Timber Frame Tractor Home

[khd]

What great documentation on a sharp looking project.

One question: Why did you lift the really heavy stuff by hand (2 guys at 250 each) instead of using the tractor or the Dodge pickup in the first pictures to do the heavy lifting? It appears you did use the tractor for some of the later lighter stuff.

Thanks Joe:

The manual work was done as an experience thing, i.e. the old way of doing it and the experience of rigging everything up. Plus there was no good way of changing the pull direction on the gin pole and still be able to keep the pole upright under load. It was really not that bad and was quite enjoyable as an experience.

Kevin

 

[khd]

Great looking structure. Mine will look a lot like yours but with "wings" on both sides, one closed and one open (south side.) I'm in south central Oklahoma and we are short on Amish around here so my buddy and I are logging our own timber and milling it for lumber to produce his and my pole barns.

Any ideas regarding painting green milled oak? I haven't found much info on that. I will use board and batten siding and it will be pretty fresh from the mill (as will be all the wood in the two barns.) I found some Behr brand post preservative that you can soak a post in or spray or roll it. It stains the wood very green. Have never used it before and don't knonw if you can pait over it with good results. I'm just trusting to Behr as they usually make good stuff and Home Depot was closing it out at 1/4 regular price.

Pat

What kind of oak are you milling, red or white? I know red doesn't take well to weather. I've also not seen or heard of oak being used as siding in a contemporary structure. If you are siding with oak I know you are going to have to have it quite dry before installing. Not from being able to take paint but from not having it twist and shrink too much. I'd get it cut and stickerd as far in advance of install as possible.

For the poles (frame) portion you want to do all your work on green wood before it dries hard as a rock and you can't work it without a struggle.

Kevin

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks for the new pictures and update. It's nice to be able to follow along with you on this project. Especially since it's so unique!!!!

Eddie

 

[patrick_g]

What kind of oak are you milling, red or white? I'd get it cut and stickerd as far in advance of install as possible.

For the poles (frame) portion you want to do all your work on green wood before it dries hard as a rock and you can't work it without a struggle.

Kevin

Kevin, We are cutting several species of oak, some in the red family and some white. We are using star and square drive screws because nailing doesn't go well. White is for the siding and red is stringers and other internal structure (more or less) and were not sure what to do with the hickory. I'm trying to get a lot of wood stickered in advance to partially cure but my friend is building while the oak is practically dripping wet. Several folks back in Kentucky and around there use green milled oak and get good results.

I'm going to use board and batten so the battens may have to be a bit wider to cover the shrinkage. I also will fasten the siding only on the midline so shrinkage will not pull it apart like if it were edge fastened. If the siding is a disaster I can cover the bld with painted steel. My friend is going to wait and see whether or not he really needs battens (I think he will.)

We have lots of post oak in smaller sizes, not large enough to cut many boards from but large enough to square up and use for a timber. Supposedly the post oak lasts well with earth contact so I may treat some with Behr post preservative and use it as poles where it is long enough.

We have been told that the red wood of the eastern red cedar lasts well in the dirt but that the white part rots off fairly quickly. We were advised that if there is at least a 6 in diameter red part that the white could rot off and the pole would still be OK. I'm still inclined toward some preservative.

Pat

 

[Egon]

square drive screws

Robertson ehhh!

 

[silverdollar6]

That will be a great tractor barn, I could not bring myself to call it a shed. I think you should let the local media in on a great build. Please don`t get a bigger tractor.

 

[khd]

I'm not a wood miser but one thing I do know is that you are probably going to want to use 3" or better battens. Battens are notorious for twisting in soft wood let alone hard. Especially when you take into consideration cutting the tension out of a timber when you start milling little pieces of wood like that.

Good luck with the projects, I would be interested in seeing pics when you get going.

Regards,
Kevin

Kevin, We are cutting several species of oak, some in the red family and some white. We are using star and square drive screws because nailing doesn't go well. White is for the siding and red is stringers and other internal structure (more or less) and were not sure what to do with the hickory. I'm trying to get a lot of wood stickered in advance to partially cure but my friend is building while the oak is practically dripping wet. Several folks back in Kentucky and around there use green milled oak and get good results.

I'm going to use board and batten so the battens may have to be a bit wider to cover the shrinkage. I also will fasten the siding only on the midline so shrinkage will not pull it apart like if it were edge fastened. If the siding is a disaster I can cover the bld with painted steel. My friend is going to wait and see whether or not he really needs battens (I think he will.)

We have lots of post oak in smaller sizes, not large enough to cut many boards from but large enough to square up and use for a timber. Supposedly the post oak lasts well with earth contact so I may treat some with Behr post preservative and use it as poles where it is long enough.

We have been told that the red wood of the eastern red cedar lasts well in the dirt but that the white part rots off fairly quickly. We were advised that if there is at least a 6 in diameter red part that the white could rot off and the pole would still be OK. I'm still inclined toward some preservative.

Pat

 

[khd]

That will be a great tractor barn, I could not bring myself to call it a shed. I think you should let the local media in on a great build. Please don`t get a bigger tractor.

Thanks, there is no worry on getting a bigger tractor. Today, when I got home there was a letter from Kubota........WOOOOOO HOOOOOO. It's my last payment. She be mine.

Kevin

 

[khd]

Still making slow progress but getting things done. I got the front gable soffits framed in and the fly rafters on. I don't have enough time this weekend with Mother's Day , etc. to get everything out and since I needed to get the windows framed to be able to cut and install intermediate framing I decided I'd better get them framed out. If you remember I started with leaded glass panels sealed between two layers of safety glass. Some door frame stock and some moldings later I have one of the windows framed.

