Install braces before or after beams are in place?

[trouts2]

   Can "average" braces be installed after beams are up like posts or a bent?  By average I mean something like a 30 inch brace cut with 3 45 degree angles.  In videos I see people using ratchet straps to lean back a beam that is in place to fit a brace.  If the beam has a stub tenon then I assume it would have to be lifted out before being leaned back.  Using a ratchet strap by myself seems dicey. 

[Brad_bb]

In a typical Timber frame, you assemble the braces into the posts, and then bring the tie beam together with the post/braces at the same time.  This is typically done with the bent laying down on the ground.  The way braces are traditionally cut, you have to assemble them like this.  Problems can occur from time to time and you have to cut material off the brace to get it into the second mortise.  Then you have to figure out how you're going to secure it.  This is not preferable at all.

Braces between bents are installed into the girts and into the bent that is already upright.  The brace and tie beam end hanging in the air are supported.  Then the next bent is raised the brace and girts are inserted in their mortises at the same time.


 

 

[trouts2]

   I think you are pointing out by example that the braces have to go in when the beams are apart and will not go in once they are joined.

   Lifting a bent myself is a bit more than I can probably do.  I'm doing a small shed so a crane is out.  Getting a guy with a small tractor with a bucket to lift a plate is an option.
 
   I've made a tripod with a chain hoist and will give that a shot in a day or two.   I was thinking of bracing the two posts and raising the plate with the tripod.  Sticking in a brace at that time seemed dicey so I was wondering it could go in after the plate is on.

Thank you.

[Ljohnsaw]

Years ago I built a stick-built barn pretty much by myself.  I built wall sections 24' long x 10' high out of 2x4 and 5/8" ply.  Pretty heavy.  I was too impatient to wait for the weekend and help from friends.  I used a crow bar to get the top plate off the slab and slid blocks under it.  I kept jacking it up adding block then buckets and sawhorses.  When I got it high enough, I attached three 2x4s about 12' long to the sides of the studs (at 0, 12 and 24') near the top plate sticking out away from the sole plate.  They acted as ratchet stop/braces on the rough concrete.  I just pushed it up at each brace until nearly upright and added bracing to keep it from falling over.  I repeated that 7 more times

[trouts2]

  10 x 24....that was an impressive lift.  With a flat surface that would be an option.  My build is on a slight slope with sills in place sitting on rocks.  The lift from side(s) have obstructions so difficult to deal with.  If the tripod does not work I'll have to come up with another way.

[Ljohnsaw]

A tripod will work but you will have to do it in stages.  You will need to place it over the top beam and lift a bit and then support and move the tripod.  You need to lift in a mostly vertical manner so as not to slide the post bottoms out of position.  The other option is to assemble the bent with the top beam/plate where it will finally rest (albeit higher up).  Then, as you lift it up, the "legs" will swing under.

[D L Bahler]

It is also possible to instead use tension bracing, which allows you to raise a frame piecemeal. Look up "half dovetail bracing" on google and you'll find some pictures of this sort of joint. 

[canopy]

I like the tripod with chain hoist method. It can be done alone, but it will go a lot quicker with helpers otherwise you'll be running back in forth between the hoist and the frame getting everything positioned just right. Tip: tie a long line to the top put of the tripod and pull it to walk tripod legs over beams. Here you can see a tripod in action:

frame raising using bamboo tripod

[trouts2]

    I've seen that video.  That is a big tripod.  It is made of bamboo that is light and very strong.  Those may be teak logs. 
 
   I made a couple of tripods to find the max I could get standing by myself.  I did that with the chain fall attached which makes the lifting very difficult.  I'm going to try mounting a pulley up top and hoist the chain fall up.  Adding a pulley reduces the lift length slightly.  The chain fall itself reduces lift length.  I want to try double pulleys to eliminate the chain fall and hopefully gain more lift length. 

[Jim_Rogers]

Raising a frame up and then adding braces can be done, if you use "let in braces"
these braces are cut with the tenon on the outside of the brace instead of the inside of the brace. Once the post and tie beam are up you can slide them in from the outside:



 

Most of the time they are done so that the brace is flush with the surface of the post and tie beam. But can be proud.

