I built a timber frame barn using Harvest Moon about 3.5 years ago. My intention was long term planning for retirement. We needed more space, and it would provide a way to get me out of my wife's hair. Little did I expect a pandemic, and a year plus worth of quarantine. What a God send! Easily one of the best investments we have made. After 3 years, there are still things I tinker with. Some maintenance, other things adding to the function. The upstairs room is awesome. While you can see it on drawings, it is another thing to see it in reality.
I actively participated as the general contractor, and while raising the timber, as part of the crew. I hired a local contractor to do the majority of the work, and also hired a supervisor from Harvest Moon (a sub to them actually) for about 3 days to get us started. I have a 24x36 summer barn, with a few additions. A porch and a shed dormer on the back. The timber was raised in about 3 days. "Finishing" the barn took the rest of the summer. There was a lot of wood left over. Harvest Moon gives you plenty with the package. I bought supplemental 4x4 for wall framing from a local mill as I departed from the kit intent with a design that was more complicated, but cool looking. But had enough timber / lumber left over to make 2 of 3 doors, a bar, a work bench and a timber frame mail box post...and there is still a bunch out there.
I would very much recommend using plywood sheeting on the walls to give the structure torsional strength, or change the braces from screwed in, to mortise and tenon joints. This regardless of what the code or engineer in your area says. The screwed in braces don't give you much strength. I didn't like the look of the plywood, but it does provide lots of strength, and it grows on you over time...actually you just don't see it after a while.
I would also recommend giving lots of thought and preplanning to insulation, which i did not. I heat the barn with a wood stove, which is perfect for the ground floor even on cold windy days (about 20F or so), but the upstairs stays pretty chilly with no insulation. Even if you don't plan on insulating right away - make allowances for it. These would be much easier done in construction than after the fact.
Getting the permits done was the hardest part of the project. Township officials don't really know how to deal with non-standard construction, and rely heavily on a professional engineering stamp. Once all that was sorted, the actually raising, was a lot of fun. Met some cool people from the blacksmith who made my strap hinges, to the mason, to the guy who sells reclaimed cobble stone. Harvest Moon was a great source of information and help all the way through, and even now - 3+ years later when I have the occasional question. Great value for the quality and service you get. Still amazed at the construction tolerances and how it went together. There has been the expected wood checking and some minor racking over the years, but all normal when using living organisms as building material. read more
