Yankee Barn Homeowners Newsletter Spring 2000


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	HOMEOWNERS NEWSLETTER	Spring 2000


		This Yankee Barn was designed so the entire family could escape to the lake on weekends. The open floor plan takes full advantage of the lake views and allows multiple generations to interact. Homeowners Reginald and Marianne wanted their vacation home to feel big enough for their three children and their families and casual enough for their grandchildren to feel right at home.
		To learn how you can design your own barn home, Order the Design Guide. The Yankee Barn Design Guide includes a three-ring binder with 175 pages of design ideas, color photographs, interviews with homeowners and custom plans.

Marianne and Reginald designed a
comfortable, relaxed getaway so
their children and grandchildren
would feel right at home.

The stone fireplace, 10' raised ceilings, and French doors with a wrap-around porch were ideas Reginald and Marianne used after seeing other Yankee Barns.

"We wanted to create a wonderful family space. The openness was very important to us for the views of the lake plus I wanted to watch my grandchildren play. I didn't want to miss a thing," said Marianne.
Reginald and Marianne also wanted the house to fit in with the landscape surrounding their site located on a back field of an old farm sloping down to Lake Waramaug in Connecticut.

"Our first thought was to build a log home, but the size of the logs was overwhelming," said Marianne. Then she came across photographs of a barn home built with recycled beams and everything fell into place. "With a Yankee Barn, we could have the strength and charm of an old house by using recycled beams to build a new, very solid home."

"There is something about a Yankee Barn. Once you walk in, you're sold. You just can't live without it," said Marianne. She and Reginald visited the Yankee Barn show home in Grantham, New Hampshire, looked over many plans and photographs of other Yankee Barns, and attended a Yankee Barn seminar near their home.

"We had ideas for what we wanted," said Reginald who had building experience from renovations and additions to other homes. He found the Yankee Barn design process to be flexible. With the guidance of Michael Beaulieu, one of the Yankee Barn designers, their ideas turned into buildable plans. "Mike was reassuring and helpful. He was willing to work with our ideas."

A series of French doors on three sides
of the living room open onto a
wrap- around porch and views of the lake.

An open floor plan to take advantage of the lake views topped the list for Reginald and Marianne. The kitchen had to be open to the dining and living areas so Marianne could watch her grandchildren play while she cooked. Because she didn't want the family to feel squeezed when they visited, the layout needed to include a master bedroom suite on the second floor, three guest bedrooms, three baths, and a children's play area in the loft.

In addition to the family-oriented floor plan, Reginald and Marianne combined ideas from several Yankee Barns plus books on traditional barn design. Ideas from Yankee Barns included a stone fireplace, 10' raised ceilings, and a wrap-around porch with French doors on three sides of the living room.The porch shown in the plan for the Easthampton Yankee Barn in the design guide took full advantage of the views of the lake and reminded Marianne of their Victorian home. Traditional barn designs inspired a cupola and carriage barn trim on what otherwise would be standard automatic garage doors. (See Designer Notes on the back page.)

"We live in a big old Victorian. It's a strong, solid house that is old-fashioned. With a Yankee Barn, we could combine the strength and charm of the old beams in a solidly-built new house," said Marianne. She was drawn to the rough, weathered look of antique timbers left natural (not stained), displaying the bolt holes and scars of time.

The loft overlooking the kitchen gives
the grandchildren plenty of room to
play within sight of the other generations.

The frame was recut by Yankee Barn using huge reclaimed timbers that have withstood the test of time in mill buildings built in the 1800's during the Industrial Revolution. (See Reclaiming the Past on the back page.)

A self-described scrounger, Marianne recycles a lot of things. She decorated their home using treasures, antique furniture, and "found" materials. The first floor boards were resawn from reclaimed Georgia Pine, and the wainscoting in the living room was salvaged from coal bins in Reginald's uncle's basement.

Marianne explains that she felt less guilty about building a new house when they could do it using existing resources such as the recycled materials and a geo-thermal heat and air-conditioning system.

By drilling down 250 feet, the water temperature for the heating/ cooling system starts at 58 degrees and requires less energy to heat or cool the house. Reginald finds the house is so well-insulated that even when they turn down the thermostat when they are away, the temperature in the house doesn't drop.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agrees with Reginald and awarded their home the EPA Energy Star for at least 30% less energy use for heating, cooling and water heating than comparable homes.

The key to this level of energy efficiency is the Yankee Barn panel construction. The combination of high performance insulation and the sealed "tongue and groove" connection between the panels stops air infiltration. This construction method also speeds delivery and erection of the home on site.

"Everything is done right, the plans, the construction, it is all well put together."

"Yankee Barn was so willing to work with us," said Marianne. "There was a straightforward honesty with everyone we dealt with."

"They were helpful and did what-ever they said they would do," added Reginald. "Working with Yankee Barn was like working with family."

