LEARN TO TIMBER FRAME 622668_TimberFrame_FinalPgs.indd 1 2/4/16 3:47 PM L E A R N T O TIMBER FRAME CRAFTSMANSHIP SIMPLICITY TIMELESS BEAUTY j j Will Beemer Foreword by Jack A. Sobon Photography by Jared Leeds ß Storey Publishing 622668_TimberFrame_FinalPgs.indd 2 2/4/16 3:47 PM L E A R N T O TIMBER FRAME CRAFTSMANSHIP SIMPLICITY TIMELESS BEAUTY j j Will Beemer Foreword by Jack A. Sobon Photography by Jared Leeds ß Storey Publishing 622668_TimberFrame_FinalPgs.indd 3 2/4/16 3:47 PM The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment. Edited by Hannah Fries Art direction and book design by Jessica Armstrong Indexed by Samantha Miller Cover and interior photography by © Jared Leeds Photography, except © 2009 Olaf Protze/Getty Images, 12; Mars Vilaubi, 179, 180; © mcsilvey/iStockphoto.com, 13 (bottom); © nightjar09/iStockphoto.com, 13 (top); © Perry Mastrovito/Design Pics/ Getty Images, 29; Courtesy of SIPschool/www.sipschool.org, 171; © Will Beemer, 10 French carpentry marks chart from Traité Théorique et Pratique de Charpente, by Louis Mazerolle, H. Vial Publisher. Illustrations by © Michael Gellatly © 2016 by Will Beemer All rights reserved. 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Donnelley 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file This book is intended to introduce readers to the concepts of timber framing small buildings similar to those shown. The structural engineering formulas and recommendations are meant to be guidelines only and should not be used as the sole factors in determining appropriate design for all conditions. The author and publisher advise that anyone not trained in structural engineering get professional assistance from a licensed engineer before proceeding with construction and follow all applicable state and local building codes. Take proper safety precautions before using potentially dangerous tools and equipment or undertaking potentially dangerous activities. Be alert and vigilant while operating heavy machinery. 622668_TimberFrame_FinalPgs.indd 4 2/4/16 3:47 PM ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks to Jack Sobon for providing the original design and so much inspiration over the years; to Dave Carlon for helping me teach and cut so many of these frames with students; to Tom Barfield for suggesting this book and for his continued support; and to the many students who learned to build these frames and the clients who were brave enough to let them.   In memory of Ed Levin, who taught us the love of timber framing 622668_TimberFrame_FinalPgs.indd 5 2/4/16 3:47 PM CONTENTS FOREWORD by Jack A. Sobon ............................................................................... 8 PREFACE ..................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 1 What Is Timber Framing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 CHAPTER 2 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Using Ungraded Native Lumber.............. 21 Ordering and Storing Timbers ............... 30 Timber-Frame Engineering 101 .............. 25 CHAPTER 3 Layout Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Mill Rule ....................................... 34 Scribe Rule .................................... 35 Mapping ........................................ 34 Square Rule ................................... 35 CHAPTER 4 Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Tools for Layout ............................... 39 Boring Tools ................................... 49 Cutting Tools .................................. 45 CHAPTER 5 Procedures for Layout & Cutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 First Steps in Layout ......................... 53 Laying Out the MortisReu alnesd oTfe Tnhounm ..b. .fo..r. J..o.i.n 5e8ry Design in Square Rule ................................. 78 Cutting Procedures ........................... 62 622668_TimberFrame_FinalPgs.indd 6 2/4/16 3:47 PM CHAPTER 6 The Tiny Timber Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Plan Drawings ................................. 82 Braces ......................................... 108 Timber List .................................... 8 8 Collars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Sills ............................................ 89 Door Posts ..................................... 114 Joists .......................................... 92 Tie Beams ..................................... 115 Posts ........................................... 94 Plates .......................................... 117 Girts ............................................ 105 Rafters ......................................... 123 CHAPTER 7 Variations on the Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Moving Doors and Windows .................. 129 Overhangs ..................................... 138 Adding a Loft .................................. 132 Making the Frame Smaller ................... 140 Changing the Roof Pitch ..................... 135 Making the Frame Bigger ..................... 142 CHAPTER 8 Raising the Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Equipment for Raising Day ................... 