The English Barn Stabilization Project at the Kennedy-Martin-Stelle Farmstead in Bernards Township, New Jersey, was aimed at stabilizing the barn previously connected to a collapsed dairy barn, with the future reuse as a community theater. S. Harris & Co. was retained in the Spring of 2003 by Historic Building Architects to provide the structural engineering for the project.

The English Barn is part of a complex pf vernacular frame buildings, ranging in construction date from the 1700s to the 1900s.  The eastern four-bay structure of the main barn is an early example of the English barn type, constructed possibly as early as 1760 and not later than about 1800.  Two rare features still survive: hewn rafters with pegged wind braces and a "dropped" stable wt the eastern end, which is at a lower level than the main floor.  A three-bay extension was added to the west of the structure around 1840, using the frame of an existing smaller English barn of the same mortise-and-tenon, hewn timer construction as the main barn.

The English Barn project included measured drawings of the structural members, a conditions assessment and recommended treatments for replacement, consolidation, and salvage of existing structural members.  S. Harris & Co. formulated a schedule of the timbered structure, which identified each member and located it on drawn plans and elevations.  The schedule not only provided documentation of the structure in its existing condition, but also allowed for the proper documentation of any removed portions of the building.

Click here to read more about this project

Click here to read "The Tale of Two Barns"

--S. Harris & Co. Comprehensive Project List--