Quote from: glenn kangiser on July 30, 2012, 09:02:57 AM
Heading to work now but I would have to agree with Don, that the loft sections are used to hold the sides together.  You may be able to raise them a ways but I would be sure the side gambrel roof joists are adequately attached to the walls possibly by adding brackets if necessary.

Will try to have another look tonight.

I also concur that the loft sections are being used as collar ties for support of the structure and you probably should not remove them. 

I did pretty much the same thing on my gambrel and raised the loft sections. 

For adding brackets, or additional gussets, I just used 2x4 lumber and reinforced the connections of the side and roof joins.  Here is a  picture of that.



As for raising it, it's not too tough but you will need some helpers to hold the long boards in the air while you work.  I just removed the decking, used a sawsall reciprocating type saw to cut along one end where the roof line comes up.  Placed it above using the left over cuttoff still attached.  I thought the process of getting it raised was going to be a huge issue it turned out to be a 30 minute job with the help of two friends.  Dont have good pictures of the process as we had our hands full at the time but here is a picture that might convey the point. 

The part to notice is where the joist attaches to the gambrel side roof.  The joist sits on top of where it used to be attached. 

You should pinpoint the location and then look up the recommendations for that climate type.

Reference material on climate zones here.

Thinking about this I believe there may be more to this than simply should there be a vapor barrier or not.    The rigid foam will have an effect I think. I do know that when applying rigid foam to the exterior, on top of walls that are insulated with fiberglass between the studs a "certain minimum" amount of foam is required to avoid problems in some climates. There may be a similar thing for interior foam. I don't know and have too little free time right now to delve into researching the matter. But before jumping in and nailing up foam some homework should be done.  Building Science website may help.

In a heating dominant climate (more energy goes to heating rather than cooling) you are usually safe having the air/moisture barrier on the warm in winter side of the wall and having the cold in winter side more open to drying (but not drafts). If you are doing rigid foam on the inside of such a wall you might tape and/or caulk it airtight. If you were to do rigid exterior foam on such a wall you may decide not to tape and air seal. 

The Building Science Corp website has more climate specific data. Then there is the Passive House system that seems to massively seal everything but that system is very fussy and not really an amateur builder project.

Quote from: MountainDon on July 31, 2012, 11:23:50 AM
Fiberglass insulation in the stud wall cavities. Rigid XPS foam 4x8 sheets installed over the studs and f-glass insulation; secured to the studs. The XPS foam is a water vapor barrier. Taping the seams seals those points to complete the tightness of the building. Then drywall is applied over that. That works for just about everywhere except for where it is hot and humid and the interior is air conditioned.

Some foam sheets have T&G edges that make the sealing between panel edges very good. There are special foam caulks/glues/sealants that can be used in the edge joint as well. Many regular caulks/sealers with dissolve foam.

Gets hot and humid there...So far this year the high has been 115+....

Quote from: muldoon on July 31, 2012, 11:43:54 AM
You might want to reconsider that vapor barrier depending on climate.  As your user name implies you are Texan, you may likely have a hot humid climate where vapor barrier on the interior side can lead to issues as condensation can build up in the wall cavities and be conducive for mold and or rot.  You have to build for your environment. 

This has been discussed a time or two on here before and you can probably follow some of the links in this thread to get more information. 

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=10062.msg129030

Other than that, what is the intended purpose of this barn?  A camping place for weekend use or full time dwelling?

Camping place and maybe a place to live for a few months each year (Harvest time)..

Quote from: muldoon on July 31, 2012, 11:43:54 AM
You might want to reconsider that vapor barrier depending on climate.  As your user name implies you are Texan, you may likely have a hot humid climate where vapor barrier on the interior side can lead to issues as condensation can build up in the wall cavities and be conducive for mold and or rot.  You have to build for your environment. 

This has been discussed a time or two on here before and you can probably follow some of the links in this thread to get more information. 

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=10062.msg129030Other than that, what is the intended purpose of this barn?  A camping place for weekend use or full time dwelling?

Thank You for the link!!!
Great education in that thread!

Quote from: MountainDon on July 31, 2012, 12:36:19 PM
You should pinpoint the location and then look up the recommendations for that climate type.

Reference material on climate zones here.

Zone 3

Ceiling R-value      30
Wood Frame Wall R-value     13
Mass Wall R-value i      5/8
Floor R-value    19
Basement Wall R-value c     5/13f
Slab R-value d, Depth    0
Crawlspace Wall R-value c    5/13
Fenestration U-Factor b    0.50j
Skylight U-Factor b     0.65
Glazed fenestration SHGC b, e    0.30

Quote from: muldoon on July 31, 2012, 12:05:30 PM
I also concur that the loft sections are being used as collar ties for support of the structure and you probably should not remove them. 

I did pretty much the same thing on my gambrel and raised the loft sections. 

For adding brackets, or additional gussets, I just used 2x4 lumber and reinforced the connections of the side and roof joins.  Here is a  picture of that.



As for raising it, it's not too tough but you will need some helpers to hold the long boards in the air while you work.  I just removed the decking, used a sawsall reciprocating type saw to cut along one end where the roof line comes up.  Placed it above using the left over cuttoff still attached.  I thought the process of getting it raised was going to be a huge issue it turned out to be a 30 minute job with the help of two friends.  Dont have good pictures of the process as we had our hands full at the time but here is a picture that might convey the point. 

The part to notice is where the joist attaches to the gambrel side roof.  The joist sits on top of where it used to be attached. 

Can it be raised higher than that?
I would like to put in a ceiling fan and the only thing the loft would be used for is storage.
TT

Quote from: glenn kangiser on July 30, 2012, 10:23:17 PM
TT, if you are going to sheetrock, you could add an inch of rigid foam insulation under it by just using longer screws to sandwich it in.  You may want to tape the seams for a vapor barrier on the inside if they are not already tight. 

This would cut a couple inches from your living space but you would gain R5 for the inch and could use cheaper fiberglass insulation in the cavities.  Don't overstuff the cavities with thicker insulation as it will cut down the R value.  Having the rigid insulation over the studs will also gain you even more over having the wood against the back of the sheetrock.  Wood has a much lower R value.

Ewww sheetrock!!!
Thinking is Pine or cedar boards.....I want the rustic look!
Maybe half wall of metal 
TT

There you go... sheetrock is outlawed here too.

Well been a while since I got some time to do some visiting here, soon as I reread on how to upload pics I will show all we have done.
TT

Muldoon we did raise and remove one area..

Well let's see if I got this right...
https://s745.photobucket.com/user/weetreebonsai/slideshow/Album%202

Album 3
https://s745.photobucket.com/user/weetreebonsai/slideshow/Album%203