photography: Ted Yarwood.

As the cold January wind swept across the streets and sidewalks of Toronto, hundreds of people mingled comfortably in the aisles at Toronto's Skydome for the 1991 Metro Homeshow, one of Canada's premier attractions. One couple in particular was drawn to a hammerbeam display that Thistlewood Timber Frame Homes designed to promote the beauty of timber-frame construction. The longer they looked, the more they knew that this was just the look they wanted for their new retirement home. They set about to make their dream come true. In the four years that followed, they searched for the perfect property. They found it near Orangeville, Ontario. It even featured a natural site to build a pond. At that point they were ready to build and contacted Thistlewood to begin development of conceptual design drawings.

This couple shared a vision for their new place that fit perfectly with what a timber-frame home offered. The living and dining room of the house needed to be quite formal to allow them to entertain business associates from around the world. The kitchen and family room were to be casual and have a warm, yet comfortable and inviting appearance for cozy day-to-day living.

The function and design of any new home is a crucial part of the building process. Often, as was the case with this project, the building site itself can influence the room configuration and overall design. Almost all of the main living areas face east toward the newly constructed pond, thus the name "Morningview." The sloping site toward the water also permitted a walk-out basement. Best of all, the morning sun streams in through the large windows to bathe the home in natural light.

The design process was a collaborative effort, involving both the company and the couple. Once the designers had come up with a layout, they constructed a scale model to assist in the positioning of the house on the property. Later, masons and roofing contractors referred to this model to assist in determining the actual wall and roof areas when ordering their materials. The model also allowed the complex roof design to be confirmed prior to starting construction.

Two other distinctive features of the home are its use of salvaged Douglas fir timbers and the fact that not all areas are timber-frame construction. Various timber-frame sections were designed to be linked by conventional, stud-frame spaces. Such an approach is common with timber-frame construction and is referred to as a hybrid design.

The timbers were salvaged from an old distillery complex that was being dismantled near Belleville, Ontario. After all the visible nails and hardware were removed, a metal detector confirmed that all metal had been removed. Then Thistlewood re-sawed the large timbers to the dimensions required to build the framework for the couple's new house. The sawing process also created excess lumber of the same species that was used for trim and millwork to complement the frame.

Since the couple had built other new homes, this experience allowed them to act as their own general contractors, knowing full well how much time and effort were required. They also knew how rewarding this experience could be, working closely with all the subcontractors and making the numerous decisions that would allow them to call this house truly theirs.

Thistlewood prepared the home's timber-frame sections in its shop in the late winter and delivered them to the job site in May. The first part of the frame to be raised was the central core, which included the foyer and living room. Next the master bedroom, whose bents were constructed with black cherry timbers. The dining room, kitchen and family room followed shortly thereafter.

Work began immediately to enclose the timber-frame roof areas of the house with stress-skin insulated panels to protect the timber components from the elements. Sections of stud walls were then framed to connect the free-standing timber frames. Large timber posts and support beams were also used as structural members in the basement, continuing the overall timber theme into the lower, finished living areas, which included a billiard room, sitting area, utility room, and an apartment for the couple's oldest daughter.

From design to finished home took many months, but the result was well worth both the time and the effort. By deciding to build using time-honoured timber-frame construction, the couple have assured themselves that their fine new home will provide countless years of pleasure and enjoyment.