Jim Rogers

[trouts2]

Jim & Bahler,
    OK on the half dove tail and let in bracing.  Those would be easy to do.  I did not want to put in screwed in braces. 
    It's tough being new at TF and doing things alone.  I've got the sills leveled on rock piles and I'm sure if I tried to get a frame up with the tripod hoist the sills would get knocked around.  This shed is a practice shed to get familiar with the basics of TF.  Next summer I'll put up another and hopefully be better organized.

[Brian_Weekley]

Here's two nice videos showing frame raising techniques--one with a wall jack and another with an A-frame.

toms timberframe - YouTube

Block and Tackle: traditional frame raising - YouTube

[trouts2]

   For A frames and tripods I get how to do it.  If there were a few people here it would be easy to get up a larger tripod which I can't do alone.   They could also hold things while the legs were pushed over to get on to the sills which are on stones.   It's not a straight "lift and lower" for the tri pod.  The sills will get knocked around.    For an A frame the beams being lifted would have to start on top of the sills on stones which is a problem.  There is also no anchor in the directions needed for an A frame.  

  I was not lifting a bent.  I was going to lift the two posts of on the same side of each bent.  It was lift one post and secure it.  Lift the other then lift the plate.  The idea being a lot less weight than a bent.  Doing it that way I thought the best for doing it alone.   Doing it like that also prevented braces going in first which is why I asked about braces going in later.  I gave it one last shot today with the tripod and gave up.

 I'm now going put a floor on the sills which gives me a flat place to work from and better leverage as I'll be higher.   I can complete a bent and lay it on the floor.  With bracing the feet I may be able to inch it up alone as Ijohnsaw did his wall.  It might be possible to use the tripod for most of the first part of the lift and from there I inch it up.   I did not want to do it this way (complete bent) as my beams are very poor.  I don't have two sides on any beams in the group I'm using that are square.  There is no reliable best edge.  I was thinking that if I got two posts up with a plate I could then layout better connections with the other two beams and plate i.e. fudge better with first group in place.  I could make adjustments on the ground for the next two posts and plate to match what is up.  That is, cut the mortises and tenons on second group to go up on the ground from measurements on the parts standing.    Given the trouble I'm running into I think it would be better to lift a complete bent.   In hopes to have everything match I'd have to build both bents on the ground and fudge and fit there.   As bad as the fits will be at least all joints will go together.   Also, by having a finished frame on the ground I have a bent I can try to get up.  If that does not work then I can get a few people or small tractor with a bucket and be able to lift the bents then plates in one go which should only take an hour or two.  

[canopy]

• Stick to traditional/proven ways of raising a frame. Raise in bents. It makes it a lot easier. Watch some more raising videos and if possible go to a raising or even a framing workshop to be immersed with minds of great know how.
• If you like let in braces then use them. If you don't it would be ludicrous to choose them solely to save time raising. I think you will be surprised how easy you can feed in the braces at raising.
• Chain blocks are very nice compared to simple pulleys especially if working alone because you can just let go anytime and it stays exactly there.
• Raising a tripod can be done alone, you just have to know how. It's an incredible experience as pictured below to create these amazing, powerful lifters. Easier with helpers, but still doable alone. See below

Raising a tripod alone:

• Use materials for legs that are light enough to move by yourself. bamboo is ideal or slender poles.
• tie the tripod using a heavy duty tripod knot--8 rounds minimum. Legs are on the ground with one leg forward and two back.  Make sure the knot is not tied too tightly as to allow the necessary leg movement. You can test the knot has enough play by swinging the front leg across the ground.
• spread the back legs just enough that it will be stable and not fall over when raised. Keep the forward leg directly opposed.
• Here is where the heavy lifting starts and this step is the key to the whole thing. Go to the center and lift the apex. Prop it up with as long a piece of wood, pipe or whatever is available. You can see a board under the apex in above pic. If you can't lift it see step #1
• secure the back legs so they cannot slide and kick out
• now simply push the front leg to fully raise the tripod. You can get a little more power by grasping the base when pushing rather than being further up. If you don't have the power to push it, you simply need a longer board under the apex.

