Timber framing: Socket System™ ?

[Erin]

Anyone heard of these folks?  Anyone use them?

http://www.socketsys.com/index.php

[Erin]

Or maybe a better question is:  Having checked out their website, what do you think?  Does this look like a likely way to frame out a post and beam home?  What would be the spacing of the frames?

[Amanda_931]

There's been a thread on these.

Can't find it now.

Don't expect it to be a system you can do by yourself easily, though, unless you've got a pretty righteous forklift.

And I'm not sure you'd want untreated lumber as close to the ground as it is in the pictures, at least here in the South

There is something to be said for that faux post and beam with patented connectors.  You can get the nice wide beam spacing using lumber easily gotten at a store in town.

A lot of people--including, IIRC, Lee Valley--have the hardware kits for storage buildings that are similar, but not usable past about 10 feet wide.

[Erin]

unless you've got a pretty righteous forklift.

Our forklift is kind of wimpy, I think.  Though it handles a ton easily.
But we also have a bi-directional Ford tractor...  Or rather have easy, free access to one.  (Not to mention a back hoe, bulldozer and an ancient road grader.  All kinds of nifty toys around here.  lol)

And I'm not sure you'd want untreated lumber as close to the ground as it is in the pictures

I'm in western Nebraska. Our average annual precip. is in the 14-18" range...[smiley=vrolijk_1.gif]

[Amanda_931]

What's the groundwater situation?

That can be amazing in heavily irrigated areas.

Water 8" down at certain times of the year, for instance.

[Erin]

We're over top of the Ogallala aquifer. It's down significantly in our area (*because* of heavy irrigation), but water is still easily attainable with minimal effort.  

[glenn kangiser]

Looks like engineering  would be required since it's not stick framing but that is getting to be pretty much the standard everywhere anyway.  Possibly they supply it?

...and cute tractor with a serious chomper on it.

[Amanda_931]

It is a cute tractor.

Not so much how much a forklift can lift, but how high it can go.

Someone else here was somewhere over the Ogallala aquifer, and had high water table for part of the year, and possibly salt in the soil, because of irrigation.  Drainage problems a handful of feet down, I'd think.