HOMEOWNERS NEWSLETTER

To learn how you can design your own barn home, order our Room by Room Design Guide.

A brass plaque hanging on the rustic post in the bedroom of Tony and Jonna's Yankee Barn reads, "Custom Designed and Created for Jonna and Antonio by Yankee Barn Homes, 1991." By this plaque the couple can date their marriage, and also the second of three Yankee Barn structures they've incorporated into their home.

For over thirty-five years Yankee Barn has upheld the building and construction standard we set in 1969 — a stable and energy-tight structure, custom-designed, cost-effective to build and highly adaptable to the owner's needs. Inherent in our modular design is the ability to efficiently add upgrades and additions, even over a period of many years, as Tony and Jonna's Yankee Barn demonstrates.

Original Yankee Barn
1970-1971, 32' x 24'

The year after Yankee Barn opened its doors, Tony was between assignments, leaving Okinawa and heading toward Bangkok, when he purchased acreage in Maryland's Blue Ridge Mountains. Tony started reviewing the available housing alternatives, and decided to become an ‘early adopter' of the Yankee Barn building system.

Three 'generations' of YBH homes come together in Tony and Joanna's Yankee Barn.

"I wanted a design that would blend into the woods and fields, and I looked at a number of owner-assembled options. The Yankee Barn of the day was rustic in style, efficient to assemble, included R25 insulation which was very good for the time, and construction that was five times heavier than standard stickbuilt. The space-efficiency of the open-plan concept, with no interior bearing walls, really appealed to me."

Tony chose the "New Hampshire Barn" style with the Maryland color set (red and white, almost identical to the barns in Eric Sloan's famous paintings) and he made good on his intention to build it himself ... including fabricating the interior light fixtures!

Addition #1
1991, 16' x 32' ell with vestibules

When Tony and Jonna were married in 1991, they decided to design a bedroom addition to their original Yankee Barn. "We did a number of sketches based on standard Yankee Barn floorplans, but we had them modify the plan significantly." Their additions included a massive fireplace, 5' deep and 3' wide, with firebox openings on each side ("…you can soak in the bathtub or lie in bed, and watch the fire,") and energy efficient options to heat totally with wood.

They nearly doubled the size of their home, but when they found out that Jonna was pregnant, they knew they'd be needing the space. "Because of the open plan timberframe construction, we were able to ‘knock down walls at will!' " Tony said. He described the concept of ‘pointloading' —distributing the structure's weight out to the post and beam frame, so interior walls can be readily moved as needs change. They were able to easily ‘open up' the original building, creating bedroom space for a growing family.

Addition #2
2002, 18' x 24'

The original Yankee Barn had, as Jonna put it, "a big greenhouse that opened out onto a very small kitchen!" and in 2002, they added their third Yankee Barn structure to expand their kitchen and dining areas.

This time Tony and Jonna custom-designed all elements of the new addition, a process that Tony described as "just putting the pieces together. Because of Yankee Barn's timber frame construction, each addition is, in effect, a freestanding structure. Despite all the custom design, that construction made our additions very feasible to execute, even over 30 years." Looking back on a long relationship with Yankee Barn Homes, Tony admits to a sense of satisfaction. "On the whole, I'd have to describe the process between Yankee Barn and us as a very comfortable relationship."

After twenty-six years in the timber- framing business, Steve Manning still considers himself "the frugal Yankee— I look at a homeowner's project like it's my own money. I can look at a set of timberframe plans and know whether it'll work right for the people in the field. That's how it has to be … it has to work for everybody involved."

As Yankee Barn's Construction Manager, Steve acts as "the manufacturer's representative in the field." It's his responsibility to know how the Yankee Barn system works, how the individual project was constructed in the shop, and how contractors can work most efficiently in the Yankee Barn frame. For example, Steve gets calls from people who built in the 70's; "I have to be able to explain how the structure was built 35 years ago … how to replace a window, or rewire the building, or consult with a plumber. And because of our modular design, we can do that today."

Yankee Barn's new direction has also given Steve some original challenges. "As we're continuing to customize structures, add new products and shapes, really stretch the design of the buildings, I have to keep up with the changes and help develop new techniques." Responsible for quality control during fabrication, Steve characterizes the Yankee Barn system as "one of the highest levels of QC and specification in the industry, done ‘to code or better', and that means all the various construction codes around the country … on the San Andreas fault in California, or the Rhode Island coast with 120mph winds. We custom-plan and build Yankee Barns for all those conditions and more, with much better consistency than you'd ever find in the field."

Steve is also responsible for training site supervisors, the Yankee Barn representatives who work on-site with our crews "… or they train me!" he says with a laugh, referring to the great value of bringing back field data to the manufacturing process. "No matter what the feedback, good or bad, we're always looking for better processes and finishes, better construction techniques, pushing the engineering—it's a constant process, and it never stops."

In 2005, YBH introduced the next evolution of the Yankee Barn concept—custom-built storage buildings and barns called the Barnmaker series. Built with time-proven post and beam framing and Yankee Barn's efficient modular design, the Barnmaker series offers the authenticity of century old barns with construction meeting today's building codes. For 2006, YBH has upgraded our Barnmaker products, with new models including the 24'x40' King Post Truss Barn. These truss barn designs completely eliminate any center posts or supports, resulting in a clear, open space of almost 1000 square feet for animals, hay, farm equipment or vehicles.

Post and beam construction is inherently very strong and stable. But, in the case of the king post truss barns, with no interior supports, they require a stronger timber than our standard frames. YBH truss barns are built using kiln-dried Douglas fir, providing the needed strength in an efficient size.

The King Post Truss at Work— a clear open space of almost 1000 sq ft, in a sturdy and adaptable structure.

