Winter Morning and Roof Trim

 It's winter!  It came on so quickly.  We didn't have time to transition from the warm, rainy fall.  We went straight from 40-degree rainy days, to a snow storm that left us with highs in the 20s.  Yikes!  This weekend we are supposed to go back into the 40s, so goodbye snow (at least for now....)!

The house continues to move along.  It seems like it's such a slow process, but then this morning, Jason was heading out to work and we began to think about where we were this time last year.  On December mornings just a year ago, Jason was still working on getting the sawmill in working order.  We hadn't even begun to cut the timbers yet, much less chisel!  Since then we have milled all of the material, chiseled, sanded and oiled each piece of the frame, and raised the frame.  Thinking about all that we have done in the past year, it doesn't seem so slow after all.  :) 

 Jason has begun to put up the braces that will support our large (2.5 foot) overhang.  Aren't they pretty?  They're painted with Allback Linseed Oil paint in sage green.  This paint is made from 100% linseed oil (flaxseed oil) and the pigments are all natural, too.  You could use the linseed oil to cook with, if you wanted to.  If you're interested, check out the Allback website:   http://www.solventfreepaint.com/  When the roof is all finished, these sage green braces will be visible as well as the trim pieces you can kind of see in the photo below. 

The metal roofing material is set to arrive early next week!  Jason is busy working on putting up the last pieces of trim and the rest of the braces.  Once those final pieces are up,  he will begin to cover the roof, preparing it for the metal.  He will then need just a couple of days to finish the roof all together.  We still hope to have a few good days before Christmas to get this part of the project done before we hit the road!

The Framing Continues

Now that the timber frame is up, Jason is working away on framing in the windows and the roof. 

 One kitchen window looking out over the backyard. The fridge will be in between this window and the post to the right. 

 The patio door in the dining room!  This door will lead to a deck....

 Here is the dining room window and patio door.  We will having a built-in bench with lots of colorful pillows below this window....  Very comfy dining!

 Here is a window in the living room--nice afternoon sunshine!

 And the other living room window--HUGE, all day sunshine!

 Jason cutting pieces for the frame.

 Here is the back of the house with the windows framed in. 

 Another view of the back of the house with window framing!

Here is a front view of the house with the roof framing!

Some More Pictures...

Here you will find more pictures of our frame going up from our friend and neighbor, Ted Spurling:

http://fromoffshore.wordpress.com/

Thank you, Ted!

A Blessing

The technology behind timber frame construction dates back several hundred years to the 17th-19th centuries.  The early colonists brought these building techniques with them to North American when they left Europe.  While timber was still abundant and easy to come by, and before the rise of the sawmill, timber frames were the typical construction for homes and barns in New England.  Traditionally, the timber frame was put up in one day.  The whole community gathered together to help push the frame up and peg it into position.  When the frame stood tall, the owner of the frame crawled to the tippy-top of the roof and nailed an evergreen bough to the rafter.  From the top of the frame, a blessing was said and then the celebration began!

In order to keep with the tradition of a true timber frame raising, we wanted to celebrate our  frame with a blessing.  Last night, while the ghosts and ghouls went from door to door asking for candy, or else! we gathered with close friends at our house site to celebrate (and hand out candy, of course).  During the afternoon, Jason climbed to the top of the roof and nailed an evergreen bough in place.   In the evening, I sat down and wrote the blessing.  After dinner, Jason went out and began a small bonfire to keep us toasty in the late fall night.   Around 8:00 our close friends joined us for a little celebration to bless our frame.

Writing the blessing was wonderful!  I was brought right back to the winter months we spent in the woods collecting the logs for the frame.  I remember that time very clearly.  Jason and I had just finished raising our pigs and we were eating many vegetables from my garden.  Our table was set every night with food that we had cared for.   At the same time, every weekend of the winter Jason and I went out into the woodlots of our neighbors and cut down trees.  One morning while we were standing in the snow, working on dragging a tree to the side of the road,  I was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude:  for the tree that would become my house, for the vegetables that I cared for all summer and for the meat we raised.  Thanksgiving just welled up inside me.  I put my hand on the tree we had just cut down and I said thank you.  I remember thinking I never wanted to forget that moment.

