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

Structural Support Beams Flown Into Place

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There is nothing like power tools.  Today, a large 40 ton crane was brought to 60 Bragg Hill to help lift nine giant structural beams into place.  These beams were carefully engineered and fabricated to support both the enormous 24 foot span and the weight of the second floor, which includes large stone slabs which are tightly spaced with minimal grout joints.  The beams are made from engineered parallel strand lumber or “para-lam” capable of supporting high loads with minimal deflection—much more than a solid wood beam. Three of the nine beams were sandwiched with a steel flitch plate to create a super strong structural beam.  Each of these flitch beams can handle a structural load of 18,000 pounds.  While most building codes allow for a deflection (or sagging) of the beam covering 24 feet of 1 1/4 inch, these site-fabricated beams will only deflect one quarter inch over the entire span.

View a slide show of the structural beam installation here.

40 ton Grove crane lifts para-lams into the home

Matt and Mike Thompson guide the beams into place