Timber Frame Barn - Pemberton

For a while now I've been a member of the Timber Framers Guild; the guild has been active since 1985 and regularly holds conferences and such.  They also organize community building projects. 

I've wanted to participate in one of the big community builds ever since joining but many of the projects seemed to be in the Eastern and Southern States.  Then one day while perusing the guild website I found one in BC!  Pemberton lies just 20 minutes to the north of Whistler, well within acceptable driving distances for a Calgarian like myself.  

Artists Rendition of the Project

There were about 50 volunteer working on the barn for two weeks to cut all the joinery, assemble the bents and raise the frame.  We were split up into about eight work teams, and I worked primarily on the principal posts.  These posts were 12"x16"x25' and we figured they each weighed 1300 lbs, which is absolutely massive.  That is one of the fun things about working on a big project like this, the scale of everything involved impresses every day. 

For the most part I'm just going to let the captions of the photos tell the story here. 

The 16" Circular Saw is Always Fun to Use, a Good Workout Too, it Weighs 32 lbs.

Turning Forks used to Roll the Big Timbers

Drilling a Through Hole for the Steel Tie Rods

Beams for the Clear Span are 45' Long

Probably my Favorite Photo, Big Timber, a Big Saw, and Snow Dusted Mountains

A Set of Six Cross Beams Partway Through Production

Cleaning Up the Walls of a Mortise

Cleaning Bevels for the Support Blades

It took about a week before we were able to start assembling some of the parts and was well in to the next week before everything was cut and ready to assemble.  We had access to a 120 tonne crane to take care of the heavy lifting for the job. 

A Couple Bents Ready for Raising

One Bent in the Air Being Brought Into Place

The Finished Barn

The Finished Barn and Volunteer Crew

This was my first time working with the Timber Framers Guild on a project.  It was fun working on a project which is bigger than I could organize on my own and knowing that it is providing a space for the Pemberton community to live is satisfying as well.  I really enjoyed getting to know everyone and as it turns out my team lead lives only a block away from me so we'll be able to roast smokies and drink beer around the off-cut fire.  What a small world it is when you travel 11 hours from home to meet someone who lives right around the corner. 

If you're interested in seeing much much more about the project, the Timber Framers Guild also wrote a blog about the event and there are many photos and some videos of the raising.