Plasma cutting steel staircase Tung oil applied on trim woodwwork Floors milled from site grown trees Septic field restoration Reflecting afternoon sun Birth of a barn on Bragg Hill Radiant floors Solar panel installation Capping off the chimney Proud shape emerges on the hilltop Pumping concrete into the three gables Forming 12x12 Gables Delivering concrete from the sky Parallam beam positioning Flying flitch beam ICF window framing Precision concrete placement Lower level ICF fabrication Newly excavated driveway Finishing garage deck concrete Pouring concrete footers Rebar safety caps Surveying the construction site Checking out the excavation equipment Rapid soil stabilization Testing the soils for drainage Taking Solar Pathfinder measurements Milling downed trees onsite View to the Southeast over the Benzel Family Trust Future meadow to be cultivated Taking a stroll on Bragg Hill Road

Today is February 23rd, 2012 - The weather at Bragg Hill is clear and 46°F

Red Barn Rising

click image to enlarge
click image to enlarge

To many, home construction in general isn’t all that interesting to watch.  There are times however, when it is simply breathtaking.  This is one of those moments.  While visiting the site on a quiet Sunday morning we saw for the first time the true colors and palette of the exterior of our modern barn.  It’s beauty and strength just stunned us.  Three dimensional computer renderings can only show you so much.  That’s nothing like the real thing.  Bathed in the strong morning light, the red corrugated metal siding is proudly juxtaposed with the reverse board-and-batten cypress.  To us, this is a symphony of color and texture fitting for a traditional Chester county barn.

But wait, there’s more!  The gray stucco has yet to be applied to sections of the exterior, adding yet another element of color, texture and aesthetic balance.  As the cypress ages and weathers into a stone gray color over time, the palette will continue to evolve.  For more photos see the slideshow.