[trouts2]

   Pictures of the sills and tripod.  The ground is full of big rocks and roots so impossible to sink in sonotubes or other foundation types with rebar or jbar to anchor the sills.  The sills just sit on rocks with no anchor. 


 

 

   Lifting a complete bent with the tripod seemed shaky for me alone.  If I got the bent up high enough the legs would swing into the sills if it was not high enough.   Getting the bent high enough to get over the sills seemed impossible with me alone working the hoist and guiding the post legs so did not try that way.
   Instead I tried getting up two posts and a plate but the plate would only get about two feet from the top of the posts.  The posts would be supported by bracing and I would have to be an a ladder trying to get the plate over the post  tenons.  After doing some practice lifts with the tripod I thought doing it that way also shakey at best.  As I mentioned above I gave up with both approaches. 
   I'm now thinking it would be manageable if I put a floor on the sills for a platform.  I can put the bent on the floor and try to get it up slowly by my self or with the tripod. 

[btulloh]

Seems like a gin pole would be the way to go.

Gin Pole Bent Raising - YouTube

Interesting topic.  Thanks for posting.

[btulloh]

You'd probably need to anchor your sills temporarily to keep them from sliding.

[trouts2]

   A gin pole would be nice but I can't see a way to rig it here.   It's the same for an A frame.   A ground anchor is out as the land here was regraded and still soft.  Going the other way are infiltrators for my septic system and they might get penetrated. 

   Part of it is getting it up versus getting it up on the sills alone.

   I now think my original plan of getting posts up individually was not good so will build a complete frame on the ground and lift a bent.  I can't get people here time and again piecemeal .  If I complete the frame on the ground I could get people or a small tractor for a quick raising which should go very fast as it's small shed.

 Btulloh,  I saw that video.  I have looked at many Youtube video raisings.  I've also got the army field manual for rigging which covers raising techniques and is excellent, FM 5-125.  I thought the tripod was the best for me as something I could get up and manage alone.  Unfortunately the highest I could go was a bit short for getting a plate on so going with a tripod, floor and bent.

Btulloh, "You'd probably need to anchor your sills temporarily to keep them from sliding."  That was the issue I had trouble with.  I thought that might involve too much and might be easier to try from a complete floor as the added weight and rigidity would probably take some knocking against it without moving.  

[D L Bahler]

I would like to point out that among western timber framing traditions as a whole, those that raise their frames in bents are in the minority. It's definitely the way it was done in America, but most people don't actually do it that way.

But then you have to consider: American style frames are designed to be raised this way, so it's probably best to do so. Trying to raise a bent-style frame piece-by-piece would be... difficult at best.

Raising a frame piece by piece is certainly an option, but you have to take it into consideration from the beginning (Which you are doing by asking about bracing, etc). I've done it. I'm currently finalizing designs for a massive frame that will not be assembled in bents.

When raising things piece by piece, you want to design joints to sit on top of things more than fit into face mortises. So a piecemeal frame is going to need to have tying joints that sit on top of the wall plates, for example, as opposed to the drop-tie through-mortised tying joints most timber framers like to use. It will affect the entire aesthetic of your building, and the design of every single joint. This is a primary driving factor behind the differences between Northern European style of framing (which includes common American styles) and those used in Central and Eastern Europe (for example, German Fachwerk). The former are largely designed to be raised in pre-assembled sections, while the latter are made to be assembled one piece at a time.

So it's really a judgment call on your part; do you want to redesign your entire frame to facilitate piecemeal assembly? Do you want to stick with a more classic American aesthetic and raise it as bents?

