Timber Framers Guild

popular old barn layouts

Posted By: bert sarkkinen

popular old barn layouts - 11/28/07 07:21 AM

Hi, I'm Bert w/Arrow Timber Framing and am doing some research on popular old barn layouts. It would be fun to learn not only about the layout but also about why they had the design they choose. If any of you know of good liturature or have plans you'd be willing to share, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch, Bert.
Posted By: bert sarkkinen

Re: popular old barn layouts - 11/28/07 07:22 AM

Thanks, my e-mail is bert@arrowtimber.com
Posted By: Dave Shepard

Re: popular old barn layouts - 11/29/07 02:45 AM

Barn layout is influenced both by needs, and heritage of the builder. In my area, Western Mass., there are a lot of English three bay barns. There are doors in the middle of both walls on the eave sides, this is the threshing bay. The threshing bay is situated to take advantage of crosswinds. On one side of the threshing bay the grains, still on the stalk, are stored, along with loose hay. The other bay would often have stalls for horses and cows. Just over the line in NY, Dutch barns are prevalent. Dutch barns are noted for long aisles that run with the ridge of the barn, with roofs that run down close to the ground, forming long "sheds" along the eave walls of the barn. I have books by Endersby, Greenwood, and Larkin that show many different styles of barns, as well as books by Eric Sloane.


Dave
Posted By: Housewright

Re: popular old barn layouts - 11/29/07 04:42 AM

Hi Bert;

I am glad you said the words "barn" and "popular" because there are so many possible floor plans for buildings. Dave's answer is right on: a side entry or an end entry with three bays.

However, if you start looking at the details and buildings other than barns there are a large number of floor plans depending on the specific use. I highly recomend John Vlach's book BARNS, it has floor plans, elevations and photographs of a large number of different types of barns.

Frame well;
Jim
Posted By: northern hewer

Re: popular old barn layouts - 12/04/07 02:23 AM

HI everyone on this thread:

There is another old barn style that seems to gets missed quite often and that is the swing beam barn. These barns are 3 bay but the one bay has a full span beam on one side of the threshing floor that lets the threshing floor extend underneath for more width

NH
Posted By: Housewright

Re: popular old barn layouts - 12/04/07 10:23 AM

Hi Again;

I just came accross another interesting book with floor plans. Old Barn Plans by Richard Rawson. I do not doubt that the barns presented in this book were well recorded, but I believe some of the interpitation is incorrect so don't quote everything written in it.

NH, you were right, Mr Rawson did not include a swing beam barn in this book.

Jim
Posted By: timber brained

Re: popular old barn layouts - 12/07/07 09:04 PM

NH. I also am least knowledgeable on the swing beam barns. I have seen pictures of the beams and I know how they looked, their dimensions, and basically their place in the frame but I wonder if you had more specifics on swing beams and their barn frames designs(perhaps some drawings or pics of bent framing)? tb
Posted By: Tony T

Re: popular old barn layouts - 12/11/07 01:14 AM

Check out the books by Richard Babcock:

Richard W. The Barns at Wolftrap. Babcock, 1982.

Ed. note: Mr. Babcock is the legendary timber framer who constructed the Barns at Wolftrap Farm Park, Vienna, VA.

Babcock, Richard W. Barns Researched, Restored and Resurrected Using Ancient Raising Methods. 1998, 145 pp. Available from Richard Babcock, Hancock, MA. 01237.

Babcock, Richard W., Stevens, Lauren R. Old Barns in the New World, Reconstructing History. Berkshire House Publishers: Lee, MA. 1996, 191 pp.. Several have plans for a huge German Swingbeam barn that he moved to Wolftrap
Posted By: northern hewer

Re: popular old barn layouts - 12/12/07 01:12 AM

Hi TB:

There are 2 swing beam barns in my area that I know of and that I have examined over the years.

Both of the "swing beams" are constructed differently, but do essentially the same job of fully spanning from eve to eve on one side of the threshing floor.

Both are works of art by those that created them, and I really wanted to reconstruct one of them at UCV before I retired, but unfortunately that never happened. The best that I could do was to video tape them and do measurements, and store the information for future use should the buildings themselves disappear.

The one swing beam in the "Barkley Barn" is about 45 feet long, and starts out at 9" square at each end. From that point it tapered on the up side until at the centre it was about 9" by 14" at this point.

At the centre point of the beam a short post about 20" in height stood between another full length upper chord which was 9" square and it also was 45 feet in length. After about 140 years it was still standing straight and true as the day it was built.

Many of the roof boards in this barn was original and measured up to 24' in width, and showed the bite of the teeth of an early vertical blade saw mill.

I do have video tape footage on both barns that I put together for other interested individuals, and is available should anyone visiting this site be interested.

NH
Posted By: Tony T

Re: popular old barn layouts - 12/16/07 12:55 PM

I have a jpeg image(s) that I scanned from Richards book of the the German swing beam barn (Barns at Wolftrap), not sure there is a way to post it?

I asked Richard about this and he said it was O.K. to post it as long as he received proper attribution for his work.
Posted By: mo

Re: popular old barn layouts - 12/16/07 03:47 PM

Tony,

Just a few steps.

1. you have to have a photosite that can upload your pictures from your files on your computer to the internet. I use Dropshots which is a free site.

2. Once you set that up. You upload your pictures. The site makeS THIS REALLY EASY (SORRY MY CAPS LOCK IS STUCK)> JUST REMEMBER WHERE YOU HAVE THE JPEG ON YOUR COMPUTER (WHAT FILE)>

#> ONCE YOU DO THAT YOU CAN TYPE YOUR REPLY (MAKE SURE YOU CLICK REPLY ON THE FORUM INSTEAD OF QUICK REPLY> Then have the forum open in one window and your dropshots site in another.

4. Click the image icon on the forum reply toolbar.
5. Go to your dropshots site. Right click the picture. Open properties. Copy the properties from there and paste in the image dialog box of the forum.
6. Preview post, should be there and post.

Hope this helps, mo
Posted By: Dave Shepard

Re: popular old barn layouts - 12/16/07 05:48 PM

Tony T, how is Richard these days? I don't know him personally, but a friend of mine worked for him in the 70's. I have read "Old Barns..." several times. I think he did a lot for the timber framing world.

BTW, I am on the other end of the county from you.


Dave
Posted By: zopi

Re: popular old barn layouts - 01/05/08 04:57 AM

Go to www.Books.google.com and click for full view books, then search for barn construction or whatever...books that have come into public domain and have been scanned are available for free...i found one with some barn designs a few weeks ago.
Posted By: eric

Re: popular old barn layouts - 04/19/08 01:11 AM

Bert-

A nice book that I didnt see in the string of responses here is called "The Pennsylvania Barn" written by Robert Ensminger. It deals with where barns originated in Europe and how they got to North America and all of the transformations they went through in the process. Very in depth and good book.
eric
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