Lifting the first bent

The day of the raising was a little bit of a dull day. We'd had 4'' of snow the night before courtesy of the Pinnacle, which triggers extra snowfall if there is a little humidity and a little bit of a northwesterly wind. It was, however, relatively warm for this December.

Timber frames are divided into structures called "bents". These are the wall assemblies pre-assembled on the ground and lifted on the day the frame is raised. These can get quite fancy (see here for some examples) but Lisa and I decided to keep it as simple as possible.

Here the crane lifts the first bent into place at the front of the house. Temporary braces keep the bent from tipping until the rest of the structure is raised.

The center post is 18' tall and is the longest timber in the house. It will be fully visible from everywhere in the house living area and is part of the cathedral ceiling structure in the living room.

The cross beam is actually higher than it need to be and designed to be flush with the porch rafters (which will be built when the old place is renovated).