Green Hammer framed and sheathed our home with Forest Stewardship Certified (FSC) lumber and oriented strand board (OSB), which is a certification process that promotes and protects healthy sustainable forests.  Michael, Jeff and Andrew started by installing an exposed timber frame support for the second floor.  Timber framing requires the installers to re adjust their measurements throughout the framing process as the materials have natural variations which can throw off accuracy.  The same is true for the tongue and groove sub floor that was installed by Zane and Jerry.  They consistently adjusted their measurements to accommodate the subtle variations of the materials.  Constantly checking measurement accuracy was especially important as our sub floor is not covered by carpet or another material so unlike traditional construction it is fully visible from the top and the bottom.  Because much of the framing is visible, it took more time to construct but is worth the extra effort as it adds to its beauty and durability.

In order to reduce the use of wood and improve energy efficiency Green Hammer also used advanced framing techniques which stager the placement of the studs creating a deeper wall cavity.  The cavity, which is about eight inches deep, allows for additional insulation within the wall which improves R value.  It also cuts down on the amount of lumber that is used for framing which conserves timber resources and minimizes habitat loss.