29 06, 2019

Timber frame roof trusses

2019-06-29T09:59:05+00:00

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There is no better feeling than that felt at the end of the week in seeing what has been accomplished.

Originally posted 2015-07-18 18:40:04.

Timber frame roof trusses2019-06-29T09:59:05+00:00
29 06, 2019

The challenge of designing a barn addition

2019-06-29T09:59:01+00:00

Iphone October 2011 655

The architect for this home struggled with the challenge of adding a barn to an existing home… in not overwhelming the house, yet meeting the client’s vision. She was concerned in what size barn I may be able to find.

I fully understood her concern.

I freed her of the limitations of the dimensions of an existing barn by assuring her that I could adapt antique barn timbers to whatever barn dimensions she felt was most appropriate for this home.

Here is a photo of that barn addition, per the architects design, assembled by my crew. I’d like to share with you over the next couple of days the construction of this barn addition… I think you’ll enjoy the process. 🙂

Originally posted 2015-07-18 12:43:26.

The challenge of designing a barn addition2019-06-29T09:59:01+00:00
29 06, 2019

A stone home with a barn addition

2019-06-29T09:59:00+00:00

Iphone October 2011 672

The owners of this stone home wanted to have an addition added that would serve as a large great room. They envisioned an antique barn frame, with massive timbers, and interior views clear to the peak of the roof.

Originally posted 2015-07-18 12:30:56.

A stone home with a barn addition2019-06-29T09:59:00+00:00
29 06, 2019

I encourage everyone to consider building their own home!

2019-06-29T09:58:53+00:00

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Let me close out the tale of this project with six last construction photos.

So much of the wonder of having a home is in the building process itself. These moments in one’s life of building a home should be a treasured time. I encourage you to join in on the process of designing and building your own home as much as you can.

Maybe… build the home yourself… why give all the fun to someone else? 🙂

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Originally posted 2015-07-16 14:15:19.

I encourage everyone to consider building their own home!2019-06-29T09:58:53+00:00
29 06, 2019

The job-site fireplace

2019-06-29T09:58:51+00:00

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I thought perhaps this photo of the cabin’s fireplace was most appropriate to post… this was the fireplace as we, the builders of this cabin, saw the most (as you can see by our “decorations”).

We enjoyed this fireplace throughout the construction of the house often eating our lunches while gathered around it’s warming flames.

A career in construction has it’s downsides, it’s hard work, it’s dirty, and it is certainly not the path to wealth, but give me an open fire, some good conversation with dear friends, and the feeling that comes from accomplishing something with my own hands… any day.

Originally posted 2015-07-15 14:48:45.

The job-site fireplace2019-06-29T09:58:51+00:00
29 06, 2019

Design changes

2019-06-29T09:58:43+00:00

Iphone October 2011 896

There are a lot of details that make this cabin special… the logs, the copper roof, the stone chimney, the heart pine siding, and of course, the overall design… but for me, the one element that makes this cabin “snap” is the hip roof on the front porch.

I didn’t draw that hip feature in when I created the original plans… it was one of those “job site changes” that are so common on our projects. Something wasn’t right with a simple shed roof on this cabin as I had drawn it to be… it was just too… plain.

We had to fuss for a while in creating the right angle on this hip roof, moving boards around and then standing back and taking a look at it, but eventually we reached this look… and we liked what we saw.

I hope you do to.

Originally posted 2015-07-13 20:05:33.

Design changes2019-06-29T09:58:43+00:00
29 06, 2019

The ugly phase of building a house

2019-06-29T09:58:40+00:00

Iphone October 2011 855

The house then reached it’s “ugly period”… you know, that time of a home’s construction when all the exterior wrap has torn loose a few times, when the yard is scattered with debris, when someone had tacked up a sheet of plywood over a window opening to keep the rain out.

But then, the roofers showed up with their shiny copper and all those ladders.

Originally posted 2015-07-12 12:28:31.

The ugly phase of building a house2019-06-29T09:58:40+00:00
29 06, 2019

Pleasing roof lines

2019-06-29T09:58:39+00:00

Iphone October 2011 458

I really like this photo.

I know, a lot of people just see a construction shot of a house being built… “seen it before”… “what’s the big deal?”

But for me, this house, this perspective of this house, is a symphony of roof lines.

Originally posted 2015-07-11 12:41:57.

Pleasing roof lines2019-06-29T09:58:39+00:00
29 06, 2019

And the two shall become one

2019-06-29T09:58:31+00:00

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I really love the point where the old timber frame and the log cabin came together.

There was a sense of tremendous strength in those corners.

The owner of this home will never fear the wind.

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Originally posted 2015-07-09 14:56:43.

And the two shall become one2019-06-29T09:58:31+00:00
29 06, 2019

Log cabin and timber frame rafters

2019-06-29T09:58:30+00:00

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The timber frame additions each had antique hewn rafters that we would expose on the interior.

The log cabin though would have an attic space which would be used for personal storage and air handler equipment, so we would build a roof here using new lumber.

I’ve never assembled a roof using “engineered roof trusses”. I know, all the paperwork says that they are just as strong, or even stronger, than properly sized rafters, but they look wrong, they eat up the attic space, and well, I simple don’t trust them to hold up for centuries.

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Originally posted 2015-07-09 14:40:16.

Log cabin and timber frame rafters2019-06-29T09:58:30+00:00
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