The Barn Raising...

[Brian_Weekley]

The time has finally arrived...we loaded my timberframe on a 42 foot car trailer yesterday and we're off to prepare for the raising.  Woohoo!  Many thanks to those on the FF who gave feedback and advice that helped me get me to this point.  I'll post photos of the raising in the near future.




;D

[mesquite buckeye]

So, like dude, what's up with the catman mask? ;D 8) 8) 8)

Must be eggciting to have it actually happening. ;D

[Brian_Weekley]

So, like dude, what's up with the catman mask? ;D 8) 8) 8)

 

[jueston]

Don't hate on the cat avatars.....  :D

I'm excited to see the raising, remember, there is no such thing as to many pictures....

[mesquite buckeye]

I like cats. That one just looks like it is possessed by the dark one. ;D

[Dave Shepard]

I can't wait to see it up! 8)

(And I am reminded I didn't respond to your invitation.  :-[ I'm sorry I didn't get back to you.)

[VictorH]

What are the 2 RAS being used for?

[Dave Shepard]

I think they go inside the building when it's up. I think Brian had a Sketchup showing them in their new home. Or maybe it was some other person entirely.  :D

[thecfarm]

Post it as barn raising so I will notice it. I don't come on this part much. I have no idea what you guys talk about,but I enjoy seeing your craftmanship.

[John_P]

Any details? Did you cut it yourself, size? Home, barn, other? How long did it take
you to get to this point?

[Jim_Rogers]

John_P:

Welcome to the forum.

Search for post by Brian and I"m sure you'll find some of your answers.
He maybe out of computer range for a while as he's on site in Maine erecting his frame.

Jim Rogers

PS. Did we meet recently?

[Brian_Weekley]

Jim is correct, I'm currently in Maine and have very limited internet access.  I'll post lots of pics when I get back.  The raising will be this coming Sat.  Still trying to finish a few beams up before then.

I'm planning to use the two RAS's to cut tongue and groove boards with molding heads.  One setup for tongue and one for groove.  Dave is correct too--plan to leave one in the barn when it's complete.

This is a Sobon style shed with enclosed shed on one side (20x20 overall).  I cut the entire frame by hand sporadically over the last year and a half.

[thecfarm]

Brian,What town in Maine? Nice weather we have now.

[John_P]

Jim

Yes we did meet recently at a Fox Maple training class in ME. I tried out one of your
Millers Falls boring machines you had for sale, class was great and tool was very nice.

Brian-thank you for the update and good luck, a year and a half of work it a big investment
I look forward to to seeing the pics as well. Be safe

[Brian_Weekley]

No work today due to very heavy rains—a real frog strangler.  Therefore, I finally have some time to post some pics.  Jueston asked for lots of pictures, so here you go...

Unloading the beams at the worksite:


The dry fit stone foundation.  Notice the fancy home-made water level.  This worked great for building the walls and leveling the sills.



Assembling the tie joists and sills.  We did this over the stone on wood supports so we wouldn't disrupt the rock too much.





Pulling things together with straps, come-along, and some persuasion with a log:



After everything was tight and square, we lifted each corner to remove the supports and lowered the base to the stone foundation.  We used cedar shakes as shims to level the entire base on the stone foundation.



The base complete and level:



The first bent goes up:





Inserting the loft joists as we pull together the middle bent:



Forgot to make mortises in the sill for the door posts.  Some last minute work so we could get the final bent raised:





We had enough people to carry, lift, and set the plates without the need for a gin pole:









Group photo and BBQ at the end of the raising day:





The rafters had to wait for the following day:



Finally, the traditional whetting bush tops the frame...





The frame is done!  Couldn't have done it without a lot of help from friends and neighbors.  Many traveled a great distance to be there.





A lot of work left to do now.  Hope the rain clears soon...

[giant splinter]

Brian,
Simply beautiful ..... The stone foundation really sets it off nicely and the frame is very well done, I particularly like to see the use of the hand mortiser as it is truly the way to do joinery when time allows.
I have been following your progress and looking forward to this moment, Congratulations on a job well done.

