A Pattern Language

In 1977, Christopher Alexander and others wrote the book, "A Pattern Language" which, in a collection of over 250 interrelated "directives" called "patterns", describes and explains the reasoning behind each of the directives for creating communities, buildings, parks, roads, and building interiors in a way that satisfies human needs for community.

Each pattern entry includes a statement of a problem and a design solution, and is supported by examples and a discussion of how the authors arrived at the recommended solution or method.

For example, the pattern "High Places" states the "Problem" or need as:

"The instinct to climb up to some high place, from which you can look down and survey your world, seems to be a fundamental human instinct."

and the "Solution" as:

"Build occasional high places as landmarks throughout the city. They can be a natural part of the topography, or towers, or part of the roofs of the highest local building - but, in any case, they should include a physical climb."

Raccoon Creek Community has decided to apply as many of the patterns from "A Pattern Language" as might be appropriate in the design of our property and buildings.

As I was posting the entry about a possible silo for the barn I was reminded of our desire to incorporate appropriate patterns in our planning. Pattern 62 in called simply, "High places." Read about"A Pattern Language" if you'd like to understand some of the ideas that we will be incorporating at Raccoon Creek Community. Many other links to the book can be found on the Internet.

Should the barn have a silo?

That's the question we are considering.

Today, on the way home from the site, we visited a fellow who has converted his barn into his home and had a new silo added next to it. We learned of him from the fellow who built the silo. Here's a picture. Ours would be taller.



Since a stairway in the barn will use most of an entire bay, we have discussed using a silo instead to provide access to the barn's second floor. The silo would also provide a high observation point on the property from which we could see most or all of the homes depending on where it were placed.

We would build a staircase inside and have a door on both the ground and second floor levels with a railed walkway to the barn. Occasional windows along the stairs would allow natural light to enter. A platform would be built about 4 feet below the top of the silo and a smooth cap of some sort would be added to cover the tops of the silo panels. A removable cover would keep out any bad weather.

We will dicuss the possibility further. If we decide to build it maybe we can pour its foundation along with the barn foundation.

October party

We had a great time last night just having fun at the Raccoon Creek Community site. Absolutely nothing practical was done! More than 20 friends visited, and some stayed until well past 10 PM.

The weather was nice all day and it wasn't too cold after dark. A nice fire and good conversation made a perfect end to the day.

Those who came before dark got a tour of the site, and almost everyone got a walkthrough of the process of turning a tree into a barn post, though a few of these were done by flashlight.

The milling operation continues this week.

In a very small tree on the edge of the clearing I found the small nest in the picture below. I have no idea what species built it. It looked as though it hadn't been used for a month or so.

Ever see a walking stick?

I found this guy on the tent Monday morning. It was about five inches long.

Two down, four to go

It's Monday evening and this picture doesn't do the sunset justice.

We completed the second of six bents today, and stacked them on the waiting pile. The outside posts and beams in the second and fifth bents are the easiest, meaning they have the fewest cuts to be made on them. The posts have just two housings for braces, and a single mortise for the beam. The beams have just two tenons. These two bents are a bit simpler than the rest. We are not putting knee braces on the beam so some of the outside bays will easier to use in tandem. On the outside bents that will have the knee braces, the bottoms of the braces will be at about 5 feet above the floor. We'll have to get used to their being there if they separate two bays that have no wall between them.

The outside bays will have mostly original timber posts from the old barn. Surprisingly, though they were on the outside walls of the old barn, more of them survived in a useable state than did interior posts. They are being cut shorter by about two feet which will make them lower than the main aisle. On the second floor this will mean taking two steps down from the main aisle to the outer bays.

I'm learning timber framing, one task at a time. The dirtiest job is watching as someone cuts through a large timber end with a chainsaw to tell him where he is with respect to the line on the bottom he cannot see. Sawdust falls right in one's face so a face mask and glasses are essential.


The hardest task is moving some of the larger timbers. Most times this is done with the tractor, but when there is only one or two to move, it sometimes isn't worth starting and manuevering the tractor, so we lift them by hand. Some wood species are a lot heavier than others.

It's likely to be a short week due to rain and a trip planned by one of the timber framers that starts Wednesday. That will give me a chance to get some more work done on the house so we can sell it. I hope to post more pictures of the timber manufacturing process also.