When I sat down to write the blessing last night, that same sense of gratitude rushed through me again. Once again I felt thanks for the trees that went into our frame, but I also felt thankful for the many friends, family and neighbors who helped us during this long process.  I felt so happy and light.  I lit the candles on the kitchen table, and when it was time for dinner, we held hands and said thank you!  I hope I never forget this feeling.   I hope I can carry this gratitude in my heart forever and ever, and always remember we are blessed.

A Blessing for our Frame

A Blessing for Our Frame
October 31, 2010

With love in our hearts
We went to the woods
To collect the logs
That would be this frame.

Standing in the snow
We realized the connection
Between our shelter and
The sacrifice of the
Hundreds of trees that
Became these timbers.

We are humbled.
We are filled with gratitude.

May this frame stand strong to the passing of time,
And shelter us through our lives together.
May our children's children know its beauty and strength,
And may we always be filled with thanks.

Blessings on this frame!

Just in case....

.... you're interested in seeing more pictures, check out our friend's blog post about our house (and while you're there, check out her amazing jewelry!):

http://barbarasfernald.com/2010/10/25/a-slice-of-island-life/

Enjoy!

Oh, What a Night!

It's quarter to 10 at night.  We just got home from delivering helpers to the mainland.  After a very long day, the rafters are up! 

The day began when Gary Gould arrived with his boom truck around 10am.  Gary and Jason started the work by moving the purlins and other second floor materials to the second floor.  When I arrived on the scene after school, Gary and Jason  were ready to begin to put up the first rafter.  They attached the rafter to the boom truck and began to swing it around into position.  This first rafter was pretty tricky to put up due to the funny angle Gary had to approach the house.  Thankfully, our friend Bruce arrived just in time to help!  After about an hour of careful maneuvering, the rafter was in place. 

 

Cory arrived to relieve Bruce and they began to work on putting up the second rafter.  This one went up in just ten minutes!  Feeling pretty confident from how easily the second one went up they all agreed to try the third one even though it was after five and beginning to get a bit dark....

If only the third one was so easy!  At this point, Jim arrived--thank goodness.  We needed an extra set of hands for this one.   Two hours into it, the rafter was still not up!  Flood lights and truck lights lit up the house site and the mist began to turn into light rain.  Joan, Jim's wife Melissa,  Jim and Melissa's kids and I sat holding our breath as we watched the rafter move slowly and precariously as the men worked hard to get it into position.  Finally, after 7pm, the third one was in place.  The guys came down from the second floor, and I assumed they were going to eat the sandwiches, chips and cookies Melissa and I put together for them and call it a night, but nope.  They quickly ate their dinners and started to attach the fourth rafter to the truck.    Thankfully, this one was not nearly as exciting.  It was up in less than 30 minutes. 

Now it looks like a real house! 

And the Fourth Wall

 Aren't the braces beautiful?  That's the view into the kitchen from the dining room.  The kitchen framing isn't up yet.  Hopefully that'll happen this weekend, too.

 This is the view of the living room and dining room from the kitchen. 

 Southwest corner of the house.

 West side of the house ready for the fourth wall to go up.  You can see the fourth wall on its side on the left. 

 The fourth wall ready to go up.  Our helpers are arriving!

 This is the East side of the house.  The kitchen framing is missing yet. 

 Me and Jason in front of the fourth wall just before putting it up!

 Places, everyone. 

 Up she goes.

Me and Kate helping to hold the wall steady while Jason begins to peg it together.

 Our wonderful neighbors and friends enjoying the show!

 The fourth wall!

Jason pegging the floor joists. 

The Second Wall