HAVE QUESTIONS?

We’ve Got Answers

DO YOUR BUILDING KITS REQUIRE FOUNDATIONS?

Our kits start with a pressure treated sill designed to set on a concrete foundation. We provide complete foundation plans for your contractor to work from. These plans will show either concrete piers (sono tubes) or a continuous concrete frost wall. The large majority of our customers build on the continuous wall, where piers are more often used in our smaller buildings.

WILL I NEED A BUILDING PERMIT?

All projects of this type require approval from your local building and zoning department. Country Carpenters supplies complete detailed plans with an engineers seal* for you to obtain your building permits.

*Excluding smaller buildings series

CAN I CONSTRUCT ONE OF YOUR BUILDING KITS WITH LIMITED CARPENTRY SKILLS?

Difficulty levels vary with each of our models depending on size, height, design complexity and other factors. Our building kits are designed for assembly by a professional carpenter however, many of our customers have managed construction on their own. Included with your kit are color-coded plans and step-by-step construction diagrams. It is important to be familiar with using power tools and you should have a certain level of comfort on a job site.

CAN YOU RECOMMEND A CONTRACTOR IN MY AREA?

Having shipped to the majority of the United States, we have contractor recommendations that we may be able to offer you, depending on your location. If you would prefer to go with a local contractor, it is not critical that they have worked with one of our kits nor that they have experience with post & beam construction.

WHAT IS YOUR AREA OF DELIVERY?

We personally deliver our building kits throughout New England. Outside of our delivery area we use a local trucking company for delivery anywhere in the country. They transport on flatbed tractor trailers and the material is set-up for you to off load with a fork lift. We also ship internationally, so please feel free to contact us for a delivery quote.

DO YOU DO ANY CUSTOM DESIGNS?

We offer a wide variety of New England-style buildings from a catalog of standard models. Although we do not do custom work, we do encourage you to contact us with your building ideas. Our numerous options include lean-tos, dormers, different window treatments and a variety of doors including a facing package for electric overhead doors. To help you design your building we have developed a “Preliminary Plan Package”, which contains blank elevations of a specific model and symbols of windows and doors for you to cut and paste.

DO YOUR PLANS SHOW UTILITIES SUCH AS ELECTRICAL OR PLUMBING?

As we sell post & beam outbuildings, our plans do not show utilities. Most of our customers seem to add simple electrical as a minimum.

What is not included in your building kits?

Our building kits do not include the foundation or the cost of any foundation or site work required. They also do not include roofing material or fasteners (excluding 12D, 16D and 40D nails for framing which are included with each kit). Building kits do not include any interior layout, electrical, or plumbing

WHAT IF I WANT TO INSULATE MY BUILDING?

For Kit customers we provide an insulation package which includes a second layer of siding to complete the insulating process with the help of our insulation instructions. The insulation itself and the 2×4’s needed to complete the process are not included. For local, Built by Us customers we will provide all the necessary materials and complete the insulation process for you.*

*Due to recent changes with the IRC insulation requirements we recommend that you check with your building official for your local requirements.

DO YOU OFFER BARN HOMES?

While we do not offer a “Barn Home” kit currently, many of our barn kits could serve that purpose with some added elements. With the help of a general contractor, architect, or engineer, it is more than possible to take your Post & Beam Barns by Country Carpenter’s barn kit to the next level and convert it into the Barn Home of your dreams. Many of our clients have done so with outside support. We simply don’t support or offer build services for that aspect of your project.