Opinions Wanted -What system should I use?

[mesquite buckeye]

We have many mountains where I live. While certain parts of a mountain can focus winds, the overall effect of the roughened surface is to break up wind. I can see where a long, straight valley could heighten wind running at a slight angle, if the wind is perpendicular to the valley the wind is greatly reduced.

I was just asking what the general conditions in Switzerland are compared to the US midwest. I don't know the answer and haven't really gotten an answer. I think it would be interesting to know what differences exist.

[D L Bahler]

The Alps are perhaps different, and this too probably depends on where you are. They can have an intense focusing effect during certain seasons, when the winds come out of a certain place.

In general, it is more calm. The supercell thunderstorms common in the midwest are a unique thing in the world. The weather in Indiana is far worse than in Bern. But, the high winds that pose a danger to a large roofed structure can occur in Bern, and the buildings are designed for this phenomenon. There is a name for the winds, but I can't remember it right now  :-\

So, in general, the Bernese houses will not face high winds as frequently -as you said, mountains and hills can have a sheltering effect if the wind is close to perpendicular. But high winds are not uncommon in certain regions.

[mesquite buckeye]

Is the construction the same in both places?

[mesquite buckeye]

I always thought it would be neat to build a house to survive in F5 conditions. You'd probably have to anchor everything, including the foundation. Maybe start with something easier, like F3 or F4.

[D L Bahler]

If you ever come to Indiana, there is a barn you should see.

It's now in the Swiss heritage Museum in Berne Indiana. It is a classic Schweitzer style forebay barn, a particularly large and well built example.

What is unique about this barn, however, is its extra bracing. It has added steel rods and cables in key locations just for what you describe, to help it stand up to a tornado. Fortunately, it has never been put to this test.

[mesquite buckeye]

I would love to see it. When we get in the neighborhood, I will contact you.

I actually designed (rough, not finished out) a design idea for such a building. Logs with fed through bars, 1/4" steel plate shutters, deadman foundation anchoring system, bars across the rafters to the far walls, connected, with heavy plank roof sheathing. 30 degree roof angle, two directions. Figured conventional roofing was ok over that, just replace it when the blast stripped it off. Such a building would also be fine in the next New Madrid earthquake. I figured the greatest loss risk for such a building, built from wood, reinforced with steel would be fire. Never got to figuring that part out.

[D L Bahler]

Here is a concept drawing of how the finished building will look, some day.

I've included a covered ramp up to the loft, this will be built later on. This feature is an important part of the regional style.



 

[mesquite buckeye]

Looks like Switzerland. Very cool.

[D L Bahler]

That's the idea!

I'm going for a somewhat archaic Bernese Midland style, something along the lines of the late 18th century.

We're going to open up hewing workshops as of this exact moment 8)

here are details: https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,67786.0.html

[Satamax]

Hey DL Bahler.

Daft question, can you make non pasteurized cheese in the US?  I know there's been a trend few years back, where they  got their senses together and allowed few cheese makers to make some. That was round the great lakes. IIRC. But is it wide spread now?
Well, if you make swiss cheese, you might not be bothered tho.
Thanks.

Max.

[D L Bahler]

We can use non pasteurized milk as long as the cheese is aged a minimum of 60 days, that is the Indiana State law.

[D L Bahler]

Also regarding the style,

some additional research has turned up that this style will fit back maybe as far as the mid 17th century. The wall framing is rather archaic in form, it's the long braces I was unsure of but I have placed them back to this time period now. This would of course be at the very beginning of the classic Berner Bauernhaus as we have it today.

[D L Bahler]

Regarding the histroy of the roof framing,

here is this little jewel from 1709, originally built in the village of Madiswil in the Canton of Bern.

This is more or less the ancestor to the common Bernese house from which the modern style sprung.
This is a direct posted ridge structure. This one, however, shows the earliest form of the Liegender Binder in the framing over the Hay loft, where the ridge is supported by two canted posts with a hanging post (a variation on the familiar King Post design)



 

The area of the hay loft is above the living area. The area on the left is the animal stall.

Note the full hip roof. Eventually, roofs became half or quarter hip.

[D L Bahler]

 

 

Here is the inside of the Madiswil House (which by the way is currently housed in the open air Museum of Ballenberg by Brienz, Canton Bern

This is a view from the loft above the stall toward the living area of the structure. You can see the hay loft (Bühne) and it's truss system. You can also see the long, let in dovetail bracing which is a distinct characteristic of the Alemannic style

[mesquite buckeye]

Love the peg ladder. Looks a lot lighter than the traditional more German style timber frame barns I grew up with. Unfortunately, most of those are gone now. The main ones left are from traditional families that still own the land their ancestors settled. Here are a couple from my family in Ohio. The first one is from my uncle's barn, the second and third from where my dad grew up. Most of the purlins are one piece. Dad said they used to play tag up on the beams when he was a kid. Now you would have to have a hardhat just to go in the barn. It is a different world.



  

  

 

[D L Bahler]

Quite a few of those in Central and northern Indiana.
living in an Amish community helps, they don't like to tear down doddy's old barn like some of these folks do.

I remember playing in the beams of such a barn -there's a similar one right behind my house, built around 1900.

It's interesting to note the different approaches people used.

Like you noted, the Bernese framing is quite a bit lighter -and on top of that, these buildings are made of pine and fir, not oak and elm like ours are. Also I notice the difference in the roof pitch, the Swiss example was originally thatched, hence the pitch is greater than a 12/12, the midwest barns were built to be shingled with oak or ceder, so the roofs are naturally flatter.

[D L Bahler]

For comparison here is the perspective drawing for my frame,



 

and again the house from Madiswil BE