Sugar House Progress

[johnallin]

Been a long three months but we are getting closer -thanks to lots of info found here and good replies to sometimes dumb questions. Roof's on, siding is done, cupolla is finished, 3 out of 4 doors are built with one in place and two to go sometime this week. Got lots of wood cut, split and stacked, "this thing is taking on a life of its own"...

Evaporator is now in place and ready to be leveled and bricked up and I got the stack up today. All 14'-6" of it with a 10" offset section at the top to keep clear of the back center timber. Assembly of the stack was not as challenging as I a had imagined - just laid it out on the shop floor and started joining up one section at a time with a little coaxing from a small hammer and a 2x10 on the ends. Held it all together with stainless rivits and it's solid as a rock and was able to carry it, in one, piece out to the sugar house and slide the whole assembley up into the roof jack. I will be putting ceramic blanket around the area where the stack goes through the roof as it's only about 6" clearance in some spots.

Will be bricking it up next weekend so please be ready for more questions that have already been answered 100 times!

A link to pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/johnallin8293/SugarHouseJan2010#

[Mark-NH]

That's not a sugar house, it's a second home. Nice craftsmanship.

[TRAILGUY]

WOW talk about doing it right

[ehausinfrats]

I can relate. I bought my evaporator used almost a year ago and stated on my sugarshack. Took me a year of many different ideas to get to today. Almost made another mistake with a 300 gal IBC tank in my pickup. Did not think about it being to high to park in the garage. Just missed the door height by 1 inch. Got lucky that time. Just did my test boil last week with only a few hicups. Anyway great sugar shack you are building. You will enjoy it for years to come.

[johnallin]

Thank you, but all credit for the timber frame structure goes to Scott Carlson at SweetgrassJoinery.com (http://sweetgrassjoinery.com) in Clairdon Ohio. Scott's passion is timber frame construction and I think he was born about 200 years too late.

This was his third sugar house and as he has our half pint now; his fourth may not be too far down the road!!
Building was raised by Scott, his wife and father in-law and our family in October.

Roofing, siding, doors and all the rest done in my "spare" time in a race against the clock to be ready for mid Feb.....while I struggle to get the new 2x6 ready at the same time. Woodworking and sailboats are other hobbies of mine so this project fits pretty well into my comfort zone... but none of the maple stuff could be done without the help from the good folks on this site. PERIOD.

[vtsnowedin]

Contracted out or not that,s still one Fam Dancy sugar shack. Makes mine look like a rescycled dumpster and I have yet to get steam out of it.
"You wheelize of course thwiss means War" :D

[brookledge]

Very nice sugarhouse. You should be proud
Keith

[Sugarmaker]

John,
Wow is right! That is a great sugar house! Hope you can open it to the public, it is a real show piece. You will have a great time making syrup in it! I would love to look it over some time.

Regards,
Chris C.

[ericjeeper]

That is insane. You have created a masterpiece.That is something that I hope gets passed down through the generations. Very well done.

[Logscaler]

That is one fine sugarhouse. Now that you have the dimensions etc you should start selling pre-cut kits. I know I would be seriously thinking about buying one!

[Maplewalnut]

Very nice. I like the overhang in the front instead of the back or side.

[Stickey]

That is one fine sugarhouse. Now that you have the dimensions etc you should start selling pre-cut kits. I know I would be seriously thinking about buying one!

I'd consider it too! Very nice.

[Dill]

Yes that is one impressive build. My hat's off to you.

[gator330]

Whats with you Ohio guys and timber frame sugar houses??? Are you related to Grossman? What an awsome job to both you and Scott!!!

[johnallin]

That is one fine sugarhouse. Now that you have the dimensions etc you should start selling pre-cut kits. I know I would be seriously thinking about buying one!

Stickey and Logscaler... the timbers were delivered on a trailer (a kit?), under Scot's direction they were lifted off and put in place just like a big erector set. Everything is mortise and tennon held together with wood pins - no nails or other fasteners, only thing needed is lots of muscle and a mallet to drive the pins home. Same way your great great grandfather had his house or barn built.

You most certainly could have one delivered to your location. We hired Scott for the design and frame only and 12 hours of supervision for raising the building- we supplied the labor and foundation. From what I've seen, that's probably all anyone on this site needs. When it's all said and done the structure will last several life times and if you also provide your own labor and finish off the rest of the building -roofing,siding, doors etc, you won't spend much more than conventional construction. Notice I said "not much more" but in the end it is right and you get what you pay for.

