2005 Eastern Conference

Conference Schedule Day By Day

The Main Event

The main Conference begins with breakfast on Friday morning, October 14, and runs until noon on Sunday, October 16, with these featured presentations.

Friday, Oct. 14

Andrea Warchaizer: Case Studies in Timber frame Design
A series of examples of design problems or issues and solutions, showing examples of current projects and explaining the design process.

Tom Nehil: Whole Building Engineering for Timber Frames
Before we start figuring out the compound joinery or applying the oil finish, we need to step back and look at how the whole timber frame and cladding assembly functions as a unit to support loads. In this session, we will review the structural engineer's methodology for building design and review basic strategies for supporting floor loads, supporting roof loads, and resisting wind and seismic lateral loads. We will look at the role of sheathing and SIPs in providing building stiffness and stability.

Wil Dancey and Tony Wall: Roof Design, Production and Construction.
CAD software is like any other tool your business invests in. The software must pay for itself by saving you time and money. We'll show you how CAD software can efficiently design and modify your rooflines, create optimized timber production lists, provide detailed drawings for the shop or output to a beam processor, and assist the crew on site, while saving your company time and money.

Ben Brungraber and Anders Frøstrup: Shear Keys
This is an ancient, yet still used, method of assembling larger timbers.

Jerry Rouleau: Getting the Most Out of Your Advertising and Website.
Learn some of the basic website development tips, advertising ideas and techniques that will give you more bang for your dollar and create leads. Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping the clock to save time.

John Abrams: Long Haul Business
An informal breakout discussion on growth, legacy, community and other issues.

Jerry Rouleau: Follow-up Skills That Bring Customers Back.
Timber framers spend a lot of money to get leads and referrals. Following up on those customers and properly screening and qualifying them is key. In many case you don't need to get more leads, you need to work more effectively with the leads you already have.
Topics: o Why Follow Up! Your leads are your Bank Account (Group involvement and demonstration)
o Court your customers (they expect it)
o Reason for follow up
o Using the power of impending events
o Beware of the Be Back Club
o Screening and qualifying leads
o Getting the right information up front
o Using lead management systems
o Save time and money: Make your follow up easy
o The nine S's for getting the right information

Joshua Thornton: Applying Building Science to Straw Light Clay Wall Construction.
In 2004, Joshua completed the first North American research on straw light clay construction, with a $20,000 grant from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). He'll discuss the research process, from the grant application to team building; how he applied building science; the findings of his research, including the physical set-ups for the tests; and offer recommendations for further study.

Joshua apprenticed at Heartwood in 1998, followed by several years of carpentry for the film industry in Toronto. Since 2002 he has worked as a timber framer for Thistlewood Timber Frame Homes and completed his research on straw light clay for CMHC. Joshua lives with his family in the Grey Highlands of Ontario, Canada.

David Eisenberg: Update on Straw Bale Construction - What's New and Where We're Heading
Based on his 14 years of experience, David will give an overview of straw bale construction, starting with the basics and going through innovations, recent research and testing results, and showing many examples of this building system. Ample time will be allotted for questions and discussion of the method and its relationship to timber frame construction. David is a co-author of The Straw Bale House book, and he writes and presents around the U.S. and abroad on alternative construction, green building, and building codes. He is currently serving his fifth year on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Green Building Council, where he chairs the Greening the Codes Committee and serves as the Board Liaison to the Education Committee.

Chris Dancey and Gabriel Gauthier: Hemp Comes Out of the Closet
Industrial hemp and lime can be used to insulate floors, roofs and walls. This combination demonstrates excellent thermal and acoustic properties. It is non-flammable, non-toxic, hygroscopic and fungicidal. As well, the hemp is a waste product left after the plant is harvested for fiber or grain. Contemporary hemp homes have been built in Europe, Canada and the U.S.

Gabriel Gauthier has been building with hemp and lime since 1998, including two years with a company called Canosmose in France. In 2003 he began his hemp and lime construction business called ArtCan. Gabriel is also the Vice President of the Administration Council for Archibio, a one hundred and fifty member group in Quebec that promotes ecological design for construction.

Chris Dancey began researching the use of hemp as a building material about ten years ago. Chris and her husband, Wil, have experimented with both clay and lime as binders. Hemp, wood shavings or straw provided the mass. The walls of their new, round log, timber frame in SW Ontario were formed with hemp and lime binder.

Matt Phillips: Work Safely with Cranes
Matt is a crane owner and operator and he will discuss cranes, including crane types, crane set-up, determining lift capacity, hazards, and directing the operator.

