Timberstead is an efficient and thoughtfully sized home designed to complement its Finger Lake focused hills and lily-pad pond setting. Featuring an abundance of wood, including vertical PEFC-certified larch siding, reclaimed teak flooring, and custom finished Douglas-fir timbers, as well as an off-site-constructed enclosure system, this high-performance house highlights the beauty of wood, the homeowner’s detailed material choices, and the property’s natural splendor.
The homeowner says, “We wanted something substantial because we don’t live in a dainty area. We wanted a really solid feel. We wanted the sense that the house was stable and not ornate. Natural beauty is what we really were looking for. Timber was the answer.”
The property is comfortably nestled on a high hillside meadow and is indiscernible from the surrounding vineyards, conifer trees, and rolling fields.
She continues, “The biggest part of it is that I wanted to respect our surroundings. I always feel that a home should complement the area that it’s in. And there's so much natural beauty in our area. So, we wanted to blend in with it and work with that.”
The best way to bring their biophilic vision to life was to find a company aligned with their vision while also being flexible and willing to collaborate.
“It was about two years of design and edit for the home before we even went to New Energy Works. I always joked with the builder, ‘don't bedazzle the house’. Just let it show off its natural beauty. To be honest, we thought a timber frame was going to be way out of our budget, so we were really excited when we could make it a reality.”
Staying true to their vision of assimilating into their bucolic countryside, not only were the bones of the house going to be heavy timber, but it was also going to be filled floor to ceiling with the beauty of wood. The timber frame was custom finished pulling from the diverse hues of the surroundings as well as the various substrates used in the build. The joists and trusses were raised efficiently by our team of craftspeople and provided a solid framework which the enclosure and siding could collaborate with successfully.
Pioneer Millworks salesperson A.J. Henion adds, “The combination of the Pioneer Millworks siding and flooring would look amazing on any project, but they are at their best when paired with timber elements. New Energy Works did an amazing job on this home with a finish that matches the Fossil color of our Larch siding.”
Steiger says, “I wanted large vertical wood siding. That was a key proportion for me. I did not want horizontal siding; I didn't want any kind of vinyl. I really wanted something that reflected the environment. We used Pioneer Millworks Larch siding for the exterior, and then for the interior wood floor, we went up to the showroom, and we saw the reclaimed teak that Pioneer Millworks had. It wasn’t a species we had anticipated, but it worked out perfectly.”
The resulting high performance and wood-centric home is comfortably wrapped in, “Enclosure walls from New Energy Works, which honestly could not have been easier. And if you look at the design, there are 28 exterior corners on this house. Wow, what difficult and amazing work.”
Our enclosures team crafted the walls offsite, collaborating with our engineers on exactly what was needed for each piece. The multi-layer wall system includes wood fiber insulation and vapor barriers to create a high-efficiency envelope around the timber frame. Raising the walls is much like raising the timber frame, requiring thoughtful sequencing prior to and during installation, but is a much more streamlined process than stick building.
For us, working with clients who have a clear vision and intent for their legacy home can be just as exciting of a collaboration as brainstorming from scratch.
The homeowner concludes, “New Energy Works respected our design; they collaborated with us but didn’t try to change what we wanted into their vision. They had a lot of respect for my vision of the house. They were amazing.”
Architect: Eleanor Riant, Designer
Builder: Diliberto Construction