After all that, I am only in the fourth grade when it comes to making syrup and that's what all of you and this site is for.

[JohnsSugarShack]

That is one nice sugar house, I'm impressed. I don't know if I want to post a picture of mine now. Excellent work.

[BoarsNest]

That is a very nice sugarhouse. I am definitely going to show it to my builder buddy when we get ready to build ours.

[Clan Delaney]

I just looked through your photo album. That sugar house is a thing of absolute beauty. I'm going to go burn mine down and start over (don't worry, I have insurance). :lol::lol:.

Seriously, that is like a shrine to maple. Don't be surprised if people come out to just... stand in it's presence. I would.

[Dill]

None of my business but what did a build like that cost?

[michelle32]

Dill theres a guy here in pittsfield that does real post and beam. I'm sure he would give you a honest price. If interested it's Timber wolf framing if you can't find the number pm me and i'll give it to you. Keith

[gator330]

I'm with Dill What did that building cost??? Leave out the custom doors. No dought you are a master craftsmen with the boats and by the looks of those doors a very good one! Just the building and foundation what did it cost? If your going to post a building like that we have a right ot know!! Not really but i'm very interested just the same.

[Dill]

Ya I'm just interested. I have around 1300 all told into my shack, lumber, roofing and stone. I just wanted to know what a maple mansion like that would have cost. And yes judging by your pics your far more talented than I am.

[briduhunt]

If I had a sugar shack like yours I would actually coonsider (what me girl friend has been threatening me to) move in it. Great place you have there your place should be a great for the public to see what sugaring is all about.

[johnallin]

I'm with Dill What did that building cost??? Just the building and foundation what did it cost? If your going to post a building like that we have a right ot know!! Not really but i'm very interested just the same.

Thanks for the kind words... pricing on timber frame is mostly about the number of mortices and tennons involved and labor associated with same. Lumber - around here anyway - is a small part of the cost.

In our case the timber part of the building at 18' x 14' would not have cost much more, maybe $400-500 if we decided to make it say, 20'x16', but roofing and foundation add up quickly so we settled on what we have. As to what the timber frame cost? In all fairness, I would rather direct anyone to Sweetgrass Joinery, or a local timber framer in your area for the answer to that one.

Not trying to be evasive, but there are just too many variables to pin point a number and stating what we paid would not be accurate in many cases. I will add that the cost was not as much as I anticipated (maybe a little more than a 2x6 with steamaway pan) but the end result is as they say in the commercial is "priceless". Scott is a craftsman and we were fortunate to meet him.

[maplemat1]

pulled in your drive this afternoon to get a better look . looks real cool where it sits wish mine was that close to my house not 20 miles away .

[gator330]

Johnallin your welcome for the kind words about your craft.

Realy would like to know if this is the same timber builder that worked with Grossman and his sugar house? Maybe it's just the trade but there are a lot of simalaritys with the two of them.

Also would like to know what the timbers were cut from, Pine/Hemlock or maybe a hardwood? Maple with tape scares and stain would be a cool look.

[johnallin]

Johnallin your welcome for the kind words about your craft.

Realy would like to know if this is the same timber builder that worked with Grossman and his sugar house? Maybe it's just the trade but there are a lot of simalaritys with the two of them.

Also would like to know what the timbers were cut from, Pine/Hemlock or maybe a hardwood? Maple with tape scares and stain would be a cool look.

Yes Scott also designed and did the joinery for the Grossman sugar house and one at the Geauga County Fairgrounds. Timber is all eastern hemlock, siding is also hemlock with a shiplap joint.

I am making the doors from a maple we had taken down here about 2 years ago. It's all spalted and with a couple of coats of linseed oil looks very good.

[gator330]

Figures I haven't a hemlock on this farm. I'll have to look up the one at the fair grounds. See what she looks like.

[johnallin]

Added some more pictures to the "web album".
Been working on the front doors for the sugar house and some home made wooden "latches" to keep them closed. Put insul glass panes in and installed the doors last Sunday. Transom at top of doors opens inward to allow full height access if needed.

Got the ceramic board in today and plan on bricking up the evaporator tommorow with hopes to do a test boil sometime mid-week.

We are getting closer and with the cold spell we are in have been given an extra two weeks before we will be tapping - I needed that extra two weeks to finish anyway!

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnallin8293/SugarHouseJan2010#