Film screenings of "Stone Rising," the work of master stone mason Dan Snow, who shares the challenge, mystery and endless surprise of his craft.

Video from the Kicking Horse Covered Bridge project, which the Guild completed in Golden, British Columbia in 2001.

Children's Discovery Workshop will commence.

Trade Fair Mixer/Reception

Dance (sponsored by Dreaming Creek Timber Frame Homes and Bensonwood Homes) featuring the rousing six-piece band Planet Zydeco.

Saturday, Oct. 15

Anders Frøstrup:Timber Framing: A Workmanship At Risk
Anders is from Norway and will give a number of presentations during the conference.

Joe Miller: Capacity of Mortise and Tenon Joinery
Joe will show the results of his engineering research.

Andrea Warchaizer: Three-Dimensional Architectural Visualization- Photogrammetry
This is the practice of creating a 3D CAD model from photos of an existing building. You input digital photos into the program and mark key points on a series of photos. The software computes camera angles and distance and figures out the 3D shape. Andrea is using this to model existing conditions for designing additions, but it can also be useful for preservation/documentation.

Tom Hubka: Polish Wooden Synagogues, Jewish Design and Polish Wooden Construction
Tom is the keynote speaker on Sunday; this talk will be based on his new book, Resplendent Synagogue.

Jerry Rouleau: Develop a Public Relations Campaign That Will Increase Sales
Obtaining free publicity is easy if you know the ins and outs of public relations. This seminar will show you the benefits of a good public relations campaign and what it takes to put a program in place. Topics include: How to build your corporate image
What makes a story
How to capitalize on what you are already doing
Promotional Ideas that bring consumers to your door
How to work with the media: Writing press releases
How to use public relations after the fact

Margot Larson and Jerry Rouleau: Tips & Techniques to Select and Build a Great Sales Team
This 90-minute workshop will guide you through the process: What to look, for, how to screen candidates and pick the best. We'll discuss compensation strategy, setting expectations, motivating and measuring results. We can share best practices. A great opportunity to learn from the experts. Many of the tips in this workshop will apply to managing your entire workforce. Margot Larson, Management Alternative, has more than twenty years’ experience in human resource management with a strong focus on matching the right people to the right job. www.management-alternative.com

Jerry Rouleau, J.Rouleau & Associates, is an expert in sales and marketing in our industry. www.jrouleau.com

Chris Magwood: A Model for Natural Building Education
Can 21 students with little or no construction background be taught to design and build one of Canada's most innovative natural commercial buildings in just 20 weeks? During this presentation, you will find out about the building of this 1,800 sf structure and the teaching process. For the past 10 years, Chris has been building with straw bales and other natural materials. After teaching many short, hands-on workshops and enjoying that role tremendously, he is now a full-time instructor in Fleming College’s new Sustainable Building program. He is also the co-author of Straw Bale Building, More Straw Bale Building and Straw Bale Details, and the former editor of The Last Straw Journal.

Natural Building Track Forum, moderated by Mike Beganyi.
The experts will answer your questions related to the use of natural materials and techniques.

Hundegger Users Group Meeting
Timber Frame Business Council Membership meeting

Benefit Auction (sponsored by Creative Home Concepts)

The Children's Discovery Workshop will conclude late in the day.

Slide Show (at 3 PM this year)
Everyone gets a chance to show their work. Please include any photos from the early days of the Guild if you have some to share.

Sunday, Oct. 16

Anders Frøstrup: The Art and Craft of Drawing

Tom Nehil and Amy Warren: Engineering Concepts for Timber and Joinery Design
We will walk through the basic principles and methods for designing timbers using the National Design Specification for Wood Construction (NDS). We will also look at how the NDS relates to timber joinery. We will look at design strategies for pegged tension joinery and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of small versus large peg sizes.

Jack Witherington: Setting up a Small Timber Framing Shop

TFG Membership Meeting

Trade Fair
Featuring suppliers for the timber frame industry who will display their products and services and explain in detail how they're used. Meet those who support our craft in the field, including panel suppliers, tool vendors and wood brokers. Don't miss the Mixer Friday at 5:00 PM in the Trade Fair area. The Timber Frame Business Council (TFBC) organizes the Trade Fair. If you wish to exhibit, contact TFBC Executive Director Nancy Wilkins at 888-560-9251, or nancy@timberframe.org.

Bookstore
Charlotte Cooper will once again bring her Summer Beam Books for one-stop shopping and browsing for all those hard-to-find titles on woodworking and timber framing. Open all weekend, and sponsored by Duluth Timber.