In December, we spent twelve days down on Long Island putting up an early 1800s carriage barn. The original structure was 18-feet wide by 40-feet long. In order to accommodate the goals of our client, we added a saltbox addition onto the barn using vintage salvaged materials from our inventory. We loved the resulting look of the structure.

We spent the first part of our stay constructing and installing the sills for the building. Once they were completed, we assembled the bents on the ground and organized our rafters, braces, connecting timbers, and roof boards.

The crane arrived early on a frosty morning, and the first bent was erected and set into the sill mortises.

Bent number two went up next without a hitch, and we installed the horizontal connecting ties and braces.

By lunchtime, we had bents three and four up, and all the pegs driven into braces and horizontals. We spent that afternoon installing a temporary deck to work off safely.

On day two with the crane, we began installing rafter trusses. They were assembled on the ground, and the crane operator did an amazing job of guiding them right to the mortises in the top plates.

Glenn did a great job stabilizing and “aiming” the rafters with a tag line from the ground.

With the short daylight of December, we had no time to spare, and we were on sight from dawn till dusk. In the next photo, Jesse inspects a door post he has just installed.

By the time we left Long Island, via the Orient Point ferry, we had the roof boards on and water proofing paper installed to protect the frame. The next crew to come in will install the structurally insulated panels that will keep this structure thermally tight and cozy.

The barn will be used as a garage on the first floor, with a studio guest apartment on the second floor. One of our favorite features of this barn is the twisted and gnarly nature of the horizontal beams that free span the upstairs living space. They have so much character!

One real treat of the trip was getting to catch up with two fellow Vermonters, Peter and Christian Moore. They are friends from nearby us in Vermont who are truly artists in stone and brick. Peter and Christian are busy building a historic reproduction of the central fireplaces and chimney in a 1780s house that we put up on the same property earlier in the year.

This central chimney has three fireboxes on the first floor, plus an incredible domed oven! The brick being used is salvaged from early colonial New England, and there is a brick arch that curves up to the timber ceiling.

We can’t wait to go back and see Peter and Christian’s finished work! More of their artistry can be seen here at  Peter Moore Masonry.

This project was a real joy, and we loved getting to know the very fine carpenters who will be closing in the carriage barn and finishing it off.

Do you want to help preserve a piece of history? Dream of living in a restored barn home? Contact Us!  (802) 774-8972