Finally some straight wood!

     As I stated earlier I had decided to try the cypress that I could get from a sawmill that was much closer which made it easier to go and pick it up in my truck. This also made it easier to manage while moving the timbers around in my garage. The largest beams I order are 12 ft and the 8x8's weigh approximately 300 lbs. a piece.
     My next step was to begin the floor system. Originally as you can probably see in the drawings I had planned to put a barn on a slab. This would have been my preferred method but since I don't have any good level spot on my land and also since I intend it to be a shop while building and then a studio later I decided to have a pier foundation. I would have preferred to put the building on a stone foundation but this was something I just don't feel I can take on at this time. I envisioned the rock giving way and the building sliding off the foundation. I decided to go with sleepers on top of sonotubes.  Building the floor system would cause quite a bit of extra work for myself since I would have to cut the floor joist mortise and tenons but if I ever did decide to build a small home this would be good experience, so here goes.  The original plans called for 4x6 floor joist that just dropped into a square mortise but I decided to use 6x6 joist with dovetail joints. Pictured below is a pic of the rear bay. One thing that I have found very helpful are what has been called ponies. I now nave about eight of them and the floor system is sitting on four. The corner joints are called blind mortise and tenon joints.

Ponies made from plans in book are pictured above. I now have eight of these. I'm using them to support my floor system while I assemble it in my garage. I also use them to support beams while cutting. I like the height.