Putting frames together on 1851 barn

We are working on the D bay right now which includes one of three long round beams that extend 34 feet from floor to ceiling. These will be open in the center of the house. Once we have assembled three sections like these on the other side of the foundation, we will be ready to rent a crane. Then the real fun begins. Stay tuned; Ed

The weather is trying to be spring. This is the F bay in our barn. (one of six) All the knee braces are now finished and this bay goes out to the foundation and gets pegged. All six bays should be assembled before the end of April. Then, the crane. Cheerios; Ed

Planter flashing installed

This photo shows the flashing installed in one of two interior garden beds. Soon, soil will be added to these beds.

Beams are ready 2-5-11

We've gone through many gallons of linseed oil and paint thinner. All the important beams have been located. We actually found code letters on several so we know exactly where they go. The rest are like a big puzzle to be teased out. Spring is close and all these beams are going out to the foundation to be assembled laying on the ground. Stay tuned. Ed

Barn house progress

It's barn building time. Now that the foundation is up and the weather is smiling on us, we are taking the beams out of their dusty storage, washing them down, and applying linseed oil to them. Last, we sort them into vertical members and horizontal members. One big puzzle. Stay tuned.

Preparing the stemwalls for beam construction

Here we sit waiting for better weather to bring out the big beams. We will be assembling six bays with steel and mortise and tenon joints and then get a crane to stand up the bays. The center point of the bays will be about 30 feet in the center. The top surface of the 12 by 12's in this photo will be expose as the first floor flooring will be set flush with these beams. Stay tuned; Ed

Then, the concrete arrived; three trucks came; two hours and 20 yards later, it was all finished. Nothing will now blow away in the wind. Two days later, winter began with a succession of snow storms. Stay tuned; Ed

This image shows the steel anchors that will be attached to the 8 by 8 wood beams. We used cinder block columns for most of these anchor spots as they were wider than the styrofoam block. Stay tuned; Ed

After the footings dried, we layed out the styrofoam block and added rebar to the top edge. We spraypainted the outside with a tan water based paint to slow down the uv exposure. These styrofoam blocks have a very high r value and will help the house to retain heat. Stay tuned; Ed

Barn house construction update

The barn house foundation is progressing. This photo shows the five cinderblock columns installed. Once the weather warms, we will be installing a styrofoam block stemwall that will help keep our solar home warm. After that, we will be bringing the beams out for assembly. Stay tuned; Ed

1851 barn restoration into our new house

Many years ago, we dismantled an old barn in Quincy, California. We transported the pieces to Gardnerville ten years ago and worked on plans, engineering and permitting for several years. We have now begun construction and the footings have been poured. The following series of pictures show the dismantling and early construction. We are awaiting spring when the stemwalls will go up and we will begin assembling the barn sections. The design is completely solar, off grid, with a constructed wetland as a black water sewer. Stay tuned. Ed

This photo shows the footings that will hold the new structure. It is positioned for maximum solar gain.