Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The Tamarack Barn.......



We were instantly struck by the possibilities offered by this beautiful little barn. The beams and poles are hand hewn tamarack. The truss structure is simple and effective allowing for large interior spaces, totally uninterrupted by support posts. This little barn might easily convert into a small, two story retreat or hunting lodge.
The open structure of the post and beam elevations would readily lend itself to some floor to ceiling windows maybe opening on to a large deck and grand vistas across the Hill Country Landscape.

For more info on this project email: nick@weatherboardllc.com
Re-built with cut stone blocks in the lower elevations the Tamarack barn might build a stylish Hill Country retreat.

We will be offering this barn for sale, either as a numbered kit or re-constructed by our skilled team. The barn could be offered with an architects plan for residential conversion.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Rotten old timbers....


The structural oak work on the main barn at Orchard Barn was not built well when originally built in the 17th century. The principal rafters were too deeply cut to carry the purlins and the braces in the trusses delivered the bulk of the load into the middle of the tension member. The result was trusses that had sagged and cracked under the load of ages and, quite frankly, the roof was shagged.

Broken teeth.



Without it's roof the structure looked like broken rotten teeth sticking out of the ground.
We decided to build the new trusses on site. There was a quiet, focused concentration about the whole project as we worked on getting them ready.

That's a big crane...

Green or undried timber is heavy. A crane capable of reaching 90 ft over a long structure and lifting oak trusses is going to be a big one.
The same framers that join the structure will assemble it. They know the importance of getting it right.

Exactitude ?


All engineering processes involve working to tolerances. In timber framing the measure of what is acceptable and what is not is measured by the thickness of a cigarette paper. If you can pass a Rizla paper through a joint it's no good. How thick is a cigarette paper ?

Smoke 'em if ya got 'em.

With the new trusses in place the roof is more or less ready for rafters, insulation and the new slate roofing tiles.

Welsh slate and no choice.


The integrity of the structure is consolidated by the new roof. The conservation architects in the planning and zoning authority dictated the choice of roofing material. Options were Welsh Slate, Welsh Slate or Welsh Slate.

New trusses, New roof, an inside view.






The care taken in planing the timbers payed off when the barn was finished. Beautifully smooth timbers in carefully designed trusses, powerful and strong, deliberately simple, a pleasure to look at that blended into the background but withstood any amount of focussed attention.

God is in the Detail.

Features such as the mill work in a good barn conversion need to be in keeping with the scale and character of the rest of the structure. At least, we think so. If a consistent rhythm is kept, in the choice of material, in the character and style of detail and in the over-riding sense of scale and proportion, then all aspects of the design will have a unity which will give the architecture a logic, sense and purpose.

Arrow slit windows.


Our design had to preserve this pattern of arrow slit windows intact. Beautiful, slender shafts of finely filtered morning sunlight poured in through these things. The problem was our plans called for a bedroom with en-suite bathroom on the first floor in this end of the building. How to do this without building against the gable end wall? Put the bathroom in a cylinder.

Feature stairs.....


Stairs down to the lower lounge and up to the first floor bedroom were wrapped around a cylindrical structure built, free-standing in the middle of the main barn. Inside on the first floor we created a wet-room/shower bathroom with a frosted glass ceiling. Below, in the lounge the structure was cut to create a cozy semicircular alcove for housing the main fireplace.

Oak treads .......

Throughout this project design continuity was maintained by limiting the materials pallet to 4 basic materials; oak, stone, glass and stainless steel.

Warren Barn.

An old barn doesn't always put it's best foot forward. But don't be fooled by the exterior. Weathered siding and doors off their tracks do not necessarily give any indication of what lies beneath. This old barn has a beautifully constructed oak frame. In superb condition, the frame is as square and true today as the day it was built. There is no mystery to it, good craftsmanship, good materials and good foundations are the ingredients for a barn which will easily last 150 years or more.

Bents.


A barn frame is usually constructed with a series of frames called bents arranged like structural bulkheads down the length of the building. These are then connected longitudinally by a series of sills, wall plates and girts. The roof is supported primarily by rafters and secondarily by longitudinal members called purlins. The spacing of bents and other timbers in a barn frame is not always ideal for residential purposes. A good barn conversion design will work around these difficulties and find ways to turn them to advantage rather than compromising the frame

Architecture ?


Interior architecture is an important part of the process of creating a barn conversion. The mechanics of an old barn frame are fascinating and charming. Creating an interior design which rationalizes the space within the frame in a practical and effective way which displays the frame without compromising it, this is the challenge.

The Warren Barn


Many old barns end up as repositories for peoples accumulated junk. Farm implements, old cars and tractors, appliances, building materials and worst of all old hay and straw. There is nothing worse or harder to deal with than 15 tons of 10 year old hay, dry, dusty and full of raccoons.
This barn had already been "cleared out" before we found it.

Grass is always better....



Viewed from inside the building the concrete is all gone, stone patio built and courtyard laid to grass. We begin landscaping with Himalayan Birch tree and beds of lavender.
The newly built, high, stone courtyard wall with buttresses ensures privacy from the rest of the farm buildings.

transformation



As your ideas begin to crystallize each major step forward gives a reward and offers up the next big challenge.
Block-work no more, now after major excavation to resolve ground level issues the addition of 1" thick, waney-edge oak board gives a traditional look to the gable end.

Two years later ....


The satisfaction in realizing your vision through a project like this is immense. Your friends will say "Wow !" but you will quietly know that they have no idea where you have been and what you have been through to achieve your goal.

Beautiful blockwork.....


