Six cuts from the Boekweg saw shed

A raising crew is the part of the shed that stands on site. Four to seven carpenters, one nominated lift boss and a crane operator who works to our drawing order, all moving through a sequence that was rehearsed in the yard. The crew that raises a frame is the crew that cut its joints, which means a bent that does not close is a problem the same people already understand.

Before a raise, the crew walks the footing, marks the sill line and checks that the anchor bolts sit inside the plate pockets. The first two bents are stood, braced and plumbed before anything else moves, because every later bent inherits the line of the first pair. Tie beams, purlins and the ridge then follow a written lift order that is printed on the drawing set and read aloud at the gate.

Pegs are driven, not hammered home in a hurry. A draw-bored joint closes onto the peg, so the crew checks the shoulder gap before the final strike. At the end of the day the frame is braced in every direction the wind can reach, and a written record of the day goes back to the shed office with the marked-up drawings. If the ridge needs a second morning, the crew stays and the schedule moves rather than the frame being forced.

Porch trusses are cut flat on the shed floor, upside down, on a chalked outline that matches the porch run measured on site. The bottom chord is sized first, because the run and the sag under a roof load set everything above it. King posts and webs are then set from the chord centreline, and each gusset face is checked with a framing square before the truss is turned over.

We cut a deliberate drip at the wall plate and leave a vent gap at the soffit line so the chord can dry from both sides. This matters on porches more than on barns, because the truss sits in weather that a roofed frame never sees. End grain is sealed before the truss leaves the shed, and the truss is strapped face to face for transport so the webs cannot rack on the road.

Where a porch meets an existing wall, the shed surveys the plate and footing line rather than trusting the original drawing. A porch truss that is cut well but set to a settled plate will gap within a season, so the survey and the cut are booked together. The result is a roof plane that reads level from the street and a chord that is dry at the bearing.

Repair work starts with reading the old beam. We look at the original joint lines, the peg holes and the saw marks to understand how the frame was cut, then probe the section where it has checked or rotted. A scarf joint is only cut once the sound timber around the damage is mapped and the new joint can engage it on both sides.

The usual repair is a scarf or a cheek scarf cut in the shed and trial fitted on the bench. Species and moisture are matched to the host beam so the repair moves with the frame through the seasons instead of splitting away from it. Scabs and sister pieces are sized from the load the beam actually carries, not from a rule of thumb, and every joint is drawn before it is cut.

The repair is then carried to the frame and set dry, with props shared across neighbouring timbers so no single member takes the lift. We leave the scarf visible and honest, because a repair that reads as part of the frame will be understood and maintained by the next person who works on the building. Old frames deserve that kind of respect.

We travel for the right stick. Sourcing runs take the shed crew to mills across the region where timber is graded, metered and inspected before it is loaded. Growth ring spacing, species and moisture are checked at the pile, and stock that has been dried too fast is refused even when the price is good, because a frame cut from quick-dried timber will move at the plate.

The run is planned against the cut list, so each load carries the lengths the current drawing set needs rather than a generic order. Long sticks that will become plates and tie beams are chosen first, and the shorter lengths are cut from the same log where possible so the frame reads consistently when it is up. Each piece is tagged at the mill with its mark and its intended location.

Back at the shed, the timber is stickered to dry and re-metered before it enters the cut list. This wait is part of the schedule, not a delay in it. A barn frame assembled from timber that has settled to the local moisture will hold its lines for decades, and that is the whole point of a sourcing run rather than a phone order.

Every frame begins as a drawing set in the shed office. The set covers the plan, the bents, the plate and ridge details, the joint schedule and a cut list that agrees with the measured lengths. Each bent carries a mark, each joint carries a detail, and the whole set is checked against the site survey before it is released to the yard.

Drawings are set in the language a framer reads on the bench: clear faces, shoulder lines, peg centres and a note on which side of the beam is to be kept. Where a detail is unusual, the drawing carries a small isometric sketch so the joint can be cut without a second conversation. The cut list is printed once, signed, and hung on the rail beside the saw.

The set does not end at the raise. Marked-up drawings return from site with any change recorded, and the final set is archived in the office so a repair decades later can be drawn from the same lines. Owners who keep their draw set receive a copy of the final revision at handover.

A raising day is held against the weather window, the crane slot and the crew calendar. Once the drawing set is signed and the timber is dry, the shed opens a raising window and confirms a date in writing. Gate time, lift order, crane position and the laydown plan are issued to the client a week in advance.

Scheduling is not only about people. The site must have a level footing, a clear approach for the crane and a laydown lane long enough for the plates. If any of those are missing, the raise is moved rather than improvised, and the reason is explained plainly. We would rather give a date twice than raise a frame we cannot lift safely.

On the day itself the schedule runs from the gate to the ridge in a fixed order, and families who come to watch are welcome behind the tape line. The day closes when the frame is pegged, braced and true. A written record of the raise goes into the archive with the final drawing set, so the story of the frame stays with the building.