[Mooseherder]

Very nice Brian, it looks great.
Looks like your crew got smaller on day two. :D

[Rooster]

Great Job!

Has the reality of the frame now standing sunk in yet?

Peace,

Rooster

[thecfarm]

Love that stone foundation. Tommorrow looks like rain off and on again.  :

[grweldon]

Awesome Job!  Can't wait to see the progress...

[Jim_Rogers]

Thanks for all the pictures.

Nice job.

Jim Rogers

[jueston]

thanks for the pictures, i know once you get moving, its hard to remember to stop and take pics. but its always interesting to see the progress.

like everyone else said, the foundation looks awesome, and everything turned out beautiful....

[schakey]

Great job,love it. 8) Can't stop looking at the pictures.

[Brian_Weekley]

The barn update...

I only had a limited amount of time available to raise and enclose the barn.  It's hard to believe that it's only been a week since the raising and I'm finally home now.  Why is it that things always take longer than I think it should?  I didn't get as far along as I had hoped, but I left the barn tight for the winter.  I'll probably have to wait till spring to completely finish the roof, install a proper door, and the windows.

Here's the nice view from the top as I boarded the roof:



The roof and siding go on...



I just applied some roof guard with some battens to help hold it down.  The side with the shed roof was pretty easy to work on.  However, working on the 12:12 pitch side was very tough and scary!  I'm definitely going to use some staging next time around to finish the roof.



I just screwed on some boards over the door opening to button it up for the winter...



I'm exhausted!

[Brian_Weekley]

Here's an attempt at a YouTube slideshow with additional photos...

http://youtu.be/LwAdhREU9Nk

[giant splinter]

The slideshow is very well done, just as the raising was done and you have a super nice shop/barn to keep things out of the weather for the winter.
Nice work Brian and a great working team you have put together with a structure that will last a lifetime.
One question ( Who's music was that in your slideshow/Love that stuff and would like to find an album. )

[grweldon]

Very cool!

[thecfarm]

Why is it that things always take longer than I think it should?  I didn't get as far along as I had hoped

I thought I was the only one that had that problem???  :D  All the hard work and time that you and the others did look great.

[AK Newbie]

Clearly a lot of dreaming, planning, and executing took place for you to get to this point!  A beautifully built timber frame structure coming to fruition!  Congratulations and thanks for sharing the journey it is truly inspirational!
Kevin

[Brian_Weekley]

One question (Who's music was that in your slideshow/Love that stuff and would like to find an album.)

GS, I wish I could tell you.  I used Apple's iPhoto to make the slideshow on my Mac.  The program includes about 10 different built-in music choices you could select to add to your slideshow.  All I know is that it was called "River Walk".  Unfortunately, I don't know who the artist is.  It was rather short in length and just repeats through the slideshow.

[WmFritz]

Brian- that project is something to be very proud of. Nice shed and nice pictures.

All those smiling faces are priceless.

[justallan1]

Nice job and thanks for all of the pictures.

Allan

[JohnM]

Well phooey! >:(  Just found this thread through another that Dennis posted it on.  I totally would have come down for a day.  It looks fantastic, Brian, well done! 8)  I also noticed a shameless plug for Terrific Timbers LLC. ;) ;D :D  And last years Common Ground Fair shirt.   Looks like a great time, sorry I missed it.

[Brian_Weekley]

Tried making a panorama picture by stitching a few photos together.  Shows the new roof and the field with a dusting of snow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[thecfarm]

A horse or a beef critter on that hill would add alot to that picture. That looks nice.

[Dave Shepard]

Very nice! Looks like a nice quiet spot to work. I hope there isn't 12 houses on the other side of the photo. :D

Did you keep track of how long it took for each phase of the project? Cutting and raising seems to be a much smaller part of the big picture, when it's all said and done.

[giant splinter]

Brian,
Your building looks very nice with a dusting of snow on the new roof, I think it would make a nice photo and tell its own story with about two feet of snow on the ground and a shoveled pathway to the entry door as well as just a little smoke and heat drifting off of a chimney on the back wall.
Your barn is simply beautiful and in the perfect spot on your property to provide you with a creative environment to work in, let it snow and keep us in photos of your project so we can let our imaginations run away with ideas.