Adjacent to the kitchen,
the dining room area is the
focal point of the open floor plan.
Reginald and Marianne needed to move quickly and Yankee Barn delivered as promised. While their site was being prepared, construction of their home was underway in the Yankee Barn shop. Building crews cut and notched the frame and constructed the wall and roof panels, trim and options. The panels were complete with interior finish, windows, insulation and exterior siding. Everything was loaded onto trucks and delivered to the site for the barn raising. "Putting up the shell was the easy part because we knew what was happening each step of the way," said Reginald. In a little over a week, the frame was raised and panels were installed for a weather tight shell. "The company is small enough to give a personal touch and has been in business long enough to know what they are doing," continued Reginald.

Surrounded by farm land with a natural slope down to a lake, Reginald and Marianne had found a perfect site to build their vacation home. They wanted their home to fit in with the landscape while allowing for the best views. With guidance from Yankee Barn, they positioned their home on the site with attention to both the views from within the house toward the lake and the view of the house from the distance, on approach and from the lake. Using the natural lay of the land, the house was placed on a slight rise to provide the best views of the lake from the front rooms.
French doors and a wrap-around porch created a Victorian cottage exterior facing the lake. From the distance, the simple clean lines of two buildings at an angle create the effect of a Shaker-style barn nestled among the trees. On approach (photograph on cover), several connected barn buildings have the look of New England extended architecture and form a welcoming courtyard.

The antique timbers reclaimed from
the Durant Motors plant were left
natural (not stained) to better display
the character of time.

If a reclaimed timber could talk, there could be quite a story. Though not all timbers can be traced to specific buildings with interesting histories, many of the beams used in Reginald and Marianne's home were reclaimed from the Durant Motors production plant in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Built in 1917, the plant stretched 1450' along Newark Avenue. William Durant (who had founded General Motors) produced his Durant cars in this factory. In the 1920's, up to 178,000 of Durant's cars were sold per year. Durant went out of business in 1932. After many years as a warehouse, and efforts to turn the mill into a business complex and shopping mall, the aging building was demolished in 1998. Over 285,000 board feet of Longleaf Heart Pine was reclaimed from the plant, and although much of the timber was reused for flooring (such as the flooring pictured below), Yankee Barn obtained a portion for its timber frames.

Floor boards were resawn from reclaimed
Georgia Pine and wainscoting was
salvaged from coal bins in Reginald's
uncle's basement.

The clean simple lines of Yankee Barn frames have the feel of a traditional barn. Depending on the desires of the homeowner, the basic barn shape can be played up or down. For example, Reginald and Marianne chose wood shingle siding for the living room wing for the look of a lake cottage but for the garage wing they selected Yankee Barn vertical board siding to play up the look of a barn. They also added a few finishing touches to turn their garage into a carriage barn befitting a rambling New England farmstead.

Cupola
A cupola spotted in a photograph was built on site using shiplapped pine boards and rough sawn trim supplied by Yankee Barn. It is topped with a copper weather vane and can be lit from the inside.

Garage Doors
Using angled corners on the door openings and barn windows and trim on the doors, the optical illusion of carriage barn doors was created. The garage doors are standard overhead doors, ordered with a window section with grids in the windows. The look of traditional hinged doors was created by adding a piece of vertical trim in the center of each door, complete with two handles.

Photographs: Suki Coughlin, Stylist: Paula McFarland
©2000 Yankee Barn Homes, Tony Hanslin, Chariman and CEO

	Marianne and Reginald designed a comfortable, relaxed getaway so their children and grandchildren would feel right at home.
	The stone fireplace, 10' raised ceilings, and French doors with a wrap-around porch were ideas Reginald and Marianne used after seeing other Yankee Barns.
	"We wanted to create a wonderful family space. The openness was very important to us for the views of the lake plus I wanted to watch my grandchildren play. I didn't want to miss a thing," said Marianne. Reginald and Marianne also wanted the house to fit in with the landscape surrounding their site located on a back field of an old farm sloping down to Lake Waramaug in Connecticut. "Our first thought was to build a log home, but the size of the logs was overwhelming," said Marianne. Then she came across photographs of a barn home built with recycled beams and everything fell into place. "With a Yankee Barn, we could have the strength and charm of an old house by using recycled beams to build a new, very solid home." "There is something about a Yankee Barn. Once you walk in, you're sold. You just can't live without it," said Marianne. She and Reginald visited the Yankee Barn show home in Grantham, New Hampshire, looked over many plans and photographs of other Yankee Barns, and attended a Yankee Barn seminar near their home. "We had ideas for what we wanted," said Reginald who had building experience from renovations and additions to other homes. He found the Yankee Barn design process to be flexible. With the guidance of Michael Beaulieu, one of the Yankee Barn designers, their ideas turned into buildable plans. "Mike was reassuring and helpful. He was willing to work with our ideas."

