my husband and i would like to build a gambrel roof barn, to live in. a very traditional barn with post and beam construction. where can i find a plan for this? no one in south central michigan has ever heard of living in a 2 or 3 story barn......help

The "This Old House" website has an archive of the series where they made a house in a timber frame barn. There are very general plans on the site. See: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/houseproject/overview/0,13541,197946,00.html

Good luck with your project. jekbear

There is a great coffee table book titled "Barn: The Art of a Working Building" by Endersly, Greenwood, and Larkin. It has many models of traditional barn styles, some of which have been converted to homes. It might be possible to derive plans from the models. At the very least, the book is full of design ideas.

You might also consider buying an old barn from a broker. I believe there a few listed in the resource guide and E-bay often has a couple listed for auction.

Good luck.

Have you contacted Riverbend Timber framing. I believe that they are located in Blissfield Michigan. There web site is www.riverbendtf.com

Good luck
Brian Moore