I've got a 24' x 40' tractor barn built just after the turn of the 20th century. It's a combination timber frame/ stick frame, but here's the weird part: there's no ridgepole, but there are two sets of pseudo-rafters that come up toward the ridge from either side of several of the floor beams (they're not attached to the roof). They meet at a simple 2x8 "ridgepole" that's a few feet below the ridge. Through this ridgepole are fastened two iron rods that dive straight down through the two beams, and there's a large washer and nut on the underside of the beams.
I know little about framing, and am probably not describing this well (I could post a picture or two), but I've never seen this before. It seems original to the structure.
Anyone see this design before, and was it just to keep the floor from sagging?
Thanks!
