At the beginning, your humble writer should mention that this project was undertaken while he was an apprentice. This project was one of the first which your humble writer was entrusted with the heavy responsibility of laying out and marking the timbers. As such, and with my old master’s permission, your humble writer wanted to highlight some of the truly astonishing things that can be accomplished with solid timbers and traditional joinery.
The Span
This frame holds the record for my master’s longest clear span. The King Post Trusses create a clear opening of just over 40′. The sheer size and magnitude of the beams and joinery give a true sense of durability and strength.
The Client required a complete and open span, which meant that there were no intervening posts supporting the roof. The trusses mere made of 10″ and 12″ timbers
The King Posts
To make such a massive span possible, most people would have simply resorted to using a metal pin to hold everything together. Sean of Hyland Timber Framing decided to take a more traditional approach. In conjunction with Fire Tower Engineering, Sean and Ben Brungraber were able to engineer a traditional approach to holding these trusses together.
The Massive Double Spine system that holds these trusses together was an adventure to cut and assemble, but the finished result is astounding to see!. Nearly 15 Oak Pegs and two Oak spline measuring over 6′ apiece keep roof together.
The Client was a member of the Local Carpenter’s Union and helped assemble the timbers and wanted to be key members in the raising. You can see below some of the cabled together trusses.
Final Product
A quick preview of the available pictures off the internet show the finished resultant in full swing!
