Community joins hands in raising barn

Rochester Post-Bulletin

Community joins hands in raising barn

By Karen Rorie
For the Post-Bulletin

10/14/07
It takes a village to raise ... a barn.

On a hot Saturday in October, dozens of friends and family members descended on the Hodgson farm and raised a barn. The timber-frame barn is the latest addition to Brad and Leslea Hodgson's organic beef farm near Fountain.

The structure was built using mortise and tenon joints and wooden pegs instead of nails -- a method of construction that has been used for hundreds of years. Walls were built lying on the ground, then raised into place by an army of volunteers using ropes, poles and their own strength.

Brad Hodgson, a carpenter as well as a farmer, decided to build a timber-frame barn for both practical and nostalgic reasons.

"There are many different ways of building barn. Timber frame barns have been around for 300 years. They're sturdier and last longer," he said. "And it's a perfect way to bring everyone together."

More than 40 people lent a hand to raise the Hodgson barn.

Todd Juzwiak, an experienced timber-frame builder organized participants. Before each wall was lifted into place, he carefully arranged volunteers to ensure safety and spread the load evenly. Once Juzwiak determined that everything was in place, three dozen people moved in unison.

"One-two-three, lift," he shouted, and the 40-foot-long by 16-foot-tall wall rose from the ground.

Ropes and timbers creaked, joints slipped together and the wall was standing in a matter of seconds.

People with "pike poles" supported the top of the wall, while others steadied the wall with ropes or their hands. They held their positions while four horizontal beams and wind braces are maneuvered into place.

At times, the giant wall had to be leaned to the side so beams could be slipped into place. Once each beam is strapped into place, the wall stood on its own.

The workers took a break, enjoying cool water, snacks and shade while Juzwiak and his crew used hand drills to bore holes for the wooden pegs that hold the barn together. The pegs were driven with a bowling pin.

"It's not the most traditional way," said Hodgson, "but it has mass and weight."

Indeed, the pegs slipped easily into place. The pegs are the key to the durability of timber-frame structures.

"You're not relying on nails to hold it together," says Hodgson.

Nails, he explained, can wiggle out of place, particularly in high winds, while wooden pegs hold more securely.

Once the walls were standing, the heavy lifting was over. The roof and siding still will need to be put in place, but the strong structure was in place -- put there by an equally strong community.

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