A cherry cruck frame part 2: Sills and Plans

Look for a timber frame here in a few weeks:

The foundation still stands empty. The masons are adding an additional 4 feet  to the back end.  The sills and joists are made and ready to go.

8×8 cyprus timbers ready for layout

Ready to cut.

Long timbers ready to get longer.

 These timbers have been milled for years and are bone dry. Cyprus grows near or in water and is wonderfully rot resistant. It is also much lighter than hardwood alternatives for sills, such as white oak and locust.

The plans are taking shape:

Gable end cruck frame bent to scale. Round rafters will be bent laminated cherry timbers on a 13′-4″ radius.

Side wall view to scale. The big plate timber is the defining piece and determines the length of the building. It is 29′ long and on average 22″ tall on the wider out facing side.

Post located beyond the end of the plate at rear wall.

Natural shape gunstock post concept to support the plate.

As we get more familiar with the timbers in the yard, we can create plans from the sketches and pin down dimensions. The frame will be 28′-11″ long, 18′-4″ wide and 14′-10″ tall.

The cruck blades are roughly to scale, 16 feet long and have a splendid curve to them.

The gunstock posts in the rear wall are turned into the side wall rather than the bent direction as shown in the fron gable. This allows for an extra 8″ in length to the building.