Building a butcher shop

[buckskinnerchris]

As I have read through several articles here most everything is about homes. I would like some advice on building a butcher shop. It measures 20ft wide x 24ft long  with 10ft side walls. I plan to hang animal carcass's from the ceiling rafters on a sliding rail. I want to use a shed type roof expanded over the 20ft width with no center support. I live in an area that gets lots of snow. So my question is- can I do this? Do I need to do something special to the rafter to span 20+ feet? I will be doing all the work myself. I have available to me fresh cut timbers of mostly hardwoods, can I use these timbers in construction like they did in my 1890 built house?

Just wondering.

[John Raabe]

Your structure is not a great challenge but you need to get into the 20th century at least for the roof.

A shed roof spanning 20' is a practical, simple solution. With heavy snow load and the good insulation that implies, you will want to use either I-joists or some sort of parallel chord truss (same depth throughout). I would suggest the I-joists since they are lightweight and can be handled by one person.

Develop a cross section diagram as well as your floor plan and visit a local home designer, architect or practical engineer. They can help you work out the loads, spans and connection details to make this fly.

If you are expecting to have the roof carry the weight of the rail system be sure to tell them to add for that.