Once we completed the floor deck above the basement we set to work assembling the timber-framed wall sections.

All was going like clockwork.

We scheduled for a crane to come in the following day. Within 24 hours we would have a completed standing frame for the world to see!

As fate would have it, when the morning came to raise the timber-frame that the sky opened up and poured upon us.

The forecast called for the rain to pass quickly so we held to our schedule.

The crane was on the way.

Within minutes of the crane’s arrival the assembled timber-frame walls began to rise.

The heavy duty forklift begins hauling the trusses to the area where the crane can lift them into place. Each of these trusses weighs about the same as a small car so without all of this heavy equipment we would be assembling this frame one piece at a time… or be calling in a hundred of our closest Amish friends.

The first of four timbered trusses floats down onto the top plates. I’ve always loved these moments when men reach out as far as they can and first touch a timber as it is set into place.

One after another the trusses are set in place.

Originally posted 2015-07-19 16:07:01.

Once we had the timber-frame members created our attention turned to building the basement foundation that would support this section of the home.

We chose to go with insulated concrete forms (ICF’s). I’ve used these several times now and I really like them. They are easy to use, even for the novice, and they create an incredibly strong and well insulated wall.

The window and door frames are created and set into place and then the area in between is filled in with these hollow foam blocks that are later filled with carefully placed re-bar and concrete.

We then called in a concrete pumping truck to fill the insulated forms… by the end of the day we had a solid concrete basement… with R34 insulated walls… ready for a stucco finish on the exterior.

Originally posted 2015-07-19 15:13:14.

Here’s closeup of “a wood intersection” on one of the barn frame’s trusses.

Originally posted 2015-07-18 21:54:18.

For this particular timber-frame structure I believe 90% of the work was in creating the complex joinery in the top plates and the rafter trusses that would set upon them. The exterior walls of this building were, after all, merely a collection of posts, cut to length, with simple tenons protruding on the upward ends.

Obviously it made sense for us to cut and assemble as much of this roof system on the ground as we possibly could. So, we began by laying out the top plates as seen in this photo.

I cannot express the giddiness that carpenters feel when given the opportunity to put together something like this. For us, it was Christmas in July. (Of course, being men, we wouldn’t let anyone know that we were giddy… that wouldn’t be very manly would it? lol )

Originally posted 2015-07-18 17:49:20.

I needed a large pile of antique timbers to create this barn frame. So, I began calling all my suppliers to see if anyone had something I might use.

I was tickled when one had just gotten in a load of hewn 9by9″s out of Canada. The salvager had just enough to meet my needs. Sweet!

Originally posted 2015-07-18 17:08:34.

Here’s the ceiling of the barn addition…

Originally posted 2015-07-18 14:05:40.