FAQs

Habitat uses both AutoCAD® and Chief Architect® for designing, rendering and engineering.

Close to half of our material packages are for additions.  We will design an addition to your home that will not only meet your needs, but will look like it has always been a part of your home.  Our additions can be added to any type of home construction.  One exception may be that some existing home construction does not lend itself to adding a full timber frame above/on top of the existing structure (i.e., to make a top floor over an existing level).

We include a custom design and a pre-cut material package kit for a weather-tight shell.  When our material package is complete, your structure will appear finished from the outside; your contractors will continue to finish the inside.  The package is shipped to your site to be assembled on your prepared foundation by a local builder.  Habitat supplies a specific detailed list of materials supplied for each home and addition package.  A specification list can be found on our Specifications page.  Note that the exterior finish materials (siding/trim, roof shingles, windows/doors) can be removed from our package if you prefer to provide your own, or when shipping longer distances.

We ship anywhere within the contiguous 48 United States. The shipping cost within the Northeast is included in your package price, and is insured to your construction site (islands with ferries may incur additional costs). Shipping costs beyond the Northeast will be added to your package price. Offloading and inventory of materials is done on site (or at a predetermined mainland point in the case of an island site) by you and/or your contractor. For areas outside of the contiguous 48 states, we will need to discuss your situation and work together to determine if we can adapt to your particular situation. 

The Habitat material package is shipped to your site, where it is offloaded and inventoried by you and/or your local contractor, to be assembled on your prepared foundation by a builder that you hire.  Habitat can work with you to help you find a framer, general contractor, etc., and in many areas we may have some suggestions for you.  The final decision as to who builds your home is yours.

Our building system is designed so that any competent builder can construct our package.  It is pre-notched, numbered and labeled for easy assembly.  Our pre-engineered building system assembles easily and predictably.

Many homeowners with do-it-yourself experience have successfully constructed their own homes and additions.  We will provide you with technical assistance.

We own our own railroad site adjacent to our factory, which is important for economical delivery of large timbers.  Rail flat cars of #1 Douglas fir are offloaded by forklifts and stored on large, covered drying racks until needed.

Habitat uses the finest woods available for post and beam construction, stamped and graded by the National Lumber Association.  All posts, beams and rafters are #1 Douglas fir, guaranteed to be 75% free of heartwood.  Kiln-dried premium western pine, western red cedar, and Douglas fir tongue and groove decking is specified for the second floor and roof.  All pre-constructed wall panels are comprised of stamped and graded kiln-dried spruce studs, 1/2" 5-ply CDX fir plywood, red cedar clapboards siding, knotty cedar vertical siding, white cedar shingle siding, and smooth primed cedar trim.   For more information, go visit our Specifications page.

We use a variety of wood joints and hidden fasteners depending on the framing members being connected.  With the inclusion of hidden fasteners such as lag bolts, barn spikes and custom steel plates, we are able to surpass the limitations of traditional wood joinery.  We typically do not use exposed metal connectors on any of structures unless specifically requested for decoration, or required due to high wind and earthquake conditions. 

We design, engineer and manufacture all of our material packages in our modern workshop here in South Deerfield, Massachusetts.  Habitat Post & Beam does not subcontract its work.  All fabrication is done under factory-controlled conditions and is quality-control checked before shipment.

The Habitat Post & Beam design and engineering department is open for technical assistance via phone Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.  Structural construction details, a material list, guidelines for assembly, and complete, engineer-approved working plans are included with your package.