The Studio Barn— Storage and Living Space Together Another addition to our Barnmakers offerings is the Studio Barn. We have had many customers asking for living or studio space above their Barnmaker barn. In response, we have developed a floor plan that accommodates a spacious upstairs living area. The Studio Barn is a great option for an addition to your property, or as a vacation home or camp. In fact, several of our customers are building Studio Barns now as temporary living quarters, while they plan for their Yankee Barn project to come!

Here at the shop in Grantham, NH, we have a completed Timber Truss Barn in regular use, a working model where we store doug fir timbers and produce our trusses. We'd be glad to give you a tour—stop in anytime.

The YBH evolution also continues in our shops. Our overall goal is to construct customer shells in a highly effective and well designed process, and still allow for a very high degree of customization.

In our shops, we've increased automation of precision cutting jobs, improving efficiency and consistency. In our wall panel department, we've put into production a wall panel framing table, which automatically squares our panels and precisely nails the studs, resulting in lower labor cost and higher production per man hour. And our ongoing feedback from job site to construction shop creates a continual process of improvement.

Sometimes we've taken an unusual route to get the job done (note our creative use of surplus materials—the 5,000 lb Navy saw that cuts our timber notches!) These photos take you through the entire process.

1. Stud Precut Line and Shoe/Plate Alignment Here all the shoes and plates are laid out along a 75' bench (against the back wall) so that we can ensure they are all the same dimension.		2. TrueWall® Plate Line All the plates and studs are brought together and placed on the wall table machine. This verifies that each panel is absolutely square. Next the window components, insulation, and drywall are installed.
3. Trim Options Line This is our sander and planer, which we use to create a flat and even surface on our components.		This is the dado saw, where we cut window trim, stool stock, posts and stair components. The material is cut to length and then dado cut. angle cuts are made on the chop saw.
4. Timber Frame Line This is our 5,000 lb saw originally made for the us navy, and adapted by yankee barn homes to cut the notches in our post and beam frames.		In the timber frame shop, timbers come in cut to length, and are then notched. we have two lines of material that goes through this shop, and then a crane lifts finished components out the door.
5. TrueRoof® Table Line Here we frame the roof panels and square them up. Each panel gets plastic and strapping. A steel fence is then pulled up around the panels, ensuring that each panel is perfectly square.		Here interior v-groove is installed. The roof panel is flipped and insulation is installed. Next the plywood is put on, pre-drilled for on-site installation and packaged for delivery.
6. Final Efficiencies At yankee barn homes, we strive to make our operations as efficient as possible. we burn waste wood in our outdoor stove which heats the wall panel shop.

The story of Yankee Barn Homes is, in the purest sense, a story of evolution— 37 years of learning and refinements, adjustments and advances, new materials and techniques adapted to work with enduring traditions of fine homebuilding.

Tony Hanslin

The evolution continues for Yankee Barn in 2006; advancements in construction, products and procedures with a single aim in mind — enhancing the efficiency, flexibility and adaptability of our modular platform to better meet the goals (and the dreams!) of our ever creative homeowners.

The New Yankee Barn "Plan/Build" Concept

Traditionally, the process of constructing a Yankee Barn home came about in two phases—the planning and fabrication of the home's components in Grantham, NH, and the shipment of those components to the building site to be constructed and completed by local contractors.

As that process evolved, we saw the benefit in providing the services of a YBH site supervisor—a factory-trained onside supervisor working alongside local builders and contractors. The benefits were immediately obvious; to give just one example, with a Yankee Barn supervisor on the site, we can increase the energy efficiency of our homes by up to 20%, simply by instructing builders in proper YBH techniques.

Now we've taken the idea an important step further with our new plan/build program. Yankee Barn now offers a full company-supplied crew including a site supervisor, available to work almost anywhere in the US, that can handle the shell assembly of your Yankee Barn home.

We've found difficulty in many parts of the country locating properly-trained and experienced work crews who understand the YBH building system. With our new business model, this issue is completely eliminated. Our crew will arrive shortly after the materials package is delivered, and will leave only after "the Tyvek's on and paper's on the roof"—the timber frame up, wall and roof panels installed and the structure enclosed (see "The Yankee Barn Home Package" for a complete materials and services listing.)

Just as with our original site supervisor program, the benefits of the plan/build program are obvious; a trained and experienced crew that builds our buildings every day of the week... that knows the details of the YBH construction system inside and out. And our new model was designed to capture efficiencies beyond building—there can also be significant tax and fee advantages to the homeowner (check with Yankee Barn for details.)

The overall advantage to Yankee Barn Homes' customers is clear: when compared to any building method currently available, our shell design and construction package—timber frame, roof and wall panels, stairs and windows, all at high-end materials specs—is perhaps the most cost effective framing system available.

The Yankee Barn Team
West Chester, PA		Grantham, NH

The Yankee Barn Home Package

Provide pre-manufactured materials and shell supervisor for construction of: complete YBH Timberframe system; TrueWall® panels including pre-installed windows, drywall, insulation, plywood exterior and Tyvek® housewrap; TrueRoof® panels including insulation, finished v-groove interior, or blueboard, and CDX plywood exteriors.
YBH also supplies a complete package of prestained siding and trim, stair and baluster pieces, 2nd floor deck, and interior window trim.
Optional Labor:

YBH construction crews are available for shell construction as well as installing 1st floor decks, walkout walls and other options.

Best Neo-modern

Best Traditional Exterior

Best Traditional Farmhouse

Best Rustic Exterior

Best YBH-Builder Collaboration

Best Kitchen

Best Granary

Best Alternative Exterior (Ireland)

Best Interior Kitchen/Dining room

Photographs: Suki Coughlin, Stylist: Paula McFarland
©2006 Yankee Barn Homes, Tony Hanslin, Chairman and CEO