[venice]

Great project! And it looks like you guys had a lot of fun.

I have a question;

I understand the design of the shed is an traditional one. Is there a particular reason for the "knick" at one side of the roof? Or did this design just develop from the addition of a smaller building to an existing one?

Thanks in advance and have a great day. venice

[Brian_Weekley]

I'm easily amused, but I thought this was pretty cool...  On Google Earth, I looked up the location where I raised my barn this past August.  Apparently, the latest satellite image was taken the day I unloaded my timbers--exactly one week before the barn raising.  The stone foundation was put down about 3 days after this photo.  Can you see me in the picture?  I was there getting things organized because the car is there!  The marvels of modern technology (from space)!





Nov-2014 Update:

[Mooseherder]

That's good stuff right there.
I love playing around with GE.

[thecfarm]

I'm the same way.  ;D  I think we was gone. Or I probably would of seen myself outside. I can tell when the picture was taken. I had a couple projects going in the field. And they are still going.

[Brian_Weekley]

Well, it's been almost a year since I've had the time to get back up to Maine to work on the barn.  Finally, had a chance to work on it last week.  Started the "wrap and strap" process towards finishing the exterior...

First, I added 4x4s on the interior to frame where all the window openings will be:






Next, I cut out all of the window openings in the existing vertical board siding:



I applied 15# roofing felt to the exterior of the board siding to act as a "dark curtain".  Since the siding has shrunk, this provides a black background between the boards when viewed from the inside.

All of the window openings were also framed on the exterior with 2x4s—sandwiching the siding with the interior 4x4 framing.  The 2 inch thick framing is intended to match the thickness of the insulation.



House wrap was then stretched across the bottom of the wall and held in place with 2x4s attached to the bottom sill.  All of the 2x4s were attached with 5 inch headlock screws.




Sheets of polyiso foam (2 inches thick) were cut to fit around the windows and foil tape was used on all seams.  After all the foam was in place, the housewrap was pulled up over the foam.  Both the housewrap and foam were held in place with 1x4 strapping and 6 inch SIP screws--screwed through the foam into the interior beams and girts.



That's all for now.  Boarded the window openings until I have more time.  The next step will be to attach horizontal strapping to the vertical strapping and then apply rows of white cedar shingles to finish the walls!

[thecfarm]

That is looking good!!

[grweldon]

Wow!  Sure does look good from the inside!  It is a bunch of work.  It will be beautiful!

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Wow, this is a nice "barn". Battens on the vertical siding and it would have been done! Looks like this will be housing more than a milk cow.... Nice work!

[Dave Shepard]

When you are done, then I will know how to do this. :D Thanks for sharing. I have always liked the idea of wrap and strap over insulated panels.

[Brian_Weekley]

Had a chance to make one more short trip to Maine to work on the barn—probably the last chance until spring.  I only had two days available and one was rainy and cold.  Anyway, the big accomplishment was finally getting the barn doors on!  I used screw-in pintles to hang the strap hinges on.  However, this was kind of a one shot deal.  If I didn't drill the holes in exactly the correct spot, I wouldn't be able to re-drill them to make slight adjustments later!

We planed and fitted a nice piece of white oak for the door sill.  After installing it at the correct angle and attaching the side trim, we shimmed the door in place and marked the bottom edge of the hinges on the trim.  After many measurements, I finally drilled the pintle holes using a brace and bit.  After you screw the pintles all the way in (about 6 inches deep), there's not much depth adjustment due to the coarse thread (one full turn in or out is the only adjustment).  The three hinges lined up reasonably well, but it was still tough working the first door down onto the three pintles.  We knew the two of us could probably never get that sucker off again (the doors are about 130 lbs each and it's a tight fit between the three hinges), but it swung beautiful.  The doors are 3 inches thick, so one door needed a slight bevel along the edge to clear the other door when you open it.  Again, we shimmed the second door in place until we were happy with the final door width and gaps, marked it, and drilled holes for the second set of pintles.  The final door placement came out great.

