The Forever Home
A Woodhouse ProjectFollow Woodhouse owner Pat Seaman through every step of his Forever Home build….
You’ll find all new updates to the project here, and as a reminder we’ll email you to let you know when we’ve posted new content.
Join us as we delve into the details of the new home build process, where each episode unravels the details behind creating a timber frame dream home. From crafting the custom design to laying the foundation, “The Forever Home” showcases all the steps owner Pat Seaman takes to realize the building of his dream home. Immerse yourself in the captivating process of construction, from laying the foundation to the final brushstroke.
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NEW RELEASE – December 7, 2023
Covered Deck & Pergola
Watch the beautiful white oak covered rear deck and dining pergola being installed in this week’s Forever Home video.
-Pat Seaman
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
Step 1: Pre-Woodhouse Delivery
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1. Plan Overview
We’re really excited to launch our Forever Home series of posts with this first one that reviews the Woodhouse construction drawings.
My wife, Tracy, and I worked with Diana and her design team at Woodhouse over a couple of years to create the perfect home for us. The culmination of that effort is a 2,300 square foot, single story home with no steps anywhere, 3 feet wide doors, and the ability to have bathrooms ADA compliant if it ever becomes necessary. The home has fantastic outdoor entertaining spaces and we’re looking forward to
when it’s complete which I hope is less than one year.
Thank you for following along with us and please feel free to ask questions in the comment section below. I will try to get answers as quickly as possible. And make sure to join us for the next installment which reviews budgeting.
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
3. The Permit Process
The permit process is wildly variable depending on where you are building. Some municipalities require far more documentation and it can take more than a year to get a building permit. Luckily, my little town in upstate NY makes it relatively easy and fast. In this short video, I review the documentation I had to provide in order to get my building permit and show you the result. I hope you find it helpful.
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
5. Excavation
We have officially “broke ground!” Watch this week as our friend, Jim (who I have known for something like 50 years) and his guys dig the hole for the foundation, lay the gravel footers, and peg the corners for our Superior Wall foundation. I hope you find it informative and interesting.
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
7. In-Slab Plumbing
Preparation continues for pouring the lower-level concrete slab and building the first-floor system – both of which must be in place before we can backfill. In this video, I talk about the in-slab plumbing. I hope you enjoy it.
-Pat Seaman
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
9. Concrete Slab
This was a big week for the project. Bob, Jeremy, and their crew poured the basement slab over three rain-filled days. Because of their hard work staying to carefully finish the concrete while it drizzled, we have a beautiful, level, finished concrete floor in the lower level. I hope you enjoy the video!
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
11. Electrical Trench, Temp Stairs, & Finished Deck
The floor system is basically finished (as you’ll see at the end of this video) and I built temporary stairs which will suffice until the end of the interior finish when the Woodhouse stairs will be installed. I’m waiting for delayed lally columns to call it 100% finished. Also, the excavator, Jim, and his crew trenched for electric and laid conduit for fiberoptics. I hope you find it interesting.
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
2. Budgeting
This post is a review of the way I, personally, budget a house. It’s not anything professional – just something I’ve developed over the years. The numbers I’m quoting are for the upstate NY area and are not applicable everywhere. Some areas might be less and most areas in the US will have higher costs. Also, my numbers do not include overhead and profit for a general contractor as I am doing that job myself on this project. With all that being said, I hope you enjoy the budget process review.
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
4. Driveway & Site Clearing
This project has a really long, beautiful driveway that winds its way through mature forest toward the homesite featuring beautiful lake views. In this segment, I’ll walk the driveway describing some of the features and we’ll see the actual homesite being cleared. I hope you find it helpful and enjoyable.
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
6. Foundation
This was an exciting week. We installed our foundation system! I hope you enjoy this video and find it informative. It’s the first really big step in being able to envision the finished home!
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
8. Sill-Plate, Well, & Slab Prep
This week was spent preparing for the pour of the concrete slab in the lower level and the installation of the floor system on the main floor by installing the sill plate. And the drilling rig showed up to drill the well. I hope you enjoy it.
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
10. Floor System
We started the floor system this week – three 60-year-old guys – and made some progress on Monday, got rained out on Tuesday, and then an Amish friend and helpers arrived on Wednesday and things took off. Each day he brought one of his adorable children and the photo below is Daniel, age 9, who slept soundly through the noise of the saws, impact drivers, and telehandler. Really good progress and we’ll finish next week.
