Hi all,

It's been a while since posting on the TFG forum, but I've recently begun work on the second barn on my Vermont farm. A month ago I completed the rubble trench and will pour the footings (grade beams) in the spring atop which the stem walls will sit.

Over the course of the winter I'd like to firm up the design for the first floor decking. (The barn will have a wooden floor over a crawlspace and root cellar below.)

I've attached a picture of my current sill/girder/joist layout. I'd sure love any feedback/tips/design considerations you can offer. The central bays are 12' x 12'. The two bays inside the barn entrance will need to support a tractor and/or implements. (The bays on the overhang will be a shop with lesser loads.) I'm okay with calculating beam sizing based on loads. What I'm most curious about are layout options (use of summer beams, joists perpendicular or parallel with longitudinal sills, etc.)

I've tried to do a bit of research online, but it seems that very few barns are built these days with a timber floor.

Thanks in advance,
[img]http://www.paddleways.com/blog/gypsyrose/images/MonitorBarnFloorJoists.jpg[/img]