Dutch Barn Concept

An old Dutch barn has inspired an owner and his Architect to create a modern version for his residence.  The home will have high vaulted ceilings and the great room will be vaulted for two stories.  What would have been the hay loft will be second floor bedroom and common space.  Because of the larger spans douglas fir was selected for a species.  There is still a lot of work to be done on this one but it can be very interesting yet traditional.

Unique Timber Frame Home

Unique buildings are where we really shine, here at Vermont Timber Works.  Yes we do simple trusses and barns and pavilions but (at least in the engineering department) the ones we find most enjoyable are the ones that make us stop and scratch our heads.  Sometimes we stop and scratch our head because we just aren't sure how the timber frame incorporates itself into the rest of the building.  Other times the frame is really unique and is a one off situation.  Sometimes it's a combination of the two, which is the case for the frame pictured above.

The frame pictured above is a residence.  I could not have drawn it without the help of the architects bid documents, imported dxf file, or pictures of the balsa wood model that was created.  The floors step up and down and even though it's hard to see, each roof surface has multiple pitches to it.  The other aspect that is difficult to draw is that none of the walls really line up on top of each other.  All these complications combine to make it hard to track the loading thru the building down to the foundation.  This is when us engineers stop and scratch our heads.

Douglas Fir Saltbox

It's quiet this week in the office.  Almost all of the people in the shop are down in Connecticut raising some trusses for a church.

 

So, while they are away I'm working on a Saltbox on an island in Canada.  Even for being a smaller frame all of the walls have lots of glass so I'm sure that the views on site are incredible.  Seismic loading is going to control the lateral design of this frame.  So what is a saltbox house?  Well, read this Historic House Blog to get more information.

 

I f you want to see more styles of timber frames like this saltbox, visit Vermont Timber Works.

Timber Truss with Double Chord

This truss has a double top and bottom chord and all of the webs and steel are sandwiched between them.  Because this truss is located in an area that has high wind loads, the steel was changed from rods to pipes.  The pipe can take the compression forces when the truss reverses in a high wind situation.  The truss material was specified as number 1, closed grain, redwood.  Are you wondering what the difference is in open and closed grain?  Check out The Nature of Wood for more information.

If you want to see more trusses like this, visit Vermont Timber Works.

Timber Pavilion

This week I'm looking at timber pavilions.  Well, it's actually one pavilion multiple times, 5 to be exact.  This frame is going to be located in New Jersey and is going to have a canvas roof over top.  This is the third structure I've done in the last couple of months with a canvas roof covering it.  Canvas roofs seem to be a unique challenge.  On these couple of projects there hasn't been a lot on information on the roof system and how it's attached.  There are a lot of assumptions made on how the canvas with behave in rain, high winds, and snow if it is accidentally left up.  So, to keep it short, I have a lot of load cases in my design software to analysis the different loading scenarios.

For more ideas on pavilions and other structures visit Vermont Timber Works.

Modified King Post Trusses

This week I'm working on the design of a modified king post trusses.  The trick to the modified king post truss is the design of the top chord.  Depending on where the tie is placed and the how much tension is being transferred it adds to the bending stresses of the top chord.  This typically increases the size of the top chord.

The image is from cadwork which is the drafting software I use.  Here are some other examples of modified king post trusses from Vermont Timber Works.

Timber Pool House

This is what's next for me to design today.  This is a douglas fir pool house. The beams on the right, which are a lighter color, are glulam because of the long span and the loading from the trusses.  For the main part of the building the trusses span 35 feet, spaced 12 feet on center and the roof pitch is 12:12.  I haven't looked into any of the building loads yet but if it is in snow country, I'll be checking drifting snow.

If your looking for other great timber frame ideas check out Vermont Timber Works.

Additions to an existing frame

This is an existing timber frame that we are adding guardrails and adjusting the ladders to meet OSHA regulations.  This isn't typical work for Vermont Timber Works but because we did the original frame we are more that willing to work on the adjustments.

Blast from the past

I always find it interesting how we can work on a project; it will disappear for several years and then comes back.  I'm currently working on a project that I did back in 2010.  Thankfully I kept good note on this one otherwise I would have been recreating everything that I did.  Because I keep good notes I can typically just update or tweak them for the new conditions.  The design on this didn't change too much so that also allows me to turn it around a little more quickly.  This is a douglas fir frame and I'm working on resolving the lateral loading on the building.

Douglas Fir Platform

Okay so you're not going to see the boat house.  Last week ran away from me and now I'm on to the next project.  I'm currently working on a loading platform.  This is a douglas fir frame with a canvas "roof."  The canvas is only meant to cover the people below from the sun and rain and will be removed for the winter months.  The beams will be let into the columns but otherwise the members will be joined with bolts.

DWR Champagne Chair

Okay I'm going to step away from engineering for just a little because I find this very interesting but I'll be back with more timber frame engineering things later.

Design Within Reach held The DWR Champagne Chair Contest.  The contest is to create a miniature version of an original chair using the cork, cage, label, and foil of less than 2 champagne bottles.  I'm always amazed by what people can produce with the material from 2 champagne bottles.  The creativity and the unique concepts that people create are exciting to see.  I'm also always amazed by quality and level of finish. Some of the chair look as if they are ready to present to a client.  So here are a couple of ones that I liked.  To see more of the champagne chair follow the link.  If you want to see the winners, follow this link.

Glulam Frame

What's going on this week in the engineering world at Vermont Timber Works?  We have a glulam frame with steel connectors and a timber boat house.  (More on the boat house next week because I'll still be working on it.)  The steel for the glulam project is being produced by another company and then shipped to us.  We are responsible for fabrication of the glulams and we will need to check to make sure that the wood members fit together with the steel.  If we aren't going to be traveling to the job site, which is the case with this job, we check the fit of the pieces to try and alleviate issues that might come up during the erection of the frame.

This is the architect's drawings of what the truss will look like when assembled.