-Pat Seaman
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Step 2: Installing the Woodhouse Building System
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12. Frame Prep, Purlins & T&G
We continue to work through the things that must be done prior to the delivery of the Woodhouse building system which is now less than 2 weeks away! This week we finished the floor system, laid out the frame on the subfloor, and cut away the subfloor for every post. We began attaching framing to the outside of the foundation on the rear of the house so siding can be installed over the foundation and we also began pre-finishing the tongue and groove that goes over the rafters. Next up – backfilling and rough grading!
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
14. Cutting Timbers
An exciting step in the process – the interior frame was cut and pre-fit in the joinery shop, loaded on a truck and ready to be delivered! This week has some aerial footage of the Woodhouse campus, video of the frame being cut, planed, and pre-fit, and leaving the shop on a truck. We also show how we are pre-finishing the tongue and groove pine to go over the frame rafters.
-Pat Seaman
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
16. Roof Panels & T&G
Another fantastic week of progress for Israel and his crew. They constructed the connector walls, nailed all the prefinished T&G over the frames, installed roof panels, conventional trusses over the master bath, the connector between the master bedroom and great room, and the connector to the garage, and sheathed everything but the connector and garage. We’re ahead of schedule.
-Pat Seaman
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
13. Entry Frame & Rough Grade
This week we’re buttoning up the final preparations for the delivery of the timber frame on Monday which includes backfill and rough grade as well as pre-finishing the tongue and groove pine which will form the finished ceiling over the timber rafters. Next week’s post will have footage of the interior frame being cut and pre-assembled in the Woodhouse joinery shop!
-Pat Seaman
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
15. Timbers & Wall Panels
A major milestone in this week’s post. The timber frame was erected and wall panels installed. The crew is incredible – experienced, fast, and paying close attention to quality. I hope you enjoy the video.
-Pat Seaman
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
22. Covered Deck & Pergola *NEW*
Watch the beautiful white oak covered rear deck and dining pergola being installed in this week’s Forever Home video.
-Pat Seaman
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
Step 3: Interior Framing and Mechanicals
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17. Garage & Interior Framing
The basic structure and sheathing of the home is now complete and interior framing is about halfway done. In this video, I walk you through the interior showing ceiling panels and interior framing.
-Pat Seaman
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
19. More Concrete & Mechanicals
While waiting for Israel and his crew to return, we made good progress on the plumbing and electrical rough-in as well as pouring the entry porch slab, garage slab, and footers for the deck piers.
-Pat Seaman
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
21. Splitting Stone & Deck Prep
A short week due to Thanksgiving plus the fact that all Amish weddings are in November (so, every Tuesday the guys don’t work – something to keep in mind when scheduling with an Amish crew in the Fall) but we made progress getting ready for exterior stone work and timber covered decks!
-Pat Seaman
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
18. Mechanicals
The crew has left for a month and we’re working on preparing for concrete pours while rough plumbing and electric are installed.
-Pat Seaman
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
20. House Wrap, Windows, & Piers
This week you’ll see that house wrap has been installed, windows and doors delivered, piers are poured, rough plumbing is complete, and rough electric is almost done. Happy Thanksgiving!
-Pat Seaman
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
Bonus Content
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Solar Kiln *BONUS*
As a small bonus video, I hope you enjoy this description of a solar kiln we made and have been using to dry the maple and ash lumber we sawed from the logs we cut down for the driveway and will ultimately use as trim for the new home.
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
Color Revamp *BONUS*
I hope your Thanksgiving was as fun as ours (although I still can’t believe the Lions lost). Tracy and I decided to change the exterior of the home from natural hemlock board and batten and trim to a fiber cement board and batten and trim in a taupe color with white trim and from an asphalt shingle roof to a standing seam metal roof. Both are more expensive but less maintenance and we think look better. The Woodhouse design team produced a rendering showing the change. We hope you like it.
-Pat Seaman
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
Foundation *BONUS*
Just a neat detail of the Superior Wall foundation system. I hope you enjoy this short bonus video.
Owner, Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company
Book an Appointment with Woodhouse | Try the Budget Calculator
I didn’t see any HVAC drawings?
