UCSC Hay Barn - Tools of the Trade

We recently visited the Santa Cruz Timber Frames shop in Bonny Doon and witnessed the production of wall posts for the Hay Barn. The crew utilizes a combination of traditional Japanese woodworking implements & contemporary power tools. Working in a forest clearing, the 5-person crew will produce all of the wall posts before moving onto the next type of member.

A Japanese Adze in the foreground and a Chain Blade Mortise Cutter in the background.

A double-bladed Ryoba.

A Japanese Fishtail Chisel.

A Mallet and Drawknife.

A Hand-Operated Planer.

                                                                             The Japanese Adze is used to reshape the timbers.


                                                                                   The Chain Blade Mortise Cutter in action.

Lark Motel, Bozeman MT

For the past couple of years Richard has been consulting with Think Tank Design Group based in Bozeman to design the Lark Motel. The Motel will act as the perfect base-camp for a trip to Southwest Montana. With large sitting areas and an assortment of outdoor patios and fireplaces. A one of a kind Map Room has been designed to help visitors find their way around Bozeman and rural Montana. Within the Map Room, reclaimed Douglas Fir has been used to create both the custom map reading station and reference table.

On April 3rd the Lark Motel in Bozeman will open its doors to the general public, the Motel is now taking reservations with 25% of for first time visitors. Please take the chance to have a look at the website: http://www.larkbozeman.com/

Entrance to the Lark Motel as seen from West Main Street.

Mock-Up of the map table at the Fernau & Hartman Office in Berkeley.

Reclaimed Douglas Fir, used to produce both map table & reference table.

Map table, computer station and shelving for brochures and information guides.

Reference table with niches for information books and other reference materials.

UCSC Hay Barn - Restoring History

Working at their shop in Bonny Doon, the Santa Cruz Timber Frames crew has started meticulously milling the Hay Barn's timber frame members. With the barn raising event just a month away, the excitement is building with every passing day.

New 10"x10" Redwood Sill Plates, with scarf joints being cut from a template.

New 6"x10" Douglas Fir Intertie Beams with freshly cut mortises.

New 8"x10" Douglas Fir wall post and wall girt tenon template.

Comparing a new Douglas Fir post with a salvaged redwood wind brace.

UCSC Hay Barn – Barn Raising Date Set

Currently, the Hay Barn’s steel exoskeleton is erect.  Each gable is reinforced with steel HSS (hollow structural section) frames, to achieve our required shear strength despite the large openings in each of these end walls.

As we speak, the Santa Cruz Timber Frames crew is incrementally milling and shipping new timber frame members from their shop in Bonny Doon to the Hay Barn site.  This process will continue until mid-March, when the crew will relocate to UCSC and fabricate our 40’-long tie beams directly onsite.

On Saturday March 21st, all eleven of the timber frames will be individually raised.  The public is invited to visit the Hay Barn site, watch the frames be raised, and learn more about the project.  More details to come…

A model of the Hay Barn. (Courtesy of Dos Osos Timber Works, Inc.)

A conceptual reconstruction rendering, showing the timber frames raised. (Courtesy of Dos Osos Timber Works, Inc.)

Gable end steel frames, temporarily supported.

The steel frame lying in the foreground will become a large sliding door.

Determining The Repairability of 150-Year-Old Timbers

On Wednesday 2/5, Fernau & Hartman visited the Hay Barn to meet with the Santa Cruz Timber Frames crew, who will repair the original timber frame members.  Since the Hay Barn was disassembled last Spring, some members have been deemed unrepairable, and a meeting was called to determine which, if any, of these pieces could be saved.  Fortunately, the use of penetrating epoxy will strengthen several of the jeopardized pieces.  Santa Cruz Timber Frames will also produce new members that match the originals wherever replacements are required.

The Santa Cruz Timber Frames crew.

Determining repairability of damaged and rotted members.

When the original Hay Barn collapsed, some members were directly exposed to weather, increasing rot.

An original wall post with dry rot at its base.  This post is 1 of 2 that were salvaged during the disassembly, and unfortunately is now determined unrepairable.

An interior tie beam (#8) will be reused despite a missing section.

Of the 30 wall girts salvaged from the original barn, 4 have damaged mortises, rendering them unsafe for reuse.

Fresh Douglas Fir timbers will replace any unrepairable members.