Great Topic!

I was wondering though what layout technique was everyone using? I know there is no layout method that will eliminate all gaps, but it would be interesting to find out how different sytles produce different tolerances. Yes, this does assume you're not using a CNC machine.

At our shop one of the guys has a saying "Wood it will move!"

Peter

My frame is not "Benson-esque", it's somewhere between Jack Sobon and 'jack up the barn so we can replace that rotting sill'.

I started with an almost complete existing frame (Jack's hall and parlor design from "Build a Classic Timber Framed House") which I rehabilitated and added onto. It's all square rule (and draw bore) except where the timbers forced me to adapt. My rafter stock for the hall and parlor was 5yrs dried spruce that came with the frame; yup, that wood had moved. I adopted Jack's design, which calls for tapered rafters and milled one flat face to work from.

I think one of the major advantages timber frame companies have over guys like Thomas and myself is time. They can cut and raise a frame a good deal faster so the wood has less time to move.

My house went up in three separate raisings (main house, shed addition, then office). Some of my green timbers sat as much as nine months from the time they were delivered until joinery was cut and cut members sat up to four months before assembling. More than once I adjusted joinery to cope with the effects of drying and by the end I had receding corners and developing checks as well as knots to consider during layout.
The third raising (office) was accomplished w/ the assistance of Foard Panel's truck crane. Despite the fact I'd test fit everything I could I think I suffered a 20% increase in grey hairs when the first truss started to rise. These were all the green timbers that had sat the longest and incorporated one significantly twisted tie beam. In the end I had to shorten one purlin ~3/8" and add a little extra assembly relief to another, but otherwise it pulled together nicely.

There's something magical in climbing up a principle rafter driving pegs and watching the draw bore pull the frame together.

Hi guys:

very interesting, and I have a story to tell--
A few years ago I had the pleasure of reconstructing an English three bay barn 1840 vintage.

hewing started by hand, with rough surfaces, taking 4 or 5 months to accomplish this, in the meantime the hewn timber finished are warping and shrinking. The cutting of the tenants, and mortises, along with the braces start to take place.

The measurements were deadly accurate for each timber, but there again old man shrinkage comes along. Then the Twister shows up just to complicate things, and to cap this off we had to hold over things for the winter months so Jack frost had his way. Old man Sun and Wayward Rain also came and went.

I did not sweat knowing that those before me had experienced these visitors, and many good building went up and are still up, so I forged ahead with my gang, and what do you know it all seemed to fit with alittle adjusting here and there--as one restoration achitect told me--Richard throw away the level and use your eye that is all that is needed.

there is nothing that looks nicer than a naked frame just raised without its cladding in the early morning raising sun.

not planed on its exterior surfaces, or plumbed into a perfect vertical line, but rather like it is just setting there ready to take on its clothing, to cover up the minute 1\4" gaps, or the 1\2" humps and bumps from the bite of the axe or adze, and after the end of it all, to get the fiddler in and have a hoe down on the threshing floor, I am sure no one noticed that the posts were not really plumb or the braces all tight, but tight enough to stand Mr. wind and Mr Storm for the next hundred years, creaking and groaning from time to time.

Adios
NH

Today I thought about adding a few more remarks for the good of the order:

when you think of it --the origins of timberframing go back a long way, when only rough timber was used as a construction median, and loose or joints that were too tight were common during a raising, adjustments were always required.

remember that houses that were built at that time used finishes that accepted uneven surfaces. Lath and plaster could easily straighten up any wall, and make it look like a thousand dollars.

I noticed one remark where the contractor was using a sledge to insert pre made panels.

It seems to me that the frames should still be insulated and then lath and plastered as in the old times, exposing the inside surfaces of some of the timbering.

I really enjoy the hominess and the cosy feeling of the early homes and barns as well as the motherly look--any comments?
NH

Hi Derek,

Its curious that people read and interpret what has been said by another in different ways.

When I read the Northern Hewers post I new it and felt comfortable with in an instant but on reflection and with the benefit of your question I can see that it would be easy not to have a clue about what was being said depending on your journey along the path of discovery in the world of timber framing. They don't call qualified apprentices "journeymen" for no good reason.

A good start point might be to review "The Framed Houses of Massachussetts Bay" by Abbot Lowell Cummins. This book contains many good illustrations of early Colonial houses and the techniques employed to infill framing and create wall systems. This is a scholarly work.

For a more hands on approach I would suggest reading C. Keith Wilbur's book on "Home Building and Woodworking in Colonial America" which is a very good "how to" type of book.

Most of the early Colonial work practices would have been based on what the folks new and understood from back home in Europe where this type of wall infill systems can still be seen today.

I hope that this helps.

Regards

Ken Hume

Thanks Ken and MoJO for the enlightening remarks!!

I do get carried away with my narrations, but it makes me cringe when all that seems to matter is to keep out every bit of outside air, and then what happens old man Moisture sneaks in and sets up housekeeping and starts to grow his wonderful and I must say colourful crops in every nook and cranny.

I believe that a few extra air changes over the day is healthier, and in the end makes for a more desireable liveable home.

I wonder MoJO if you have given any thought to taking a few courses on Historic lath plastering, and trying your hand atdoing alittle of your own work--you might be pleasantly surprised with the results. I personnaly took courses through my career, along side many people that were just about to build their own timberframe homes. they also took courses on constructing a fireplace and oven building-- I am sure that you could do the same given a little push in the right direction. It is not that difficult--maybe others that have done their own work might comment a bit.



Good luck

NH

I just wanted to add my thoughts. I like this thread. I'm in the process of building my first timberframe and like everyone...I try to get the best joinery possible. Is it going to happen...probably not BUT...I know I've tried. No matter what gaps may appear...I will be proud of my work. I've had my hands on the journey of these timbers from tree to house. I cut the trees, hauled them from the woods, worked along side the sawyer and I'm the craftsman cutting the joinery for what will be the structure that shelters my family and friends. Add to the mix...my wife...she has been right beside me for the whole adventure...not watching but doing. She has her own chisels and layout tools....and she uses them. Although...she calls me the "Quality Control Inspector"...I think she's setting me up if something doesn't fit quite right.

Dan

An important part of what makes old buildings interesting is that you can often see the sags, crooked siding, misaligned windows and gentle bulges. In disassembling and reassembling old frames I have found the joinery to typically be very loose and the dimensions often to vary by an inch or more from one end of the building to the other. Not that the joinery was badly crafted, usually the joints look very good. But, I would say that our forefathers were not using the same standards to build house frames as they used to build furnature.

I take pleasure to see mistakes and repairs in building frames from long ago. Almost every frame has a mismortise or shim somewhere. Timber framing is a human endevor, after all.

I am curious if the Guild has the same standards for tolerances as conventional construction such as one-quarter inch per eight feet for plumbness.

Jim