That’s correct Tad. HVAC plans are not required for a building permit in my area and it is actually quite rare for them to be a building permit requirement. When they are requested, we suggest they are best developed by the HVAC subcontractor being used as they will be most familiar with methods commonly used in the area where the home is being built. We do, however, provide ducting chases in the home when forced air or central air is being specified.
In our Woodhouse home built 10 years ago, the plans included drawings of roof details. The drawings included various options including details about a cold roof. Are the roof details no longer included?
Hi Steve! Good to hear from you. We still include those details. They are on one of the large detail pages I reviewed. I just didn’t mention them.
-Pat
Thanks Pat. We’ve enjoyed our Woodhouse home and have been working with Jay the past several months on some possibilities in the Adirondacks to move to.
Hi Pat, very exciting to see your build coming along. I’m out of breathe just walking along with you in the video!! Question, when you want to save as many trees on your homesite, how do you know how close to the outer walls of your new home to cut? How do you know which trees ca stay and which must go?
Hi Laura! Good to hear from you. I try to save as many as I can and usually end up having to cut down trees later on as they die due to the root structure being compromised by excavation. My experience says you need to be at least 30 feet from the excavated ground both to give equipment room to maneuver and because trees within that area will likely be compromised (depending on their size – the root structure is typically the same size as the canopy). I predict that many of the large maples I saved that are really close to the driveway on my property will probably not make it over time (but at least I’m trying!).
Pat
Great segment on the excavation. I was surprised to hear you say that Superior Walls does not require cement footers, but rather just gravel. I’m curious how all the weight from the house doesn’t force the supporting Superior Walls to sink into the gravel? Did you have a choice of cement footers or gravel?
Hi Steve. Here’s what the Superior Wall website says: “It is a Double Footing: The Superior Walls system is actually two footers: One is a 10.25” steel-reinforced concrete footer that is cast with the wall itself. The second footer is compacted ½” crushed stone laser leveled. “You don’t use a footer?” No, actually we use two!” The next segment will show the Superior Wall system being set by their crew.
-Pat
Enjoying this build very much.
Thanks Mark! We plan to keep the content coming until the very end.
-Pat
Hi Pat, just watched your foundation video again. I had been assuming for our upcoming build we’d be using ICF for our basement walls, and then the TF/SIPs up top, but am very intrigued by the Superior Wall system. I recall meeting with you in your wine cellar, but don’t recall anything about the walls there.
Just a few questions if you don’t mind…
1. Do you know how much cost savings vs ICF? If not, what’s your guess? 10%? 50%?
2. Is that some sort of foam insulation on the inside (Xi/Xi15?). If so, is it continuous, or is there thermal bridging due to the metal framing? What is the R-value?
3. Do you need and/or are you planning a vapor barrier and/or additional insulation on the outside? If so, what are you planning to use?
4. Any issues you know of using Superior Walls in areas with seismic requirements like southern Oregon?
Hi Bob.
The winery, where you and Laura and I met, was my first experience with the Superior Wall foundation system. Many of our clients were using the system and I had no first-hand experience with it so I chose to use it on a relatively small project to see how it performed. I was impressed and that’s why I’m using it on this project. Answers to your questions follow…
My experience is that the Superior Walls system is half the cost of an ICF system.
It is R-21 but, yes, there is thermal bridging due to the concrete ribs.
I will use a dimpled drainage membrane on the exterior of the walls where they will be below grade. No additional insulation.
That’s a good question on the use of Superior Walls in a seismic-sensitive area. I don’t know the answer but assume you could reach out to your local Superior Wall (or other premanufactured foundation system supplier) to find out.
Thanks for the questions.
-Pat
As a note on seismic – generally speaking a stone underlayment provides a naturally more resilient vibration layer under the concrete walls. The Inca’s did this for all their heavy stone structures in South America (Peru).
Regarding Superior Wall in areas with seismic activity, I’m mostly wondering about joints. Would a 6.0 quake cause the wall segments to separate, leading to water penetration.
According to their website there are no Superior Wall licensees in Oregon, California or Washington. Which is odd, since I believe the company HQ is in SoCal. I’m going to have to call to get the scoop…
Thanks for sharing your home build, Pat. It’s been enjoyable seeing the progress and am envious as our Saranac Lake project is slow moving due to lack of locating a builder. Jay is doing a great job and has been super helpful. I look forward to seeing your timbers go up. I’d love to come see it since we’re so close!
