I have several questions about a timber frame that I am building. This is a frame that I have been cutting for the past year and I am about finished with the cutting work. I will be moving on to trial fitting soon and hope to raise the frame at the end of the summer. On to the questions:

1) Pegs. I am planning to purchase the pegs rather than make my own. I see that there are a variety of different types offered. I have found straight, double chamfered, and tapered. Each comes in a variety of lengths. My timbers are all a nominal 8” in the dimension to be pegged. Any recommendations on which type/length to purchase and why?

2) Raising. I have never raised a frame before and am in the dark here. I am planning to have all of my bents pre-built on the ground and bring in a crane and operator to raise the frame. How long should I plan to have the crane there? This is a five bent frame that is 32’ X 48’. All of the connecting pieces for the bays will be precut and staged for assembly. Temporary bracing will be available on site when the crane arrives. Is this a one day project? Or should I plan for two days, a week, etc? How about rigging the bents so that the crane can pick them up? Are there any special considerations that I should be aware of? How many helpers do I need to have available on that day? I don’t mean to sound dense about the raising, but I want to make sure that everything has been planned for if at all possible.

3) Raising sequence. I am planning to do it as follows: Raise bent one and brace. Raise bent two putting the connecting girts in place between it and bent one and then pegging. Drop in the transition purlins and peg them, drop in DT floor joists, and drop in DT purlins. Install braces as required. Repeat these steps for bents three, four, and five. Finally, go back and drop in the remaining floor joists and purlins. Does this sound like a reasonable plan? Am I missing anything here?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer my questions.

Stan Debick

pegs should be 2-4 inches bigger than the timber

we make our own pegs, they are rough octagonals

frame should go up in a day if all the joints fit

you should have about four people for a frame like that, to hold the girts and braces

your raising plan sounds fine...do you have a commander(beetle)?
-Mark in Ontario.

As someone pointed out at a raising once, (McCarty?), being born is the hardest part. Consider the stresses on your bents as they go up, strongbacks to reduce flexing are common. Consider your pick points carefully & remember you'll have get up to where the rigging is to get it off and that clamps have been known to work loose & fall off. Keep your deck as clean as possible & try to encourage hardhats, and safety in general. Nothing like an injury to ruin an otherwise glorious day. I can't remember if any of Benson's books go into raisings much but you might glean some ideas from his or another book. Good luck!

Hi Stan,

If you go to the "Construction" section of our website you will be able to read some thoughts on safe raisings and see photo sequence examples of several types of raisings ( crane, pike pole, etc.)

One of the featured frames - Jobe lane barn was raised in a day by a large volunteer team but all the frames were pre assembled and drilled the previous day by a small 4 man team ready for the main event.

Good luck with your event and keep it safe.

Regards

ken Hume
http://www.kfhume.freeserve.co.uk

For whatever it is worth, I plan to beg and/or hire some experienced help.

You might save crane time by temporarily nailing pieces of wood across the joints on the (to be) hidden side. Then when the meter on the crane stops, you can go back and install the pegs. I saw a very experienced framer do this.

Be interested in the pro's and con's.

Joel

Hi Stan,

I definately agree with Joel. Do hire (or what ever) someone that has experience with raisings. Rasing a timber frame is no easy task, especially if it is your first one. It sounds like your frame is pretty big to, theres alot going on there. With as many questions as you have i would have someone experienced on site for the raising. I am tring not to sound to harsh, but from the experiences i have had( which is relatively little compared to some older framers) there are things you definately do and don't want to do.
Do you have the proper rigging slings to hold the massive weight of a bent? and enough of them? The crane op might have his own. also enough come a longs? Proper placement of comealong and sling are vital to a succesful and SAFE raising. Extra hands are always helpful. I would have at least four other sets of hands. Preferably some that have a general idea about the process. If not its like the blind leading the blind. Sometimes it's hard for people to visualize the process. It was for me back on my first raising. Also think about who is going to do the highwire act. You will need at least two people up high sometimes settin' purlins or a ridge beam. People that are NOT afraid of heights are always good to have helping. I will not go on forever, but there are alot of topics that could be discussed. That's where someone that knows the process could cover all your bases for you safe and sound. It's not impossible to do it yourself. But it's better to be safe than sorry. Alot could go wrong if done the wrong way. The best of luck to you and enjoy the raising. It's truely a magical experience.

Take care, Zac

p.s. where is the raising?