Well, the weather has given us a two day window...and weren't we pleased when we drove by the site and saw this! The crew has laid out and assembled the two long walls of the barn frame (the long side sections are called ranges, the short sections, of which there are four, are called bents). What they have done is assembled both ranges in such a way that when they are ready to be erected, they simply will be hoisted up and braced. (What you are looking at toward the right of the picture is the base of the right-hand range; at the left of the picture you can see the top of the range and then the top of the left hand range. When they are raised, the tops of the ranges - currently blocked up at the center of the barn floor - will be picked up by the crane. Can you visualize it?)
This is a close-up showing the foot of one of the main posts. You can see that this is one of the footings that ENER replaced. If you look carefully you can see they spliced in a piece of old timber to replace the rotten section of ours. Nice work!
When we arrived on the site, these three guys were struggling to lay this tie girt (also known as a rafter plate) into place. It is 36' long and weighs a ton! Look at the bend in that thing!
Once they lay it in place, they will then fasten it to the top of the posts of one of the two ranges that are laid out with wooden trunnels (tree-nails) which are made of oak. This is how our barn frame will be held together - just as barns have been for centuries.
This angle shows the tops of the range posts, which if you look carefully widen at the top. When vertical beams (posts) have this flare, they are referred to as "gunstock posts" (imagine the butt end of a rifle and how it flares where the stock sits against the shoulder) and is a really nice detail of our frame. It is typical of older designs...which I like.
This is what one of the joints at the top of those gunstock posts looks like. The protrusion with the hole in it is called a tenon and the slot cut into the timber that receives it is called a mortise. The hole allows for a peg to be driven through both, fastening them together. This method has been used for literally thousands of years to join two pieces of wood.
Earlier I had posted pictures of what I then believed to be our floor boards. Well, I was wrong. THESE are our floorboards. The others really DID seem TOO thick to be flooring. Look closely and you will see how they have been cut with tongue and groove joints so that they lock together nicely when installed. They have a wonderful color to them - can't wait to see them in place.
Parting shot: a microwave plugged into the generator. Love it!
Well, the weather has given us a two day window...and weren't we pleased when we drove by the site and saw this! The crew has laid out and assembled the two long walls of the barn frame (the long side sections are called ranges, the short sections, of which there are four, are called bents). What they have done is assembled both ranges in such a way that when they are ready to be erected, they simply will be hoisted up and braced. (What you are looking at toward the right of the picture is the base of the right-hand range; at the left of the picture you can see the top of the range and then the top of the left hand range. When they are raised, the tops of the ranges - currently blocked up at the center of the barn floor - will be picked up by the crane. Can you visualize it?)
This is a close-up showing the foot of one of the main posts. You can see that this is one of the footings that ENER replaced. If you look carefully you can see they spliced in a piece of old timber to replace the rotten section of ours. Nice work!
When we arrived on the site, these three guys were struggling to lay this tie girt (also known as a rafter plate) into place. It is 36' long and weighs a ton! Look at the bend in that thing!
Once they lay it in place, they will then fasten it to the top of the posts of one of the two ranges that are laid out with wooden trunnels (tree-nails) which are made of oak. This is how our barn frame will be held together - just as barns have been for centuries.
This angle shows the tops of the range posts, which if you look carefully widen at the top. When vertical beams (posts) have this flare, they are referred to as "gunstock posts" (imagine the butt end of a rifle and how it flares where the stock sits against the shoulder) and is a really nice detail of our frame. It is typical of older designs...which I like.
This is what one of the joints at the top of those gunstock posts looks like. The protrusion with the hole in it is called a tenon and the slot cut into the timber that receives it is called a mortise. The hole allows for a peg to be driven through both, fastening them together. This method has been used for literally thousands of years to join two pieces of wood.
Earlier I had posted pictures of what I then believed to be our floor boards. Well, I was wrong. THESE are our floorboards. The others really DID seem TOO thick to be flooring. Look closely and you will see how they have been cut with tongue and groove joints so that they lock together nicely when installed. They have a wonderful color to them - can't wait to see them in place.
Parting shot: a microwave plugged into the generator. Love it!
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