Timber Framers Guild Forums General General Forum Questions Interesting Plate Joint at an English Tying Joint

I thought this was an interesting joint in the old barn we will be re-using.

The plate without the jowl(?) us about 44 feet long. The plate with jowl is about 36 ft long. They are the same style joints on each side of the barn.

I don't know if part was an addition (all the rafters look to be the same wood and appearance) or originally built like that. (The barn was widened in the middle, I will make a new posting to ask about that.)

Would this make a stronger plate then doing a scarf joint?

I've seen this but once before - In that instance, and I believe in this one also, a change of mind was had in the length of the barn. Before the building was raised it was extended by a bay - And this is how they chose to join the extended plates.

Are there any nailers / wall purlins (with nail holes suggesting siding had been attached) in the Bent these Jowled Plates join? Is there any foundation under this Bent, or does it simply run past it suggesting the original footprint included the extended Bay/s?

How far am I from you?

OK - I see now you are in Epping.

I could see that being an extension during constructions, but it added 3 more bays. Still possible.

Not sure about the foundation. The other end has been access to the foundation. This end is covered in years of stuff and some of it was cut out for a concrete milking floor.

I will try to look for nailing marks next time I am there.

From these and the pictures on your other post, I would gather this barn was either built largely from an older barn (that is, someone took down an old barn and used its pieces as the basis for constructing a new barn) or else the barn was just taken down and expanded. It's not uncommon for an old frame to be used to make a new building, there are a lot of barns around Indiana where that was the case.

I don't see any nail holes in the pictured framing, but do see some discoloration suggesting what I can't be sure.

David, the Jowled plate sounds like it is three bays long, suggesting it was purpose hewn and not recycled from an earlier frame. Here full length plates are common to scribe period barns - Which oddly fits this funky bit of framing.

Yes, the jowled plate is three bays long (about 36 ft). Overall barn is close to 80 ft.

To me it looks like it was built at the same time...roof and wall sheathing are the same over the whole barn.

Hi JimJ;

I have no question your joweled plate is an addition. This type of joint is typical of additions. Two other pieces of evidence are some weather marks showing the old vertical boarding and the rafter overhangs the tie beam an inch which is a way to lap the gable boards over the lower wall boards. Nice barn.

Jim D.