The rebuild begins
The challenge with an old building like this, is renewing it with materials that are true to the original form. In this case, it meant getting custom roughsawn fir lumber milled up specifically for this project. The cost is slightly higher than an off the shelf product, but the authenticity is worth it.
Trying to blend old and new
Any exterior patches required were reclaimed wood from elsewhere in the barn, as trying to stitch in new product would have been very difficult to make look authentic
Patchwork
The structural engineers required us to double up all the collar ties at the peak, fastened with GRK structural screws
You can see the replaced rafters and patched floor boards in this picture, as well as the doubled up knee braces - another engineered requirement. This is the North East wall that was so badly damaged, and the only upper rafters we needed to replace
The original posts had been removed and replaced by mismatched standard lumber sometime in the history of the barn, so we replaced all the existing wooden posts with 8”x8” fir posts.
