Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Corn Crib as Geometry


A corn crib.
Little. 17 ft by 21 ft , about 18 ft to the peak.
New roof, south facade, and paint: c. 2015. Painting on going.
New concrete blocks for piers; old  concrete piers formed in wicker baskets.
Moved, maybe by oxen.
Door relocated for easier access on foot. The main door was on this elevation, about 3 ft above grade, ideal for access from a wagon.

This south wall was rotting away.
The corn crib deserved better.
During the repairs we found that it is timber framed, scribed, the main framing beams hewn, others cut with a sash saw.
It has log rafters. and may predate the c. 1810 house.





The scribe marks are similar to others found in the neighborhood - a common framer? Or a common teacher of corn crib builders?

Click on the photographs to enlarge them and read 'II', 'IIII', and 'III' on the posts and the beams. 'III' shows how water in that joint wore it away. 

I measured it - the width, length and height; the size of the posts and beams, and their locations; the roof pitch, the slant of the walls. I drew it up and checked my notes for clarity. 



The plan and elevation are below. The sides were for corn, the center aisle for work, the back (lower) section for grain, tools, equipment.

The walls slope out to shed the rain and snow, and to keep the corn from locking in place. The beam running below the beam at the eaves supports the floor of the small loft above the back storage section. There is a ladder built into the wall for access.

This is a normal corn crib for this section of the Hudson River water shed where New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont meet.
It does not seem to be the usual way corn cribs are built in other parts of the country.  I plan to look more carefully.



How I 'found' the geometry:
Note: the geometry is right there. It does not need to be found. I need to recognize it!
Looking at the  floor plan I could see the posts in the upper section forming a square. I added the diagonal and then using the diagonal as a radius I swung an arc. It landed on the lower left corner of the crib.
This is a simple easy plan. The elevation should be as simple.
I tried a square based of the width of the floor (about 17 ft. wide). It didn't quite fit.
I tried a square based on the width of the walls as they meet the roof  (about 18 ft. wide). Again, not good enough.

The utilitarian corn crib's frame needed to be as straightforward as its plan. The geometry tell the carpenter where to put his frame - exactly. Not within  4-5 inches.  He will have timbers laid out on a framing floor. He will want lines (chalk lines or taunt twine) that tell him position, lengths, mortises.  He needs no frills here.

This is when I have a cup of coffee, clean up the office, walk to the mailbox. And think, "The carpenter began with the height of the corn crib equaling its width. He put the loft floor at half the height of the crib."  I come back to try something else, experiment, play. "What if I drew the 'square' using the angled walls? Why not?"

It works. The Lines cross above and beside the framing members. The trapezoid ends below the ridge telling the framer where to cut his joints on the rafters so they will lap each other. The side braces (dashed line) are easily located.
The Lines on the framing floor will be beside the posts and beams, just as they are outside the edge of the plan.
The Lines needed to erect the crib are as minimal as those needed to layout the floor.























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