Timber Frame workshop

[Mark Grotenhuis]

I would like to build a timber frame shop. To start I would like to timber frame an outbuilding to see how it goes. I did a search for timber framing and saw an article on fine homebuilding from 2004 that looks perfect. Does anyone have this article? I tried to sign up for their online access and it didn't work, then I tried to search for a phone number to call them and came up blank again. Does anyone have a similar article or a book I should check out? Any help would be great, thanks.

[Todd Burch]

I'm planning mine right now!! I'm not familiar with the FW article, but I do have a few books on timber framing I've been reading. Now all I need is the right piece of a property, source trees, a bandsaw mill, a tractor, and time to do it.

[Baxter Smith]

This was my bible 28 years ago. http://www.amazon.com/Building-Timber-Frame-House-Forgotten/dp/0684172860

[Jay Jolliffe]

Did you see the price of that book on Amazon Baxter ?......900.00 in hardcover....

[Mark Grotenhuis]

I have checked out a book by Ted Benson before ... it wasn't that one though. I wasn't really impressed, it just focused on the theory of timber framing ... no specifics. I was looking for something with dimensions and diagrams. I'll check out his other book. Hopefully that one is more of what I'm looking for.

[Todd Burch]

So, this is what I'm thinking. (First attempt - be gentle)

[Jamie Buxton]

So, this is what I'm thinking. (First attempt - be gentle)

Supporting the shed roofs, you have timbers on 9' centers. On the middle part, it seems like you have truss construction, on 4 1/2' centers. What's up with that?

In my shop I have 12' ceiling, and I really like it. There's space up there for dust collection ducts and lights, and in your area, airconditioning ducts. There's also space to wave boards around without whacking anything. It seems to me that adding some height to the first floor is almost free, so I'd suggest considering it.

Thinking about height, why have two floors? The second floor is always going to be a pain -- getting material up and down, machines up and down, dedicating space in the lower floor for stairs. If you have the land, a bigger footprint with only a single floor would be more usable. Another nice thing about a single floor is that you can put in skylights, and have some natural light everywhere. The lower floor of the middle section is a long way from any windows.

[Greg Portland]

Did you see the price of that book on Amazon Baxter ?......900.00 in hardcover....
Those high prices occur when the item doesn't exist. There is an algorithm that progressively increases the price based on the number of views. It's an attempt to "guess" the price of a "rare" book. Note that a high price does not mean that the book is rare or collectible.

[Richard Shaefer]

a couple constructive comments from a structural engineer who's built his own pole barn work shop:

you may want to drop the slope on the center roof to match the side bays. It'll be cheaper to build, and you can eliminate the triable bracing in there and use the space for storage. an 8/12 pitch would give you about 6' at the ridge bean down the middle. increase the pitch on your outside shed bays. Its looks liek you have a pretty shallow 4/12-ish pitch right now, and that's not gonna give you a really durable roof. Also get rid of the knee braces between the shed bay rafters and the center bay posts, you don't need them.

youi may also want to push your clear headroom below the loft up to 10'. sheet goods are 8' and moving them around in a 10' space is a LOT easier than a 9' space.
Consider revising your post spacing to 8' on center, whcih will make life tons easier if you plan to sheathe the outside with plywood or OSB.

get yourself a copy of the Timberframer's guild "timber frame joinery and design workbook" which is cheap and useful for the literal nuts and bolts of what you need to do.

[Jim Andrew]

Richard may have some good points, but have to disagree with the 8/12 pitch idea. Having built buildings, an 8/12 is a bit steep if you plan to build the building yourself. Of course, it depends on what you plan to use for roofing, but if you sheet a building solid with wafer or plywood, you need to put some way to stop yourself if you start sliding. You can not stop yourself once you get sliding, I used to nail a 2x4 clear around the roof, to stop me from falling off. It's a slipper slide.

[Todd Burch]

Thanks Guys! I'm going to start a new thread to not hijack this one (any more). Todd

[Matt McColley]

8/12 is steep?

you must not be living in the great white north :^)

[Jim Andrew]

When I started building in the 70's, a 5/12 pitch was the common roof. Then, as people started demanding more stylish (expensive) houses, the style became taller walls and steeper roofs. There are many 9 and 10' tall wall houses built now, many with 8' walls on both ends, and the 10' in the center, to give a high-center look to the house. And with 8/12 pitch. What happened, is the houses went from about 85 thousand to about 230 thousand dollars. They also increased from about 1400 to about 1800 square feet. A lot of the cost was for the big roofs and tall ceilings. The easier houses we could frame in a couple weeks, and the tall houses with big roofs took a couple months.

[Michael W. Clark]

When I started building in the 70's, a 5/12 pitch was the common roof. Then, as people started demanding more stylish (expensive) houses, the style became taller walls and steeper roofs. There are many 9 and 10' tall wall houses built now, many with 8' walls on both ends, and the 10' in the center, to give a high-center look to the house. And with 8/12 pitch. What happened, is the houses went from about 85 thousand to about 230 thousand dollars. They also increased from about 1400 to about 1800 square feet. A lot of the cost was for the big roofs and tall ceilings. The easier houses we could frame in a couple weeks, and the tall houses with big roofs took a couple months.

I worked with a framing crew when I was in high school in the early 90s where I grew up in Alabama. I think a 6 was the shallowest roof we did. It was slab home with trusses, probably 1200 sq.ft or so. We blacked it in within one week. Most everything we did was 8 or better and a lot of 10s and 12s. We used toe-boards on everything above 10 although we had a couple of guys that could do it without them, but the bossman insisted. We were never on a house more than 3-4 weeks, and no nail-guns, bossman thought the nails held better when hammer driven.:)

I did that for a couple of summers, and it was probably the best shape I have ever been in.
Mike

[Matt McColley]

you guys obviously aren't building for snow loads :^)

[Brad Morse]

I professionally design and build timber frames. Your design looks like a good start. You probably don't need the struts and collar in the roof, but you can let the engineer decide. On that note, I would hire a specialty timber frame engineer as opposed to using a regular structural engineer (they tend to slap metal all over everything if they don't understand it). You can find one through the Timber Frame Engineering Council. I would recommend Tom Nehil or Fire Tower if you're building in Michigan.

I would absolutely check out Jack Sobon's books and the 3 collections from the Timber Framers Guild. Unless you want to learn to scribe, I would get rid of the braces running to the shed rafters. You could add a shed tie beam, and brace to that. And I would move the shed rafters up. If you want a zero HAP (height above plate) at the shed plate, then use a step lap rafter seat. Sobon's books will cover that.

Let me know if you have any other questions.
Brad

www.uncarvedblockinc.com

[Richard Shaefer]

I think you're being a little hyperbolic about the whole roof thing.
Blaming the pitch for tripling the house price is a bit of a stretch, too ;)

A steeper pitch roof tends to last a bit longer than a shallow pitch roof.
Most composite shingle makers won't even warranty a roof with less than a 4/12 pitch.
The cost to up the pitch is negligible, and the ability to walk upright under the ridge beam in your attic is priceless, IMO.
8/12 is not a bad angle for a durable roof, and it's still shallow enough that you can walk it with good sneakers.