Contemporary Rustic Lakehouse

Matt McCuddy helped us grow as a company. As a forthright communicator, he expressed his likes and dislikes- for both the design and the crafting process. As you can see, solid communication produced good looking, well balanced Timber Framing for Matt and his family.

Matt was originally inspired by a project featuring Cedar logs with pronounced root swell as entry posts. But his overall home theme would end up being more refined than the inspiration photo . Thus the big 11X22 posts with sweeping arches, became a repeating theme for the Timber Frame design.

But even with the best of clients, good communication is essential. It takes discipline and concentration. Occasionally we must communicate strategically, so clients can cut through the “noise” to see the info clearly and make the best decision for their situation.

In this case, the “noise” came from the framer and truss rep. “Arrow wants 15K to install the Timber package?!!” The the framer sputtered. “I can do it for 3K- all day long!” The truss rep weighed in, “I’ve known this framer for a long time and they have done tons of work with timbers.”

So Matt turns to my guy Josh  the builder. “What gives?” he asked. He is wondering if Arrow is trying to “cut a fat hog” at his expense. And I don’t blame him a bit. I would too, in that situation. Josh and the builder tried to communicate the scale of the timbers and level of detail which would be required to get the timbers install right.

But the framer and truss rep reiterated their confident stance. The decision was put off. Afterwards, the builder and Josh decided to load both trailers and bring them out to the jobsite early- so everyone could see what they were signing up for. As you can imagine, two trailers, piled high with massive timbers, did the communication trick!

Matt was with the framer when the trailers showed up on site. Together, they walked around the trailers checking things out. Gone was the cocky swagger. According to Matt, the framers eyes were the big as saucers! Who do you suppose ended up installing the timber package?

I’ve had the exact same experience with new purchases and endeavors. Sometimes it takes a few projects to “see around the corners” and understand what you’re up against. 

The big takeaway here is to put energy and focus towards creating and holding on to positive experiences- using humour, laughing oneself or at odd situations just like Matt did. Balanced artful timber design and timber crafting is a  great thing to acquire and enjoy, but life would be woefully empty without well grounded perspectives and connection.