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	HOMEOWNERS NEWSLETTER	Fall 2002

		"When we decided to build a post and beam home, Yankee Barn was the only way to go. The people are easy to work with and you can get any plan you want." To learn how you can design your own barn home, Order the Design Guide. The Yankee Barn Design Guide includes a three-ring binder with 175 pages of design ideas, color photographs, interviews with homeowners and custom plans.

	Frank and Kay designed their second Yankee Barn to fit their lifestyle. "With Yankee Barn, you can design the home anyway you want for your lifestyle," said Kay. She and her husband, Frank, have built two Yankee Barns. "The two homes are very different," Kay explained. She described their first Yankee Barn as rustic, built to serve the family as a weekend ski house in Vermont. The Great Room, dining area, and master bedroom were on the first floor with three bedrooms and a loft upstairs. Many moves and houses later, Frank and Kay found what they described as the "perfect property" in close proximity to their children and grandchildren. Twelve acres with three ponds, a Christmas tree farm, and 100-year-old barn was the setting for their second Yankee Barn. "We loved the idea of having an old barn on the property, but it was too close to the road. When we decided to build a post and beam home, Yankee Barn was the only way to go," said Kay. "The people are easy to work with, and you can get any plan you want." This Yankee Barn takes full advantage of the views across the meadow to one of three ponds on the property, while graciously greeting guests with a covered front entry faced with stone. Like many couples, Frank and Kay wanted their living space on one level with a large, private master bedroom suite and a central kitchen for ease in entertaining. They also brought a few special requests to Bruce Parsons, one of the designers at Yankee Barn Homes: a support structure for a fish tank weighing 4500 lbs.; a dog room; a plant room; space in the kitchen for a baking cabinet; half walls to hide the kitchen preparations; a wet bar; and a billiard room. "Bruce was easy to deal with. We knew what we wanted. I could visualize the design in my mind. When it came to construction, Bruce knew the layouts and made it work for us," said Frank. ""Every time I called Yankee Barn with questions, I got an answer. It was a good experience." Bruce started with a 48' Prairie Barn frame (see Designer Notes) to enclose the Great Room, central kitchen, dining room, and library. Frank and Kay designed a private, first floor master bedroom suite in an ell at one end of the house. Guest quarters are located at the other end of the main house over the garage. To take advantage of the views across the meadow and pond from the kitchen and breakfast area as well as the Great Room, Frank and Kay placed the Great Room in the center of the floor plan using a dormer for the roundtop window. Frank and Kay wanted the entire living space to be open to the cathedral ceiling with only the billiard room upstairs over the library. The kitchen is conveniently open to both the breakfast area and to the large formal dining room. The large master bedroom suite was located in an ell at one end of the house. The ell was angled to visually separate the suite from the rest of the house. Guest quarters for visiting family and friends are located over the garage at the opposite end of the house. "We liked the construction concept of a Yankee Barn. They engineer and assemble the home in the factory to go up fast and fit together on the site," said Frank. "Inside, you can do a lot with the wide open layout." The large, central kitchen has half walls to visually hide the cooking activities without separating the cook from the guests. Frank and Kay had a few special requests for their Yankee Barn including one level living with a billiard room overlooking the Great Room and a support structure for a large fish tank. While some requests are more unique than others, Yankee Barn designers have the flexibility to add a frame or make a material modification to get the job done. Frank requested a billiard room, upstairs, over-looking the Great Room. He also wanted a wet bar. Both were easily worked into the floor plans. A fish tank weighing 4500 lbs., however, required more than just floor space. The engineering staff at Yankee Barn added support under the floor for the weight. Frank also had "material" special requests. For the exterior of the home he chose a standing seam metal roof and a combination of 2" and 4" siding with an entry faced with stone. The combination of the materials, Frank explained, adds to the aesthetics of the house. Inside, Frank opted to "upsize" the posts and beams from 6" to 8" purely for