Timber Frame Raising

This week, the big timber frame that is the program dining space is being raised up. It is a spectacular piece of workmanship and is a direct tie to our agricultural roots and the history of farming. Timber frame style of building dates back as far as 200 BC, and is method of joining large pieces of timber without the need for metal hardware. Our big red barn, built in 1907, is a timber frame structure that is held together primarily by wooden pegs.

Hardwick Post and Beam from Hardwick, MA took large beams of wood and cut them all by hand to create the pieces needed to build our program building. Each bent (the “slice” of the building) is pre-assembled at the shop to drill holes for the pegs and to tweak the fitting to make sure it is exact. The bent is then disassembled and packaged for travel to the farm.

This week all the packages arrived along with a large crane. Using the crane, the crew from Hardwick re-assembled each bent. The middle bents are made up of a triangular piece called a truss. This truss sits on top of two posts and is then linked to the other bents with timbers. Each truss in this structure weighs about 5,000 lbs! The end bents each weigh about 6,000 lbs with their four corresponding posts.

The crane was just strong enough to hoist the end bent on the far side - reaching the boom over the entire building footprint to set it in place on top of the foundation. The building is tied into the foundation with both threaded rods that stick up into the bottom of each post, and also strapping that is locked into the concrete and nailed to the back of each vertical post. This is far more attachment than our old barn which has been simply sitting on a stone foundation for over 100 years!

Student Housing Roofing Truss Installation

The nearly finished student housing roof trusses behind the crane.

Installation of the roofing trusses for the student housing is an interesting process to watch. Individual trusses are quite floppy on their own, but when they are tied together they form a very strong roof structure designed to hold up under weighty New England snowloads.

Assembly of trusses made on the ground for hoisting with the crane.

As is typical in construction, sometimes the first steps of the process can be the most challenging. In this case, the challenge is getting those first floppy trusses in place and tied together so as to create a sturdy framework on which additional trusses can be added. Brandon and his framing crew solve this problem by assembling the first six trusses on the ground. This also allows them to add the overhang roof detail, including the fascia board which is much easier to install from a step ladder!

Tying in the trusses as they arrive.

This whole assembly is then lifted by crane and set into place on the far end of the student housing building. Once that end assembly is fastened in place, its just a matter of lifting each additional truss into place and adding it to the assembly. A good crew can fasten the trusses in place as fast as the crane can lift them from the ground stack (and yes, our crew was good!)

The whole process is finished with the last pre-constructed end assembly being lifted into place. The result is a very strong and well constructed roof being put into place in a very short time. A rewarding sight to see.

A View of Things to Come

A rendering of the buildings from Kuhn Riddle Architects

Roof Trusses Arrive

Some anticipation is building as the roof trusses for the student housing arrive. They will be installed in about a week, and then a roof deck can be installed - keeping much of the framed building out of the weather. I am always impressed with the skilled driving required to enter our narrow driveways.

Backfilling New Foundations

workers run compactor machines over the soil to evenly pack it tight

After foundations are poured, the crew backfills soil along the outside of the foundations. In some parts of the building, there won’t be a basement, and instead the foundation space is filled with soil and a slab of cement is poured over top. This is called “slab on grade.”

soil for compaction is dumped in a large supply pile (back) which is then moved selectively for each lift into the program dining space

It is important to compact all of this soil carefully to avoid settling over time. Layers of soil or “lifts” are put down and then compacted before the next layer is put in. Soil tests are also done along the way to examine the level of compaction and to ensure that each lift is done properly. It is not complicated work, but still requires attention to detail and is essential to a successful structure.

The dining room of the progrm building is going to be a timber frame structure. This frame needs to go up before the support space (kitchen, staff room, bathrooms) is constructed. The timber framers are scheduled to arrive in mid-March, and so to keep making progress in other areas, the builders are accelerating the work on the student housing. You can see how they have framed the basement and done the first layer of decking.

orange blankets cover the ground to protect against early frosts. The line of insulation fastened to the outside of the foundation marks the line up to where soil will be backfilled.

Pouring the Footings

After excavation, it is time to start building up and out of the ground. At the base of the foundation walls are footings. These are tied into the wall, but are wide sturdy bases on which the foundation rests. To reach the far sides of the building, a simple trough system is used to convey the concrete across the site. During the pour, a worker uses a vibrating wand to eliminate air bubbles which would dilute the strength of the concrete.

