Framing week 14

Week 14 is the week after the 4th of July.


Bodensteiner Beamworks are back and installing the rafters and ceiling boards.



Mark and I have been framing and sheathing walls.


Aerial view showing the installation of the ceiling boards and the I-joists that make up the roof structure.

Interior of the great room looking toward the kitchen (west) showing the timberframe and the spruce ceiling.







Here is a veiw of the great room looking to the east.  There will be a fireplace to the left of the window, where the ladder is setting.






It has been brutely hot on the job site for many weeks.  The wood deck has acted as a reflector and has added, perhaps, 10 to 15 degrees to the typically mid 90 degree temperatures.  So getting the ceiling up has been a real treat in regards to getting us out of the direct sun for at least part of the day.

One added treat this week has been the emergence of lots of wild flowers within feet of the construction site.  The picture at right is just one of half a dozen or so.

This coming week we are looking forward to getting the sheathing on the roof and getting this portion of the house weathered in.

Framing week 13

It is the start of week 13. 

I got to cut out some mortises for a door frame.  The opening was not well defined when the timber frame was cut in the shop so I got to try my hand at field cutting the joints.






Mark Strege sets up plywood sheathing in the west end of the great room.  The plywood sheathing is necessary for shear structural strength.  The plywood will be eventually be covered with plaster.







Aerial view from cell phone rock, the only place on the property where we get good cell phone reception.


This was the last day of work this week, it was the 4th of July.  We took off Thursday and Friday.



On Friday Carol and I traveled to Dickinson where I put on a judo seminar for the Roughrider Judo Club.  We had a great time, the hosts, Jeff Ficek and Nick Lambert, were wonderful hosts, the hospitality was terrific.  And to top it off I ate another "Jeff burger", the most incredible burger anyone has every tasted!  Much fun.

Framing week 12

The framing started on the 27th of June.

Tom Bodensteiner and his sons, of Bodensteiner Beam Works showed up on Thursday morning, the 28th and started setting up the timber frame.  The work proceeds quite quickly, all the pieces are numbered and it is like putting together tinker toys.

It is still Thursday,  the beams go up one after another.

Neighbor Verl Scheibe stopped by to inspect the timberframe.  We had a lot of neighbors stop by to view the progress.









Saturday morning finds me with a cup of coffee, absorbing the view and grooving with the new timber frame.




Carol took some nice pictures, don't you think?