Jeremy M. Praay wrote:

> I love what you're doing.  I will be very interested to see how this
> progresses.
> 
> I really like the fact that you're taking the time to make this "real".
> Most of us would simply do the outside of the barn.  You're actually
> building it piece by piece.  When you're done, you'll have a model that will
> be perfect inside and out.  That's very commendable, imho.
> 
> Keep up the good work!
> 

Thanks!  I made some improvements over the weekend, but not enough to 
warrant another post.  After looking at a neighbor's (smaller but 
similarly supported) barn, I decided that the trusses should be 12 feet 
apart, rather than 16, and start closer to the barn face, so now there 
are 7 trusses instead of 4, making it look much more substantial.  Also 
I noticed that the roof frame should extend 2 feet past the barn (for an 
overhang), and that the center "point" (I can't remember its name) 
should be only as wide as the haymow doors, and extend further out, to 
protect the pulley assembly (again I forget the name) used to get the 
hay into and out of the loft.

Anyway, I thought about trying to make just the outside, but my 
observational skills are so poor, that usually someone comes by and says 
"that barn (or whatever) couldn't even stand up the way you made it."

The nice thing about a barn is that, even when (if) it's completed, 
you'll still be able to see all of the construction details (from the 
inside).  It's also interesting to see how far you can get with just one 
primitive ("box.")  I'm not sure if it's practical to go any further 
with just boxes, since next come the lathes, and then the siding and 
shingles, and that's a lot of boxes.  I'm also toying with whether or 
not to include the internal ventillation, although the engineering 
aspects of that are really fascinating (how do you most efficiently 
remove methane from the barn and put it out into the atmosphere, where 
it belongs?)

Thanks for the interest and comments.

Dave Matthews

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