Alas I have returned to my house building blog! I was spending a wonderful visit on the Cape with my Mom when my computer fizzled out. I have been out of Internet contact for two weeks. For me, there are good and bad sides to this. I had to revert back to my books to identify a tree and a bug in the garden (found the tree.. not the bug). The weather forecast has been left to a glance at the sky (more adventurous than watching a storm on a radar). The daily news I merely deleted from my day (ahhh... the world seems at peace). Facebook survived without me checking in. However, I realized that there are many friends I do not have in my regular email and I wanted to let people know we are raising the timber frame on Saturday. We hope to have people there to help, watch, and celebrate. The frame will go up pretty quick and then we will have a potluck lunch along with lawn games in the afternoon. Though we will have Bocce and Croquet at the ready, Tilt, Dad, and Ed have worked together to mow out some field for a softball diamond. Since we finalized this as our house site, Tilt has dreamed about having a softball game on our treeless lot.
Field of dreams references aside, it is always fun to watch a timber frame go up. Many many hours are put in to get ready for this day. After all of the work fitting and squaring the frame is finished. The beams were sanded and sealed; the braces were cut to have a slight arch (also sanded and sealed). I finally helped on the frame with an hour of sanding today. Meager help as it was, it does let me feel a touch of the ownership that Tilt, Dad, Luke, and some others will feel about this frame. To me, a new timber frame home incorporates artistic craftsmanship and structural challenges with visible grace. Many older buildings that have survived hundreds of years because they are timber frames. In most old homes the frame is hidden behind walls. I really like the idea of seeing the frame and its artistic joinery on the inside of the walls. It feels to me like we are being respectful and even showcasing the frame for its ability to hold strong for hundreds of years. Tilt has been fortunate to work on many old barns as well as new construction to learn about joinery and framing. In the process of designing I learned that while I think function, Tilt thinks structure. This Saturday we will take a big step in seeing our design realized. We will also celebrate with friends and family. Oh and if a storm is coming I can track it on the NOAA weather site ...or if we find a butterfly we have never seen I will look it up online ...hmmm I think I will leave the computer at home and just focus on the here and now. I like it better that way.
P.S. Although, I will be back to blog about it all later.
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