Over the winter I picked up a few e-bay goodies. I got an 8 x24" redwood tombstone gable vent for the back gable wall peak. I also picked up 3 15" lightning rods probably from the 20's or 30's. The barn will have a working lightning protection systems. Last week I found old copper woven lightning cable. It already has a nice verdigris patina and I think it will look good against the galv. roof. There will be one rod on each end and one in the middle then I'll use white porcelain insulators to support the cable between rods and keep it off the roof. I got 50' for $40 delivered which probably saved me $100++ over new and the verdigris finish was free.

Here are pics of the completed framed window and its placement. First pic. is what I started with, the last three are the finished window.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[patrick_g]

Kevin, That is one sturdy looking little box you are building. Man, that thing looks like its load bearing capacity is beyond snow loads and could hold up a glacier.

This is my first time to try to build with green wood. My friend says they used to do this all the time in Kentucky and other places back there. I guess I'll see a little of how it goes up front as he is building his first. I will help him with his and learn enough to make mine easier for me to do and of course he will help me with mine some. If the oak board and batten is a total shipwreck on his then I can always go for metal siding or other alternative instead of the board and batten.

Pat

 

[Cliff_Johns]

kevin,
Thanks for keeping us up to date with the photos. The window looks great, and also very stoutly build, which goes well with the building.

Cliff

 

[BayouMan]

Hey Kevin,

I have really enjoyed following this project. Great job on documenting your progress.

Mike

 

[khd]

Kevin, That is one sturdy looking little box you are building. Man, that thing looks like its load bearing capacity is beyond snow loads and could hold up a glacier.

This is my first time to try to build with green wood. My friend says they used to do this all the time in Kentucky and other places back there. I guess I'll see a little of how it goes up front as he is building his first. I will help him with his and learn enough to make mine easier for me to do and of course he will help me with mine some. If the oak board and batten is a total shipwreck on his then I can always go for metal siding or other alternative instead of the board and batten.

Pat

Thanks Pat. There are no worries about snow loads, codes or construction techniques as it is obviously overbuilt in comparison to what would be an acceptably built building.

Kevin

 

[hazmat]

Forget the tractor, I'm moving in - when's it gonna be done?

I can't believe I missed this thread until now. I love all things timberframe. Someday, I'm going to build a timberframe house. Probably a dozen or more years off...


One word - outstanding

 

[khd]

Only got a half day this weekend to work on the barn but I got most of the intermediate framing done which frames out the windows. Good thing I left the gin pole standing in the back as the back wall framing for the transom probably weighed about 100 lbs. so the gin pole made it easy to get it up there.

Finally got the 1x6 T&G for the soffts delivered this week. Even though it doesn't look like it, it is getting close to being roofed and sided. I can't seem to get off the want of having a cupola so it has to be ordered and shipped before I get the roof on so I can make sure it is framed out properly. Next weekend is memorial weekend and I already asked the boss to let me have all three days to work. If I get them I will be able to finish up the fascia, soffits and intermediate framing and then be ready for roof and siding.

Pic. 1 shows the intermediate framing in, rear gable and side back bay. Pic 2 shows the two windows set in to get a feel of what it will look like and Pic 3 shows the rear transom window looking up from inside.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[EdC]

Wow
Really looks great. I just spent a while reading the entire thread and this is really a spectacular building. The attention to detail is tremendous. Thanks for sharing this with us.

 

[BTDT]

Since it's been about 6 months since you started, does it seem that your lumber has twisted/cracked to the point of causing any problems? Hope things work out for you over the holidays.

 

[khd]

Thanks EdC, its been fun.

BTDT,

When I contracted the cutting of the frame I had to sign a waiver stating I understood that the frame would check and shrink. I guess they have had buyers that didn't understand green wood and what happens when it dries. I knew this going into it so I was not concerned. All the timbers are large enough that they are almost all from heart so checking and shrinking is acceptable as it happens in all planes equally. There has been no twisting what so ever, all my dimensions are still the same as they were cut. The only thing that I am a little disappointed with in not having the time to get the frame out of the weather is that it is starting to get a little silver hue to it but that will change once its closed in and oiled.

Its a barn and will look like a barn.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[khd]

Still making slow progress but she is coming along. In the last installment I said I couldn't get the want of having a cupola out of my mind. Because all the metal is galv I wanted to be able to do a galv roof on the cupola. I found an all eastern white cedar cupola with a wood roof that would be just right to do a custom galv roof (Boy them things aren't cheep). Pic. 1 shows what I started with after its first coat of oil. I have an article reprint from the 20's that explains traditional batten metal roof work so I started custom bending up a roof. First I installed battens on the corners which took hours because of the compound, compound cuts that needed to be done for the hip roof (I'm compound angley challenged). Then I bent up the cornice and then did the end caps of the battens. I only have a 24" brake so I had to do the cornice in two pieces per side. All the joints are soldered and water tight.

I still have to do the roof pans and the batten caps which will hold the roof on with a double lock seam no nails. Pic 2 shows it this morning waiting for the rest of the roof. In Pic 2 you can also see where I bent up and soldered a skirt for the ledge below the louvers as this won't shed water very well.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[khd]

I have been working on the roof and it is 90% on. I left two panels off so I can still get out on it. Teetering on a 12 / 12 roof with tin isn't very fun. I think it is coming out very nice. At this stage I needed to get the base and louver portion of the cupola on so I can do the rake trim and ridge cap.

Pic 1 shows the first side of the roof on. You can see the cupola mount framing up top. The last four Pics show how it looks tonight. The cupola is on and secure. The cupola roof is just sitting up there for now as I still have to complete its tin as previously mentioned. Pic RoofCupola3 shows the transition from main to lean-to roof.

The Fourth of July is Wednesday so I'm hoping to get most of the rake trim up which means I will lose my access to the roof without climbing. The ridge cap is going to be the real challenge.

Regards,
Kevin