Timber Framers Guild Forums General General Forum Questions Assembling of wall and top plates

Hey!

I'm almost ready to raise up the frame (high post cape based on the book "a timber framer's workshop" from Steve Chappell) and I'm wondering about the assembling of the plates, wall and top plates..
Question: I'm assembling the exterior posts in the sills by a tenon through the tongue and fork joints of the sill plates, the interior post have tenon as well joining the sill plates. How do we get flexibility, gap or whatever we can call it, to fit the plates in between two bents, without damaging the tenons?? My tenons are 2 1/2" square on the posts and 6" long. The tenon for the wall and top plates are respectively 2"x9" and 2"x6".

I hope my question is clear enough

here is a plan/picture of the frame


Neil

Is this a hand or crane rasing?

Even when I an in the initial stages of design I am fooling with how assembly will go. I make options and sometime change how things go together, but allway have a plan before I even saw timber or cut joinery. Looks like you will assemble the bents with the tie beams and stand one up and brace it. Apply the girts and a brace, support that, and stand another bent against that, connecting the two together with the girt. Finish with the third bent same way. How long are the 2x6 and 2x9 tenons? Removing wood from tenons to ease assembly is helpful, this is could be a whole thread on its own.

I have been thinking a lot about it but I'm not experienced enough to have a clear idea about what i like best so far. My first one is going to be this one!
Well, it's a crane raising and the tenons 2x6 and 2x9 are 2" deep, or 50mm to be precise, I have been working in a kind of mix between metric system and inches/fot. However, I'm planing to assemble the bents first and then raise them one at a time, placing the girts (top and wall plates) between each bent raising. A remark here, I'm using lapped half dovetail braces in between bents, so I guess I will only temporary brace under raising and not use the braces.

Globably, I got it, the procedure, how things have to be coordinated, but for that fitting when raising the second and third bents, to get both the post tenons and the girts tenon to fall just in place without forcing two much on them, it kinds of making me thinking a bit too much..

When you write removing wood from the tenons, which ones are you talking about? I thought about that by removing a little wood on top of the girts' tenons..

Have you considered doing the lapping before the frame is raised, assemble it flat, squaring and leveling the wall systems and lapping the braces?

I don't use the type of joint at the corner sill you described, but I suspect it will still allow a little play for the bents to be tilted enough for the wall girts to be assembled.

Here is a rough example of heavy chamfering, this allows the joint to be started with easy. As apposed to a little blunt 45 degree cut on the corners. You can even ease one end more to help allow a member to be tilted into place such as the wall girts,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92SgPPLgyXA

I see your picture and I dove a little deeper into Chappell's book to see some of the joinery he recommends. We did a frame last summer that initially had most of the same joinery. We replaced many of the connecting girt/plate tenons with splines with those concerns for assembly. We also didn't have the tenons on the bottom of the post. Taking care not to snap those tenons on the end of the post will be the thing to watch out for. I haven't used tenons that long on posts so that is the new part to me.

That said this is how I would try it.
After the first bent is up and braced, I would place the bottom girts on a stand with the knee brace into the first bent in. I would probably temporarily gusset the girts to the first posts so it doesn't fall out on someone. Raise the second bent and get it started in the sill mortises. Then as you lower the second bent you can get the first floor knee braces and the girt tenons into the second bents posts. You can put a couple come long or ratchet straps to snug it together on each side. Then drop it down all the way. With the bent completely dropped down you can let a little slack in the straps leaning the second bent out and creating a little gap in the girt. Make sure you don't give the girt enough room to fall out. With luck that should give you enough space to drop in the top girts.

As Tim mentioned chamfering/tapering the top of the tenon on the wall girt will probably be necessary.