One door is secured with cane bolts and the other with a deadbolt.  However, good luck finding a deadbolt that will fit a 3 inch thick door!  I found a "thick door kit" for Schlage locks on the internet.  It's really nice being able to swing open the barn doors instead of screwing a bunch of boards across the opening to keep the weather out.  We got some of the lath up to install the cedar shingles on.  Working by car lights, we got the transom window in too.  Too bad we didn't have time to finish the door and transom trim, but that will just have to wait till next time...

[Jim_Rogers]

Looks good, for sure.

Jim Rogers

[grweldon]

Most beautiful!

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Awesome!

[drobertson]

Fantastic job! Has to be a very rewarding feeling!  Love it!

[thecfarm]

Door and hinges look good.

[Peter Drouin]

Why can't you not have the lath on the wall? The roof I know about. But the walls

[Brian_Weekley]

Why can't you not have the lath on the wall? The roof I know about. But the walls

Peter,

I have 2 inch thick rigid foam on the walls so there's nothing to nail the shingles to.  The vertical strapping holds the insulation on and the horizontal strapping is to nail the shingles to.  Since the shingles will have a 5 inch reveal, I need lath every 5 inches.  I'm going for a "rain screen" design--very similar to the shingle portion of the wall shown in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-65x7IDi40

Brian

[Peter Drouin]

OK, thanks.

[Brian_Weekley]

Opportunities to work on the barn are few and far between, but I had a chance to get a few days in this past week.  Except for a rain day, the weather was absolutely fantastic!  Finished trim around the door and transom and the lathe on the front side is now ready for cedar shingles.  Also got the front barn sash window installed and trimmed.  Originally, I contemplated a "pentice roof" over the door.  Instead, I opted for a wide drip cap over the transom window.  I'm pleased with how it's looking—trying to keep it consistent with a New England/Maine style.  However, now I think it needs a small "dentil molding" detail below the crown molding to add the final touch.  I'm really digging the swing-out doors.  They work sweet.

Still have a ton to do.  Hope I get the chance to make a few trips up there this year.

[grweldon]

Beautiful!
;D

[Brian_Weekley]

Did you keep track of how long it took for each phase of the project? Cutting and raising seems to be a much smaller part of the big picture, when it's all said and done.

Dave,

Sorry--seemed to have missed your question.  No, I didn't keep track of time.  However, now I can confidently confirm you are correct--cutting and raising of the frame was definitely the fast and easy part of this project.  So many details to figure out and work on after the frame went up.  Maybe I'll need to organize a shingle party!

[BCsaw]

Glad to see this thread continue! ;D ;D

Looks great Brian.

[Brian_Weekley]

Life got in the way this year and I didn't have much time to get away to work on the barn.  Finally had a few days in Maine to add more strapping and start putting some cedar shingles on.  It's still a slow work in progress...

[Dave Shepard]

You've got a way to go to catch up in the procrastinating department. I still haven't built doors for the barn we put up in 2011. Looks great.

[TimFromNB]

Brian, that is very nice work! Looks amazing.

I will be building a cabin with a very similar design (Sobon as well) and keep fussing about the details of the enclosure. It was great to see the details of your wrap and strap.

I have a few questions I hope you can answer:
- What thickness planks did you use to enclose the frame? Are they tongue and groove?
- Did you insulate the roof? If so, how?
- Would you recommend a stone foundation over cement piers (in terms of costs and time)?

Thanks in advance!
Tim

[Brian_Weekley]

I have a few questions I hope you can answer:
- What thickness planks did you use to enclose the frame? Are they tongue and groove?

The vertical barn siding that I put up first was rough-cut pine, full 1x8's cut by my sawyer (same on the roof).  I originally planned to T&G them onsite, but I just didn't have the time available to do it.  T&G or ship-lap is really the way to go since the boards will shrink--there are gaps between the boards now that you see on the inside.  However, that's why I added tar-paper on the outside of the siding before the insulation--it makes "a dark curtain" so those gaps are less noticeable (and so you don't see the insulation from the inside).

