A Conversation with Iconic Timber Framer Tedd Benson

BSM #3 Interview with longtime timber framer Tedd Benson, Bensonwood Homes--.mp3 The industry pioneer discusses how his vision for sustainable building was created, his longtime involvement in This Old House TV show, his invention of the Open Built building system, and his plan to license his technology to other manufacturers. Tedd Benson, founder of Bensonwood Homes, started his construction firm in 1974 with the mission to create long lasting structures that used little energy, while still being beautiful and offering a strong connection to nature. If readers are thinking, “Hmmm…that sounds like green building,” you’d be right. Ted was sustainable even before the movement grew the green catchphrase. In the intervening years, Tedd has become nothing short of a giant in the timber frame and structural insulated panel (SIP) building industries. He literally wrote the book on timber framing—actually he wrote four books and counting. (He’s at work on his fifth.) Tedd is one of the original founders of the Timber Framers Guild and he was the 2006 winner of Innovative Small Builder of the Year award from PATH or partnership for advancing technology in housing. His company employs 75 and has built more than 700 timber frame structures in its long history. Q: The growing interest in the sustainable building movement must be a huge vindication for you. Over the last 30 years, have you ever felt like you were the carpenter out there yelling in the wilderness? A: “Well, yes. Sometimes it’s been lonely work. In general, it’s been a long road and, in many ways, it’s been a slow road. You know, 34 years is a long time. We didn’t do anything over night. We worked slowly, carefully, we made improvements one step at a time. And lo and behold, all these years later, we’ve made some progress. I did start down this path that we’re on. But you also have to remember, I work with a lot of great people here—architects, engineers, timber framers, building systems specialists, wood workers. It’s this team that makes us look good on a daily basis. More often than not, I’m basically the cheer leader. The other thing to say about this business is that the work is gratifying and we’ve certainly have made progress. But as anyone that’s in this business knows, it’s work that keeps you humble. We’ve never yet made a perfect building, we’ve made some great buildings, but we’re always finding evidence of things we need to do to improve our products and processes. So 34 years, yes, and maybe another 34 years until we get it completely perfect.” Q: You obviously build with timber frames and SIP roof systems. What kind of wall panel system do you use and are there any recent innovations you are most pleased with? A: “You have that right. We use SIP panels for roofs and for many, many years, we used SIP panels for walls as well. But about 10 years ago, we decided to develop a panel that would be, No. 1, a little more complete. That is a wall, rather than a panel. No. 2, we wanted to eliminate some of the waste that comes about when cutting out windows and doors. No. 3, we wanted to integrate other systems, including wiring and finishes into the panel as part of the building. So now we’re building wall panels of two different types. One is an injected urethane foam system and the other is cellulose foam system. The big thing is we are now creating whole walls as large as they need to be. We insulate only those areas that need to be insulated. And we have found some innovative ways to include wiring chases into our wall systems, both vertically and horizontally. In terms of the innovations I’m most interested and pleased with it has to do with floors. We’ve developed two different types of floors and ceiling systems. One is for timber frames and the other is for conventional construction. In both cases, we’re able to create large sections of floors in panels, up to 8x40. The panels come to the site complete and ready to install. And they now come with mechanical systems in place. This can include radiant heating tubes, lighting and ductwork can be pre-installed in those floor systems. And we’ve developed a ceiling panel that goes with both of these floor systems, in which the ceiling panels can be installed—or removed—easily. Making installation easier, as well upgrades or remodeling down the road a cinch.” Q: Do you have to have in-plant inspections for those wall and floor systems? A: “Not exactly. What we do have to do is communicate clearly with building inspectors and have licensed professionals do the installation in our shop. The other thing that we do is, all of our systems are open and visible when they arrive on site. So that the normal inspections that local inspector performs can still be performed. A lot of the typical modular systems are closed panels, making inspections difficult, should the local officials insist on inspection. We’ve developed a way to allow the finishes to be more easily installed on site. We’re trying organize all the different systems in a home in new and different way. That means there is a place for wiring, plumbing, heating and that place is very specific and organized to be discreet and accessible. That process then allows inspections to be pretty easy. If it’s open, accessible and organized.” Q: Sounds like you’ve invested a lot of time and thought into your building system? A: “Year after year.” Q: We’re in one of the most challenging new home markets since, well, ever. How is your firm weathering this storm? A: “There is no doubt that we, like our colleagues out there in the field, are working harder for the jobs we get. There’s no easy about that. It’s just hard work. There are fewer projects going on and we have to earn everyone one of them. But the other thing we are doing is we are doing more work on each of our projects. Therefore, we have more work to do to keep all of our staff employed. To be specific about that, 10 years ago our primary product was our architecture, engineering and then the shell of the building. That shell was the timber frame walls, floor and roof, all without finishes. That all combined would be 30-35% of the project. But today we’re doing much more with exterior and interior finishes, millwork and mechanical systems. So it adds up to more like 60% to 75% of the project. So we can take those projects that we have and leverage them to do more work.” Q: How many projects are your firm currently handling in 2008 and has the green trend helped or hurt your firm’s prospects? A: “We’re always handling somewhere around 50 to 70 projects. Right now we’re got about 60 going on. Those are projects at different stages of completion. About one-third are active at the moment. About green--we’ve always been green and energy efficient. It was natural to the culture of a timber framer since we work with natural products, make durable structures and insulate with the standard that SIPs panels set. Many of our clients cite that culture of ours, the green and energy efficiency that is our legacy, as one of the main reasons for choosing our company. It’s another place where our core values, our culture and our market strength coincide. In fact, our biggest project on the horizon right now, our client intends to build a home home that’s 1,000% green. That project is one where the client wants to build in less than 200 days. And that’s a $7 million home.” [Sidebar] [hed]Tune in for More of Tedd Benson In our 40-minute podcast interview with Tedd, he reveals the concept behind the Open Built building system, his involvement in 12 episodes of This Old House this fall and his plans to license his building technology to other manufacturers. Just click on the podcast button on our home page for the full interview.