Excavation

Lucky Ducks

Last night there was a big wind storm, but the farm came through relatively unscathed. However, in the morning, when I was meeting with Mary Quigley and Alex Lunt on the building site, there was a tremendous cracking noise. Looking up, we were just in time to see a big oak tree crash down from the cow path and towards the tent circle. The top of the tree fell just short of our cabin tent circle and I started to breath a sigh of relief, but suddenly my heart quickened as I realized that the tree had fallen square on top of the duck coop and pen.

Racing across the open field, I came up to the tangled mess fearing the worse. Amazingly, the tree fork had fallen so that two big branches lay on either side of the coop. The fencing was crushed beyond repair, but our ducks were unscathed. An amazing stroke of good fortune given that the oak tree was full grown and over 30 inches in diameter at the base of the trunk.

Demolition Day

Today was the day the old program building came down to make way for the new. It was not without some sadness that we watched the old chicken coop come down. A lot of history and memories are connected to that building, not to mention a lot of hard work in renovations and repairs to keep it working for the farm and our programs.

The demolition was remarkably swift and precise. Associated Wrecking did the job with great efficiency and care. Sydney and the kids laid out some flowers just outside the eastern end of the foundation, and they remained untouched throughout. It was quite striking to see the walls and structure look so fragile when confronted with heavy hydraulics and steel.

Recycle and reuse

In an effort to reduce the amount of materials going into the landfill, we are removing as much recyclable material as possible. Metal takes up a lot of this effort, and we are glad to have Brian Dickenson volunteer to take our metal to be recycled. We used the the opportunity to also do some much needed clearing of our barn spaces as well.

notes on kitchen equipment to be re-used

The farm’s kitchen has a lot of sinks, counters, and cupboards that can be reused in the new kitchen and pantry space. Our commercial stove and vent is also an expensive piece of equpment that we want to save and re-use. Moving these takes time, careful disconnection, and a lot of heavy lifting to shift them into the storage containers. Rollers and plywood are handy tools, and luckily the farm tractor is on hand to help as well!

All that stuff...

This dragon has found a new home!

Giant farm tag sale! So many things are stored in our program building and they don’t belong in the dumpster. Tag sales are a great way to extend the life of items and materials, and we hope many members of our community will find things that are of use.

bins, equipment and salvaged radiator panels stored in a shipping container.

The program building held a lot of program supplies, equpment, tools and other items used in our everyday farm programming and farming operations. To temporarily store all these items, we purchased an additional shipping container, loaded them full. To track items we might need later during construction, we put together a careful inventory of all our bins and containers with a lot of detailed labeling and notes.

Project Partners

I have done a lot of physical building and renovations on the farm, but this project is miles bigger than anything I or our farm team could manage. For help, we turned to local resources and have found some great partners in managing this big undertaking.

Kuhn Riddle Architects (Amherst, MA) assisted us with our feasibility study and are now designing the final project. They are also overseeing the construction process. Their capable team have been carefully learning about the farm, listening to our staff, teachers and students, and helping to design buildings that not only serve our needs, but also work and fit well with our small farm landscape.

Keiter Corporation (Florence, MA) is our builder of choice. Led by owner Scott Keiter, their team is responsible for executing the plan of the architects. From demolition to grand opening, Keiter will be our “boots on the ground.” We made a decision to involve them early in the design process so as to ensure a streamlined workflow that would keep us on schedule and utilize the latest information from the building and trades groups.

The Chicken Coop / Program Building

View of building from the south. Note all the original windows which were originally designed slide downwards for ventilation using a pulley system from the inside.

The new buildings will be replacing our current program building. This building was originally constructed in the 1950s by Francis Williams to house his new flock of chickens. He had 1,000 birds on each floor for a total of 2,000 laying birds. That’s a lot of eggs!

Since then, the building was renovated for storage in the downstairs and a residential space in the upstairs. Many local families rented the chicken coop apartment over the years before Red Gate Farm purchased the property and converted the upstairs into a program space. It went through one more evolution in 2012 when the small residential kitchen was renovated to a commercial kitchen and outdoor showers were added to accomodate overnight programming.

New Buildings

A rendering of the proposed buildings

New buildings are on the way for Red Gate Farm! We are replacing the existing program building with two:

A new Program Building that will accommodate up to 100 people, doubling our current capacity. It will include a dining hall that will also double as space for workshops, classrooms, special group activities, and music performances. There will also be a commercial kitchen and staff room to support our programs.

Winterized Student Housing that will allow us to accommodate 40 children and four adult chaperones throughout the calendar year. Instead of being limited to the warm season of May - October, we can welcome students to all of our farming activities, including lambing, maple sugaring, food preservation, etc. In addition to sleeping quarters, the new building will offer showers, a laundry facility, and bathrooms.