- Did you insulate the roof? If so, how?

I insulated the roof with 4 inches of polyiso (2x layers staggered with taped seams).  Of course, more would have been better, but this is intended as a future workshop--not a house.  Here's my YouTube slideshow which illustrates the the roof details:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DclbGgw1GqE

(If you actually view on the YouTube site, you can read the text details in the description)

- Would you recommend a stone foundation over cement piers (in terms of costs and time)?

Cost-wise, it depends on whether you have plenty of good stone available to you.  In my case, I had plenty of (round) stone on the property, but that's harder to build with.  I ended up buying nice flat stone that was dug up from a quarry just a few miles down the road.  I wanted a stone foundation because it's traditional and sure is pretty!  It's not that hard to do, but it is hard work and will take a few days to build it.  Here's another FF member who made a very nice stone foundation:

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,61682.0.html

His foundation is much nicer than mine due to the excavation and the large underlying stones.  I just built mine on top of a gravel pad.  The idea with the dry stone foundation is if there is any settling/shifting in the future, you can theoretically jack up and shim where needed (but probably easier said then done).

[TimFromNB]

Thanks for the reply!

[Brian_Weekley]

I ended up finishing two sides this year.  The rest will have to wait till next year...

[Carson-saws]

WOW!!...really like the foundation and the barn looks totally outstandingly awesome Sirs.

[Dakota]

Sweet!  I like it.

[fishfighter]

Nice looking work.

[TimFromNB]

Awesome, love the cedar shingles!

[thecfarm]

Get them shingles to gray a little and it will look like it always been there!!!!!

[jimdad07]

You did an excellent job on that building.  Very good thread, thanks for posting.

[TimFromNB]

Is there a name for the wide window above the door? I really like the look of them and am considering one for my cabin.

Thanks,
Tim

[Brian_Weekley]

Tim,

It's called a transom window.  Here's the link to how I made the window:

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,76256.msg1157106.html#msg1157106

And here's a video on how I made the frame for it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4Nh3BzyO-g

[Dave Shepard]

It's called a transom window. You can buy them from most window manufactures in standard or custom sizes.

[TimFromNB]

Wow, impressive work!

[Coolrunner]

A most excellent job on the shop.  I've got some similar ideas and will be re-watching the videos often.  Thanks for posting.

[addicted]

Wow! Is that ever nice
Great job Brian

[Brian_Weekley]

I got the chance to get up and work on the barn for a few days.  Here's some photos showing the installation of windows on the south side...











Next is to nail more shingles on!

[jimdad07]

Looks great Brian.

[terrifictimbersllc]

 8) 8)

[Brian_Weekley]

8) 8)

Dennis, can you believe it's been four years since the raising?  Maybe I'll need another four to get this thing done!

[terrifictimbersllc]

Then you can start on your house!   :D

[Brian_Weekley]

Then you can start on your house!   :D

Dennis, funny you should mention that.  I had a topo survey done today—the very first step towards building something else in the future!

[terrifictimbersllc]

Hey that is great!  One step closer to the dream! 8) 8)

[Brian_Weekley]

Unfortunately, I was only able to spend one week in Maine this year and only had two days available to work on my barn.  Here's a little update...  Only the back side of the barn has not been finished.  This is because I've been planning to add-on a small addition to this side.  I had a load of fill delivered and moved/spread it all out by hand.  I'm going to let it settle over the winter and compact again next summer before I build another stone foundation for the hip-roof addition.  



Spent most of the rest of time just painting trim.  Note to self:  Don't use rough-sawn lumber for trim--it's much harder to paint!  It always looks a little nicer every time I leave it.  One of these years I might manage to get this thing done!



Beautiful, crisp fall days this week and the colors were pretty much peak!

[Dave Shepard]

Looks great! I love fall's colors and the cooler weather, but it's a reminder of the cold weather to come. 

[TimFromNB]

Looking great! We are in peak colours here as well, probably one week left!

[thecfarm]

That sure does look good!!!