aesthetics. Kay, a master gardener, baker, and dog breeder, had a few requests of her own. For a plant room to start seedlings, a Yankee Barn greenhouse was added. In her one-cook kitchen, she wanted a small footprint, a working island, and room for a baker’s cabinet with her supplies at hand but easily hidden behind the doors should unexpected company arrive. For a room to groom her show dogs, a mudroom was modified with a tub, grooming table, and easy access to the backyard. Looking ahead at resale, the "dog room" is large enough to be transformed into a bedroom. "Bruce listened to what we wanted and put it all together into the design. We made very few changes," said Kay. "We have just the home we want and will enjoy for many, many years."
	After many moves and houses, Frank and Kay knew just what they wanted for working, playing, and relaxing in their second Yankee Barn. In the early 1970s, Frank and Kay, the proud parents of ski racers, wanted to build a vacation home in Killington, Vermont, for winter weekend accommodations. They researched log and kit home companies hoping to build the shell quickly and finish the interior themselves. "Yankee Barn impressed us the most," said Kay. "Working on the house was a great experience for all of us." "When it came time to build for the last time," and Kay emphasizes last, "we went back to Yankee Barn." After buying and building many homes, she says this one is it, but admits, "If we had to build a third time, it would be a Yankee Barn." Other repeat builders, Brad and Audrey, have built three Yankee Barns. As their needs changed from primary residence to vacation spot to retirement home, they designed each Yankee Barn to fit their lifestyle. Would they build another? "Yes," said Audrey. "It’s not really a home unless it’s a Yankee Barn." As their needs changed from primary residence to vacation spot to retirement home, they designed each Yankee Barn to fit their lifestyle. Would they build another? "Yes," said Audrey. "It’s not really a home unless it’s a Yankee Barn." Many homeowners say they would build another Yankee Barn. Brad and Audrey have built three Yankee Barns to meet their changing needs.	Frank and Kay wanted the finish of their post and beam frame to be "rough sawn, but not too rough." Yankee Barn homeowners generally choose rough sawn beams for a rustic look or planed beams with chamfered corners to create a smooth feel to the frame. To achieve the look and feel Frank and Kay wanted, the Yankee Barn frame shop skip planed the rough sawn beams. Skip planing is a light planing to remove some of the beam’s roughness from the sawmill, leaving some saw marks and roughness. Twin brothers Kenneth Lozeau and Kevin Lozeau have been awarded Yankee Barn Homes scholarships, announced Tony Hanslin, Chief Executive Officer of Yankee Barn Homes. The scholarships were established in memory of Emil Hanslin, Tony’s father and the founder of Yankee Barn Homes. Scholarships of $1,000 each are made available to Grantham students heading to college or technical school. Kenneth Lozeau will be attending Embry-Riddle College in Prescott, Arizona, majoring in Engineering. Kevin Lozeau will be attending St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, majoring in Pre-Law. Kenny served as the President of the Senior Class and Kevin was the Vice President. Both were track and field stars and members of the National Honor Society and Youth-In-Action. The Yankee Barn family loves to see the variety of designs and styles created by Barn owners. A virtual scrapbook is in the works on the Yankee Barn website and we would like to include your Yankee Barn. To share photos of your Yankee Barn on the virtual scrapbook, please email them to agillen@yankeebarnhomes.com or mail them to Amanda Gillen at Yankee Barn Homes. Let Amanda know if you would like to have the photos returned.

	Homeowners often request all their primary living space to be located on one floor. The floor plan for either the Mark I or the Prairie Barn frame often includes the master bedroom on the first floor with two or three guest rooms upstairs. Frank and Kay only needed space for a billiard room upstairs. Guest rooms were located over the garage. For the homeowner that wants one floor of living space and doesn’t need the second floor, the Yankee Barn designers and engineers have created a new frame, the Carolina Frame. This could be described as a one story Mark I with plenty of room on one level for a Great Room, dining area, kitchen, and master bedroom suite. The side walls are 8' with a 17 1/2' ridge. The Carolina Frame provides one more starting point for homeowners to design just what they want in their Yankee Barn.
	Photographs: Suki Coughlin, Stylist: Paula McFarland ©2002 Yankee Barn Homes, Tony Hanslin, Chairman and CEO