" The cheapest way to keep me up and running Whatever keeps it functioning and useful "
These are the criteria employed by the average farmer when it comes to farm buildings. Pragmatism over-rules aesthetics every time.

About Vision....

It was plain to see in the faces of our friends that they thought we had lost the plot but our vision was strong enough to see past everything that is wrong in this image.
In fact I don't think we could see this as it really was. All we could see was what it could be.

In Gods country.........



It's not difficult to imagine why someone would want to raise a family or retire in a location like this. Contrasted with drugs, crime, congestion and all the other aspects of urban blight it's a very attractive option.


In the UK where many barns have stone elevations, moving a barn to a new location is not usually an option. In the US most barns are timber framed and easily moved. Certainly, we move barns from across the Mid West and rebuild them anywhere. The Texas hill country is a popular location. Around the outer reaches of Dallas and Houston are also destinations for people with aspirations about barns.

Quality of life....



The great aspiration for many people is to leave urban or suburban living and escape to a 'simpler' life in the country or to acquire some acres and keep horses or a few cattle. Since a barn naturally belongs in a rural setting and most barns are found in that environment then it follows fairly naturally that this is where a barn conversion belongs.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Orchard Barn ... long barn patio



I had always envisioned that the long barns patio would be a place where I could sit and drink coffee in my boxer shorts in the peace and quiet of summer mornings. Just walk out of bed, through the door and straight onto the patio where I would sit down and wait for my wife to bring me a hot fresh cup of java. As things turned out that didn't happen. Instead it became a main route for Zach on his tractor.

Orchard Barn ... inside the long barn




Inside the long barn we were adventurous. We decided no new walls so we created a "walk-in bathroom" with only a partial partition wall to separate the sleeping area. Bathroom and sleeping area had doors opening onto the patio. The whole suite faced the morning sun in the courtyard which was made private by a high stone wall. The dovetailed oak bath surround came in a moment of inspiration and has always provoked comment. The bed was a design I originally drew to make a bed for the aupair. My wife decided it was too good for the aupair so that was that! (There's more to that story. It's all respectable and decent but can't be told here for diplomatic reasons)

Orchard Barn ... roof goes on



We did have to replace two of the oak trusses in this structure but the remaining three are the original 18th century oak work. The purlins also are original. The massive wall plate over the columns is new. Completing all the excavation and ground work without disturbing the columns was a challenge. I used a mini excavator with a breaker on the front to remove material from inside the shell. After pouring concrete footers around the base of the columns to stabilize them we then used a 3 1/2 ton excavator to remove the concrete from the courtyard.

Bedroom suite before



Some projects take more than a little bit of vision at the outset. UK planning restrictions would not allow for any new openings in the shell of the building so the orientation of existing openings to the sun and the day was very important. One of the biggest attractions of this old barn was the fact that all the existing window openings pointed the right way to catch the light. The result was we were able to plan a fabulous barn conversion taking full advantage of the light and creating a home full of light and space.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

" Harris Barn " Minnesota.

We will be dismantling this barn for re-construction and expect to begin work on the project in late August.
We will also be carefully dismantling the silo seen in the background of this image. It will be offered for sale with the barn if there is any interest. As silo's go it is one of the more attractive ones we have seen. Placed immediately adjacent to the building it could readily house a circular staircase plus a dove cote in the roof ?

outside


Normally we do not include the old siding in the sale of a barn frame. However in this instance, because the siding is in exceptionally good condition it will be offered with the barn by separate negotiation.


The cathedral like quality of the barns interior will allow for a graceful and spectacular residential conversion. This barn will comfortably build a home in excess of 3600 sq. ft.

The pine siding has weathered to a beautiful silver-gray patina outside but retains a gorgeous, homely warmth on the interior.

a fine stand of timber




The frame is constructed entirely of oak. Using traditional mortise & tenon joinery the frame is fastened using oak draw pegs. Even the diagonal braces in this frame are tenoned in and not nailed as is often the case. This adds greatly to the barns quality.

' Harris Barn ' in winter...


This well conceived old barn was built circa 1900 in central Minnesota. In entirely original condition with no major repairs or additions, it is as straight and true now as the day it was built. The barns footprint is 40' x 60' . The eaves are at 15' rising to 35' at the ridge. Built into a bank, the barn has a basement which is additional to the height given which was measured from the sill to the wall plate.

It all begins with the tree


If it's wood it will always talk about it's origins.
The better the design, the more clearly it speaks.


1/4 sawn oak, the timber from the middle of the log. This is the only timber that has beautiful medullary rays in the grain such as can be seen in this image. This patterning is created by the cells in the wood which carry nourishment from the center of the tree

Fastened together using 4 simple wedge pegs the construction method is medieval in conception. Massively heavy, the table is dismantled and re-assembled in minutes yet the mechanics of a wedge peg and through tenon have huge strength.

Traditional, modern, rustic or refined?


It's easier for others to classify or categorize the design style of ones work but this is definitely the right place for eating good cheeses and drinking red wine.

English Oak Trees



It always starts with a tree and it's usually oak. I've worked my way through so many logs of this timber, green, air dried or kiln dried. Rough sawn into beams or sawn through & through then well stickered for cabinet grade material, there is no other timber that I know so well. And why not oak? It's pretty enough to start with. Predictable, stable and strong it matures and ages very handsomely and it will last for eons.
It is not possible to make anything well from wood without first understanding what is going on with it and why it behaves the way it does. The best pieces are always made utilizing a timber's behavior and incorporating it's characteristics into the design and construction. If you don't do this, ultimately your work will self-destruct.