Peter and Natasha

Written by Peter, on 12-04-2009

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Not all wall frames are built yet and keeping track of what's done and what's not has been a task that has slipped by me sometimes. The hope is that when we go to put the framing together it all fits together and sits in line with the beams. It's putting a lot of faith in our work and if the system I've worked out for measuring stud heights is wrong then it'll be an expense and delay we don't want.

Enter the cavalry. We had two visitors on Friday morning in the shape of our good friends Brenton (gimme the nailgun, I want a go on that) and Cindy, popping in to see what we are up to. And then Phil arrived, and Ari called up to see whether we were building and where we were up to and offered to come and help.  Yes please! So with Brenton and Cindy's curiosity satisfied (yes this is really us building this thing!) they headed off and that left four of us to get into constructing more framing. Friday was a good day for this, and we had most of it done by sundown. Just a number of too-hard-basket framing tasks remained.

Saturday was a much anticipated day for me as I had booked a hoist to get our ridge beams up to height so that we could finally get them on. I picked it up at 7.30am. It looks like a manual version of a forklift. So that was the mission for the morning. Four sections to get up and the help of Phil and Ari again. We measured the length required and then I nervously cut this beautiful timber (yes, we measured twice), got it on the hoist and lifted it up. So easy! It fit beautifully and went on so nicely that I can't believe I hadn't thought of a hoist before. So before 2pm they were all up and finally the ridge beams are now complete. I threw my hat in the air with joy. Then I took the hoist back and we started to erect walls.

We had two frames up by the end of the day and the bathroom now exists in 3 dimensions. Groovy. Thanks to Phil and Ari whose advice and eagle eyes spotted our lack of double studding at the join, which meant a slight alteration to the frame but then they went up perfectly and line up with the beams brilliantly. That bodes well for the rest of the framing. So mission accomplished and Monday is another building day. Stay tuned ...

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Posted by charlesR, on 29-11-2011, 1. Framing Looks kinda like you're putting in a pole barn. :) Up here in Washington State, there are always construction projects like this going on, and as you might know, there are some really sustainable people up here. We're actually looking for a Seattle handyman ourselves for some rain gathering projects on our dam. We're hoping to turn our garden into a completely outside influence free project.   » Report this comment to administrator » Reply to this comment... Posted by Katrina, on 12-04-2009, 2. easter joy Brilliant progress guys - hooray for the dominant Christian culture of this country such that you could have these glorious days to build! Lookin' great. You should include some of the lovely photos of you two frocked up for the wedding - or perhaps you already have?   » Report this comment to administrator » Reply to this comment... » See all 1 replie(s)