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A Hideaway in the Trees
The Evening Star, February 2003
Written by Bill Gisel | Photography by Troy Edgington
Dekalb home wins award for design
A home unique to Northeastern Indiana and featured on the cover of Builder Architect Magazine was judged to be the winner of the Excellence in Model Home Design contest for 2002/2003.
The contest is sponsored by the Building Systems Council of the National Association of Home Builders and Building Systems magazine. Owners of the home are Mr. and Mrs. James Thompson. It is located in the "Hidden Valley" off C.R. 13, north of US 6, that is veiled by trees in the winter, and hidden by thick woods spring through fall.
The house combines the centuries-old wood joinery techniques of timber framing with high tech Insulspan structural insulated panels , yielding a home with the beauty of massive exposed red oak timbers with extremely energy efficient panels. Thompson is president of Riverbend Timber Framing of Northeast Indiana and Bedford Homes, Inc. He has been associated with Riverbend, headquartered in Blissfield, MI for three years.
"I had a 30 year career in the corporate world, and my interest in building a timber frame home led me to Riverbend," Thompson said. "There are very few timber frame and panel homes in this part of Indiana, but interest is growing rapidly." Thus Riverbend Timber Framing of Northeast Indiana was formed. The most current Riverbend home is under construction on Clear Lake near Fremont, he noted.
Thompsons home, named The Lakotah" in honor of his interest in the west in general and Lakotah Sioux Indians in particular, features 2,235 square feet on the first floor, 2,118 on the second floor, and 2,235 in the basement. In the design contest, the Lakotah competed against homes built using panel, modular and log building systems technology. Timber frame, Thompson said, is an alternative to log homes built with comparable building costs but lower exterior maintenance costs.
In addition to the timber framing, Riverbend uses Insulspan structural panels made of a continuous core of insulated foam laminated between two layers of oriented strand board (OSB). They are fitted together on the job site with a simple spline system to form strong, energy efficient walls and roofs.
The Thompson residence uses 6-inch Insulspan structural insulated panels in the sidewalls and 8-and 10-inch panels in the ceilings. The Riverbend system can be used by any skilled contractor. A Riverbend representative is provided on site to guide the construction process. All timbers and panels are numbered and shown on detailed drawings.
"The important thing is in putting the pieces together in the proper order and sequence," Thompson pointed out. An important feature of timber frame construction is the elimination of interior structural walls. This allows for greater design flexibility and open floor plans. In The Lakotah, the ceiling in the great room soars to 35 feet. The second-floor master suite extends to the third story loft, giving a huge 622 square feet of space.
The walkout basement features a fitness room, home theater room and guest suite. A 760-square foot game room and workshop above the attached garage has a 12x12 foot basketball court with regulation backboard. A closed loop geothermal heating system provides the homes heating and cooling needs.
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