[Jim_Rogers]

Set the gin pole on the deck of the frame and use the deck to tie off your lines. We've done that many times.
I have posted lots of info here on gin poles, read up and ask more questions.
Jim Rogers
PS. do the math on the weight of the bent. Convert each timber in bdft and figure the weight. 2/3's of the weight stays at the base of the post, so you only need to lift 1/3. Each person can lift 50 lbs so if you need to lift a 250 lbs timber you'll need 5 guys. Block and tackle can do that with one person if rigged right.

[canopy]

> Getting the bent high enough to get over the sills seemed impossible

There are plenty of easy solutions. If you don't have enough travel in the hoist then first raise the bent enough to rest the top on sawhorses, then do a second lift to final height. That tripod appears too short--it is critical the lift is done inside the legs of the tripod. Trying to lift an object positioned outside the legs is unstable. And the tripod should always be positioned so the apex is directly over where the bent goes.  So when the bent is lifted up in the air it is floating exactly over where it belongs; you can just let go and it's 100% stable. If you don't want the bent to push against the sills on the way up then assemble it with posts sitting on top of the sills with temporary spacer boards between bent and sill.

[trouts2]

D L Bahler:
   As outlined in prior posts I mentioned the reasons for going the way I did so in response to:
 
"So it's really a judgment call on your part; do you want to redesign your entire frame to facilitate piecemeal assembly? Do you want to stick with a more classic American aesthetic and raise it as bents?"
 
   For me the preferred method would be raise bents versus piecemeal. Going the way I did caused me to pour through designs as you wrote, "to facilitate piecemeal assembly".  I changed frames over and over and a time consuming headache.  I came up with a method that would work with my lot of crummy beams for layout, assembly and manageable lifting.  Part of it depended on getting up a high enough tripod alone which has been difficult. 
 
  All that has been scrapped.  I'll have to fudge the crummy beams on the ground and go with bents.  I'll figure out how to get them up one way or another.
 
>>"Trying to raise a bent-style frame piece-by-piece would be... difficult at best."
   I can attest to that.

>>When raising things piece by piece, you want to design joints to sit on top of things more than fit into face mortises.
   I think that is pretty much where I ended with the idea of putting up two posts and then the plate on top to secure them with bracing. 
 
   By the way, I did not know what "drop-tie through-mortised tying joints" was so had to google around for that.  While doing that I tripped onto a great find,  "American Historic Timber Joinery: A Graphic Guide | 2004-08", by Soborn


Jim Rogers,
   I watched a number of gin pole lifts.  Some are done on poles in the ground, lashed to sturdy frames or setup on floors much larger than mine.  I don't have a floor on the sills yet.  The floor will be 8 x 10 and I'm not sure if I could rig lines with that angle.  I'll look into that more.
 
   I'm rushing as clearing the lot took a lot of time this summer so the build part got a later start than I had hoped for.  I'm still learning the various aspects of TF and slow to get things done.  I don't have much time left before I get chased out of here by the cold.  I've pretty much given up on getting a frame with a roof on I can cover for winter.  I'm going to try and make a complete frame on the ground and get it up in the spring.

[trouts2]

   Did a practice lift to get a feel for how high the bent would go with the tripod.  I laid out two short horses as surrogate sills to see the bent could be landed on them safely and braced with the chain fall attached to catch the bent if things went wrong.   It worked out well but there are only inches to spare.  The actual lift will be about a foot higher.  I can gain a few inches with adjustments of the rigging and legs and probably enough one post can be landed easily and the other lifted by hand into place. 
  In a two or three days the sills will have a floor so the bent can be put on the floor.  The floor can be nailed to so one leg could be on top of the floor.  The other two may be able to get lengthened with 2x lumber which would make the lift very easy.



 

[trouts2]

 

 

 

   My camp is near two Appalachian Trail trail heads.  I secured three AT hikers today for the raising that took about a half hour.  Cake.  I've been fretting about doing the lift alone for months but got lucky.  Most hikers are further north by this time of year.  They were a great crew.  Each of the group is hiking the AT alone and hiked about 1950 miles to get here from Georgia.  Quite an accomplishment. 

[Brian_Weekley]

 A community raising is always more fun—especially an impromptu one with AT hikers!  Very cool!