Thanks Steve.
Yes, Jay has been keeping me apprised of your search for a builder with enough open schedule to look at your project. You are welcome to come see our project. We are having an open house on Saturday October 14th from 10a to 2p and we’d love to see you there!
-Pat
Hi again, Pat. I just watched the “Cutting Timbers” video. Really cool seeing the timbers being cut and laid out to ensure proper fit, they are truly gorgeous wood specimens! It was also very cool to see how it looks when packed onto the truck. Now the fun begins!
Thanks Bob! Spoiler alert – the videos are actually one week behind and, last week, they went up beautifully! You’ll see it in the next video.
-Pat
Thank you Pat for showing your build step by step which brings back some of my memories of our custom build 5 years ago. I used a poured foundation basement walls then but today I would be very interested in the Superior Wall system you are using. It’s been a topic lately in our neck of the woods with a few clients planning to or thinking of using them. I will be in town the week prior and have decided to come to your Open House event on the 14th. I can’t wait to see what you are doing and learn about the building systems & techniques. See you then!
That’s great news Chuck! I look forward to showing it to you.
Hi Pat, when you showed the interior in your latest video I noticed the interior walls attached to the TF posts and it reminded me I keep forgetting to ask why you use green board. Is it just to protect the walls during construction, until you can get the space conditioned? Or is there some other reason?
Hi Bob,
We actually use MoldTough™ which is a little bit better than green board. We use it between the timbers and SIPs so that, during installation, if it gets rained on it won’t deteriorate like normal drywall and will inhibit mold growth as it dries. We want it installed between the timbers and SIPs to ensure a tight seam even as the timbers dry and shrink over time. Hope that answers your question.
Pat
Hi Pat! I am also enjoying your videos; they give me a feeling for what’s in store for us. What an amazing team you have! So fast.
I wonder if you plan to have recessed lighting in your T&G ceilings? If so, how do you wire them without attic space? Thanks!
Hi Laura.
I do not plan on having recessed lights in the T&G ceilings. We will have recessed lights in all of the flat, ceiling panel areas (Primary bath, connector between bedrooms and great room, connector to garage, and garage) and these are just wired up in the conventional truss areas above the ceiling panels. If you wish to have recessed lights in your T&G areas, you can put sleepers between the T&G and roof panels which provides a space for both wiring and the LED connection box integral to the LED recessed light. We can provide drawings for this condition if you require.
Pat
Nice looking house and informative videos. What’s the time frame from start to finish?
Thanks for the kind words. We broke ground in June and I hope to be complete in April.
Pat
I’m really enjoying watching this process with all the details. My whole team is watching it as well, it’s like taking Timber Frame Construction 101. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience Pat. So impressive!
Thanks Kate! Full disclosure – Kate’s my sister.
-Pat
This is such a great resource to have at the “design decision” stage of our project. We will be studying this at length as we select materials going forward. I’m sure it’s somewhere in the videos, but could you describe your HVAC selections, and discuss why you chose them? Oil/gas/geothermal/heat pump, baseboard or forced air etc. Thanks!
Thanks Henry. Glad you like them. HVAC will be forced air / central air using two Bosch heat pumps over propane furnaces as air handlers. The idea being that I’m told heat pump technology has dramatically improved in the last 10-15 years and can now handle our climate. If we find that it can’t, I can connect propane to the furnaces as contingency. We’re trying to go 100% electric.
-Pat
I also want to say thanks and great thinking with this video series. We are in design phase and still deciding on our timber frame partner. The fact that you took the time to do what you are doing is appreciated and a great marketing move. We just sent plans over to Jamie and await his input.
You’re very welcome Dan and thanks for the kind words. I asked Jamie to send me your plan. In a lot of ways it reminds me of my parent’s first Woodhouse – same two-sided fireplace between the kitchen and living room, same position of master suite, dining room, and garage. Do you have any thoughts on the massing of the elevations? That would be helpful for us to consider and the development of some type of volume study will be necessary for estimating purposes. I hope we can earn your trust and partner with you on your project. I’m available should you require my assistance (though Jamie is quite experienced and helpful).
Pat