Progress Report:: The one-man circus
It is now officially autumn, and our timber frame is slowly transforming into a livable dwelling. Our goal was to have the exterior completely done before the end of summer. We didn't quite get to where we wanted to be, but it's well on the way! The end of summer came early this year and it's been a particularly wet September here in the Pacific Northwest.
Despite the dampness, Warren has been out there working as hard as ever! I feel as if I have had front-row seats to Warren's one-man circus all summer. He has had a hand here and there, but the majority of his time working on the house has been spent alone. His feats include juggling tools, beams, lumber, and sheets of plywood up thirty-foot ladders. Moving that obscenely long ladder could be its very own act as he works his way around the house in what seems like endless loops. He's been up and down that damned ladder a thousand times and more this summer. He has shown feats of strength lifting beams into place solo, dexterity scaling the timber frame, and fearlessness moving around on our steeply-pitched roof. It verged on ridiculous when I witnessed him buuld the top of the chimney on the ground and then proceed to carry the whole structure up into place thirty feet in the air by himself!
Like I said, he has thankfully had some help along the way. Neighbors, friends, and family have shown up, as always. His dad has been here more than anyone else working ground-crew at each step along the way, offering expert advice and warm encouragements, and making sure Warren doesn't kill himself.
Warren worked tirelessly on finishing the beams for the entryway. He would leave for his full-time work around 6:30 AM, get home around 3:30 or 4:30 PM, change his clothes, grab a snack, then work for hours out in the shop on his mortise and tenons. He discovered dry-rot in some of the cedar and had to mill up several new pieces to replace the rejects. The end result is remarkable! Tim helped Warren install the bent on the front entryway. After the tricky process of putting the bent together, they rigged up a pulley, attached one end to the bent and the other to the hitch of Tim's Chevy Silverado, then up she went! Well, it wasn't really that simple, but they got it in place eventually. Tim handed me a safety rope, looped it around an alder a few times, and told me to hold on tight in case they went too far and the bent started falling the wrong way! Thankfully that did not happen.
The circus continued as Warren connected the entryway bents to the house and put in the rafters by himself. The entryway is made up of 7"x10" cedar timbers that are ten feet and longer, and Warren hoists them up the ladder like they are made up of styrofoam. As I said before: ridiculous. He has truly been a wonder. The entryway turned out better than imagined! It is undoubtedly a gorgeous piece of art.
Completed are the timber frame, its roof, the exterior chimney, the entryway minus handrails, the stick framing, the sheathing, the house-wrap, and most of the windows are installed. We will need to put the rest of the windows in, do the window-trim, install the siding, paint the fascias, and install gutters and railings before we move to the inside work. Everything takes so much more time (and money) than you think! We'll get there though. I look forward to seeing more performances of Warren the Strong Man, Warren the Tight-Rope Walker, and Warren the Clown balancing ridiculously long ladders on his nose.
Despite the dampness, Warren has been out there working as hard as ever! I feel as if I have had front-row seats to Warren's one-man circus all summer. He has had a hand here and there, but the majority of his time working on the house has been spent alone. His feats include juggling tools, beams, lumber, and sheets of plywood up thirty-foot ladders. Moving that obscenely long ladder could be its very own act as he works his way around the house in what seems like endless loops. He's been up and down that damned ladder a thousand times and more this summer. He has shown feats of strength lifting beams into place solo, dexterity scaling the timber frame, and fearlessness moving around on our steeply-pitched roof. It verged on ridiculous when I witnessed him buuld the top of the chimney on the ground and then proceed to carry the whole structure up into place thirty feet in the air by himself!
Like I said, he has thankfully had some help along the way. Neighbors, friends, and family have shown up, as always. His dad has been here more than anyone else working ground-crew at each step along the way, offering expert advice and warm encouragements, and making sure Warren doesn't kill himself.
Warren worked tirelessly on finishing the beams for the entryway. He would leave for his full-time work around 6:30 AM, get home around 3:30 or 4:30 PM, change his clothes, grab a snack, then work for hours out in the shop on his mortise and tenons. He discovered dry-rot in some of the cedar and had to mill up several new pieces to replace the rejects. The end result is remarkable! Tim helped Warren install the bent on the front entryway. After the tricky process of putting the bent together, they rigged up a pulley, attached one end to the bent and the other to the hitch of Tim's Chevy Silverado, then up she went! Well, it wasn't really that simple, but they got it in place eventually. Tim handed me a safety rope, looped it around an alder a few times, and told me to hold on tight in case they went too far and the bent started falling the wrong way! Thankfully that did not happen.
The circus continued as Warren connected the entryway bents to the house and put in the rafters by himself. The entryway is made up of 7"x10" cedar timbers that are ten feet and longer, and Warren hoists them up the ladder like they are made up of styrofoam. As I said before: ridiculous. He has truly been a wonder. The entryway turned out better than imagined! It is undoubtedly a gorgeous piece of art.
Completed are the timber frame, its roof, the exterior chimney, the entryway minus handrails, the stick framing, the sheathing, the house-wrap, and most of the windows are installed. We will need to put the rest of the windows in, do the window-trim, install the siding, paint the fascias, and install gutters and railings before we move to the inside work. Everything takes so much more time (and money) than you think! We'll get there though. I look forward to seeing more performances of Warren the Strong Man, Warren the Tight-Rope Walker, and Warren the Clown balancing ridiculously long ladders on his nose.
Comments
Post a Comment