151 The Raising Script ............................ 153 CHAPTER 9 Foundations & Enclosure Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Foundations ................................... 164 Insulation and Enclosure ..................... 167 EPILOGUE .................................................................................................. 172 GLOSSARY ................................................................................................. 174 RESOURCES ............................................................................................... 181 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................... 183 INDEX ....................................................................................................... 184 622668_TimberFrame_FinalPgs.indd 7 2/4/16 3:47 PM 8 FOREWORD by Jack A. Sobon D R O W E R There are pursuits in life that 7,000 years, was threatened was a result of that revival. O F go beyond providing the neces- by the changes brought on by Founded in 1985, it attracted sities for our existence, that the Industrial Revolution, and craftsmen and enthusiasts from elevate us above the workaday became especially endangered North America and around the world, that captivate our imag- in the mid-twentieth century. world. Through its outreach, inations and give us purpose in Old ways and old things were its educational workshops, and life. The craft of timber framing being replaced by the wonders its publications, the Guild has is one of those pursuits. It has of the new age. Television, plas- fostered the growth of the craft all the necessary ingredients: a tics, and space travel occupied and has assured that timber rich historical background that the minds of most Americans. framing will endure. conjures up visions of medieval Plywood, steel, and concrete Will Beemer has been a leader halls, ornate temples, and pio- defined the building industry. It in the Guild’s efforts, especially neer dwellings; a connection to was an era of overcoming and in its education programs. As our mother earth (trees are a subduing nature, not working an instructor at his Heartwood renewable resource utilized by with it. As we embraced and School and through the Guild’s humans for thousands of years); focused on new technologies, Apprentice Training Program, and a physical, tangible reward we were unfortunately leaving Will has been perfecting for our toil in the form of struc- behind much knowledge of the his instruction methods for tures that last for generations. old, traditional ways. decades. What follows is clear, The gratification found in timber By the late ’60s, many people concise instruction that will framing goes far beyond that of were realizing that in our haste enable timber-frame enthusi- most crafts. We are surrounded to modernize, we had given up asts to get started in the craft. by our creative work as it shel- some wonderful things. In the By focusing on a small struc- ters us, enhancing our lives. back-to-the-land movement ture, one can easily learn the And what about durability? that swept our country, timber concepts, from layout to raising. Timber-framed buildings can framing figured prominently. It certainly last a lifetime, more brought us back to nature, got Welcome to the world of often centuries. Long after us involved in building our own timber framing! completion, they stand as a tes- homes, and taught people to tament to our efforts. work together again toward a This ancient craft, having common good. The formation served humankind for at least of the Timber Framer’s Guild 622668_TimberFrame_FinalPgs.indd 8 2/22/16 3:37 PM 9 PREFACE P R E F A C On a mountaintop in northwest- equipment. A number of these wood as instructors in its third E ern Connecticut is a collection structures share a common year; when the founders left for of 40 or so rustic family camps, origin. It all began in 1988 when other things in 1985, we found little cabins tucked away in the one of the mountain residents ourselves running the show. woods by a picturesque lake. took a woodworking class at the Over the years, Heartwood has Over the years, these families Heartwood School in western expanded to include timber have expanded. As new gener- Massachusetts (see Resources, framing and other woodworking ations are born and grow up, so page 181). skills, using actual projects as grows the need for each group Heartwood was founded in teaching tools. One of these to have its own private space. 1978 as an “owner-builder” projects is a 12 × 16-foot tim- Kids’ cabins and kitchen huts school, teaching the skills ber frame. have popped up, as well as needed to build one’s own When our visitor from Con- storage spaces for kayaks and energy-efficient home. My wife, necticut came to Heartwood, other sporting and maintenance Michele, and I came to Heart- he saw one of these classic THE HEARTWOOD SCHOOLHOUSE, located in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, was built from trees on the site by the staff and students in 1978–79. The building houses an office, classroom, greenhouse, wood- working shop, library, and dining area. 622668_TimberFrame_FinalPgs.indd 9 2/4/16 3:47 PM