Re: Delurk, and some questions

["Karlene" <bellstudio@mindspring.com>]

What do you mean by raised-end, raised center trusses.  can you describe
them better?  and how do they attach to the box beam posts?  a top plate
that is also a box?? Thanks.   kb
-----Original Message-----
From: jmark.vanscoter@amd.com <jmark.vanscoter@amd.com>
To: argyle@up.net <argyle@up.net>; strawbale@crest.org <strawbale@crest.org>
Date: Monday, January 31, 2000 4:39 PM
Subject: RE: Delurk, and some questions


>Here are some answers, based on one person's experience.
>
>Pole barns and post and beam buildings differ in how the roof framing is
>handled.
>
>Pole barns and pole building use large timbers (solid or built-up from
>dimensional timbers (Bonanza Building did this) that are normally resting
on
>concrete pads and buried in the ground. The roof is framed with fabricated
>trusses made of dimensional lumber (2x4 and 2x6) that are typically located
>on 8' centers and use 2x4 purlines to support the roof material.
>
>Post and beam building use large timbers to frame the whole building,
>including the roof. Typically, the posts are attached to a foundation
>(although in the past, they would be buried).
>
>IMO, a better solution for SB construction, would be to use fabricated box
>columns (imagine a ladder of 2x4's, sheathed in 3/8" or 1/2" plywood) that
>are bale wide as the posts and use raised end/raised center trusses for the
>roof. The box-columns will ELIMINATE notching the bales. The raised end
>trusses allow space for insulation. The raised center allows more headroom
>and causes your eye to look up rather than look left to right like regular
>flat bottom trusses tend to do.
>
>One suggestion, use 3 bales (2 wire) width as the space of the uprights,
>that way you will use either full bales or half bales only.
>
>If you have any questions or want any details, please feel free to contact
>me.
>
>Mark V.S. in Austin, TX (who is getting ready to do these things)
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Hixii [SMTP:argyle@up.net]
>> Sent: Monday, January 31, 2000 9:07 AM
>> To: strawbale@crest.org
>> Subject: Delurk, and some questions
>>
>> Well, it's high time I said hello, girded my loins, and asked for some
>> feedback.
>>
>> Hi, I'm Colleen. We live in the UP of Michigan (the Keweenaw penninsula,
>> actually; sort of the UP of the UP). I've been faithfully lurking this
>> list
>> for almost three years (yes, really!) while we've been saving money and
>> looking for the right bit of land to build our bale-burg. We found our
>> land
>> in October, and since then I've been trying to pull together many years
of
>> reading, researching, and thinking into a real house.
>>
>> The house I have in my head is a simple rectangle, oriented for passive
>> solar, 30 X 40 ft. (interior dimensions). I have been thinking about
doing
>> a pole building on an insulated slab-on-grade with the poles attached to
>> hardware embedded in the slab. Now, what I want to know is what to call
>> it.
>> Is it still a pole building? And while I'm at it, can anybody explain
what
>> the difference is between a pole building and a "modified post-and-beam"?
>> I'm beginning to suspect it's the difference between tomay-to and
>> tomah-to,
>> but please advise.
>>
>> The roof will be 3:12 gable (with those wi-i-i-de overhangs) with 18
>> inches
>> of blown cellulose in the ceiling, and sheathed with plain metal roofing.
>> We plan to rely on harvested rainwater/snowmelt for our house water
>> supply,
>> with a shallow well for irrigation. I have this wild idea for harvesting
>> snow water from the roof using heat-tape: anybody else in snow country
>> doing rainwater harvesting?
>>
>> BTW, we get *serious* snow here (200 or more inches most years) and The
>> Man
>> requires roofs to be designed for 70 lbs/sq.ft. live loads.
>>
>> We'll be moving onto our land and living in a temporary shelter as soon
as
>> the ground dries up enough (probably May) and starting on the house right
>> away. We are planning to mill as much of the lumber for the house as we
>> can
>> ourselves from trees on our property, using an Alaskan mill. I'm looking
>> forward to the whole adventure with a mix of excitement and terror...
>>
>> Colleen
>> argyle@up.net
>>
>>