Couple blends ancient tradition, technology

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County couple is embracing timber framing as an environmentally friendly home construction method.

Steve and Patty Sodorff opted for the rugged elegance of traditional timber framing for their hilltop home west of Sandpoint.

“We were trying to build a green home,” Patty Sodorff said as a crew from Fall Creek Timber Frames hoisted purlins into place so they could be fitted into the structure. “This is about as green as you can get.”

The materials for the structure are recycled from World War II-era pier structures from Farragut Naval Base on Lake Pend Oreille. The timbers were re-milled for the home. The only evidence of their prior life is some oxidation stains left by the hardware that originally fastened them together.

Now the timbers make up the sturdy bents and Patty Sodorff couldn’t be happier about how things are coming together.

“You couldn’t ask for a more gorgeous home,” she said.

Sodorff and Fall Creek owner Brian Leisz estimate the mortise-and-tenon construction method added about 15 percent to the construction cost, but they say the structure is stronger and more appealing aesthetically than traditional stick-built homes.

The home will be shelled with structural insulated panels, which Leisz said will translate into energy savings.

When the home’s done, a fir bough will adorn the roof’s peak, an ancient tradition signifying honor and respect to the forest.

Leisz got started in timber framing after becoming interested in log home construction. Leisz decided he preferred timber framing method and said interest in such homes is on the rise.

“It’s definitely picked up in the last three or four years,” said Leisz, who learned the craft through conferences conducted by Timber Framers Guild, personal research and on-the-job experience.