	A series of French doors on three sides of the living room open onto a wrap- around porch and views of the lake. An open floor plan to take advantage of the lake views topped the list for Reginald and Marianne. The kitchen had to be open to the dining and living areas so Marianne could watch her grandchildren play while she cooked. Because she didn't want the family to feel squeezed when they visited, the layout needed to include a master bedroom suite on the second floor, three guest bedrooms, three baths, and a children's play area in the loft. In addition to the family-oriented floor plan, Reginald and Marianne combined ideas from several Yankee Barns plus books on traditional barn design. Ideas from Yankee Barns included a stone fireplace, 10' raised ceilings, and a wrap-around porch with French doors on three sides of the living room.The porch shown in the plan for the Easthampton Yankee Barn in the design guide took full advantage of the views of the lake and reminded Marianne of their Victorian home. Traditional barn designs inspired a cupola and carriage barn trim on what otherwise would be standard automatic garage doors. (See Designer Notes on the back page.) "We live in a big old Victorian. It's a strong, solid house that is old-fashioned. With a Yankee Barn, we could combine the strength and charm of the old beams in a solidly-built new house," said Marianne. She was drawn to the rough, weathered look of antique timbers left natural (not stained), displaying the bolt holes and scars of time.


	The loft overlooking the kitchen gives the grandchildren plenty of room to play within sight of the other generations. The frame was recut by Yankee Barn using huge reclaimed timbers that have withstood the test of time in mill buildings built in the 1800's during the Industrial Revolution. (See Reclaiming the Past on the back page.) A self-described scrounger, Marianne recycles a lot of things. She decorated their home using treasures, antique furniture, and "found" materials. The first floor boards were resawn from reclaimed Georgia Pine, and the wainscoting in the living room was salvaged from coal bins in Reginald's uncle's basement. Marianne explains that she felt less guilty about building a new house when they could do it using existing resources such as the recycled materials and a geo-thermal heat and air-conditioning system.
	By drilling down 250 feet, the water temperature for the heating/ cooling system starts at 58 degrees and requires less energy to heat or cool the house. Reginald finds the house is so well-insulated that even when they turn down the thermostat when they are away, the temperature in the house doesn't drop. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agrees with Reginald and awarded their home the EPA Energy Star for at least 30% less energy use for heating, cooling and water heating than comparable homes. The key to this level of energy efficiency is the Yankee Barn panel construction. The combination of high performance insulation and the sealed "tongue and groove" connection between the panels stops air infiltration. This construction method also speeds delivery and erection of the home on site. "Everything is done right, the plans, the construction, it is all well put together." "Yankee Barn was so willing to work with us," said Marianne. "There was a straightforward honesty with everyone we dealt with." "They were helpful and did what-ever they said they would do," added Reginald. "Working with Yankee Barn was like working with family."
	Adjacent to the kitchen, the dining room area is the focal point of the open floor plan. Reginald and Marianne needed to move quickly and Yankee Barn delivered as promised. While their site was being prepared, construction of their home was underway in the Yankee Barn shop. Building crews cut and notched the frame and constructed the wall and roof panels, trim and options. The panels were complete with interior finish, windows, insulation and exterior siding. Everything was loaded onto trucks and delivered to the site for the barn raising. "Putting up the shell was the easy part because we knew what was happening each step of the way," said Reginald. In a little over a week, the frame was raised and panels were installed for a weather tight shell. "The company is small enough to give a personal touch and has been in business long enough to know what they are doing," continued Reginald.






	The antique timbers reclaimed from the Durant Motors plant were left natural (not stained) to better display the character of time. If a reclaimed timber could talk, there could be quite a story. Though not all timbers can be traced to specific buildings with interesting histories, many of the beams used in Reginald and Marianne's home were reclaimed from the Durant Motors production plant in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Built in 1917, the plant stretched 1450' along Newark Avenue. William Durant (who had founded General Motors) produced his Durant cars in this factory. In the 1920's, up to 178,000 of Durant's cars were sold per year. Durant went out of business in 1932. After many years as a warehouse, and efforts to turn the mill into a business complex and shopping mall, the aging building was demolished in 1998. Over 285,000 board feet of Longleaf Heart Pine was reclaimed from the plant, and although much of the timber was reused for flooring (such as the flooring pictured below), Yankee Barn obtained a portion for its timber frames. Floor boards were resawn from reclaimed Georgia Pine and wainscoting was salvaged from coal bins in Reginald's uncle's basement.


	The clean simple lines of Yankee Barn frames have the feel of a traditional barn. Depending on the desires of the homeowner, the basic barn shape can be played up or down. For example, Reginald and Marianne chose wood shingle siding for the living room wing for the look of a lake cottage but for the garage wing they selected Yankee Barn vertical board siding to play up the look of a barn. They also added a few finishing touches to turn their garage into a carriage barn befitting a rambling New England farmstead. Cupola A cupola spotted in a photograph was built on site using shiplapped pine boards and rough sawn trim supplied by Yankee Barn. It is topped with a copper weather vane and can be lit from the inside. Garage Doors Using angled corners on the door openings and barn windows and trim on the doors, the optical illusion of carriage barn doors was created. The garage doors are standard overhead doors, ordered with a window section with grids in the windows. The look of traditional hinged doors was created by adding a piece of vertical trim in the center of each door, complete with two handles.

	Photographs: Suki Coughlin, Stylist: Paula McFarland ©2000 Yankee Barn Homes, Tony Hanslin, Chariman and CEO