La Nina is weakening, clouds are dispersing, trees are budding, the sound of lawnmowers is echoing through the hills and all over town people are pulling recycled billboards off of their foundations to mop and sweep them in preparation for what could only be... the beginning of framing season.
Ok, that last one might just be us, but it is definitely springtime in the great northwest! Over the last few days Christy and I have been getting MFW prepared for house framing. That means mowing, clearing the path to our worksite, setting up tents for working and lumber storage, uncovering the foundation, and staring at it and it's suggestive J bolts with extreme trepidation. Our first load of lumber was delivered today, containing everything for the sill and wall framing. Considering what we hope to turn that pile into, it seems small and almost manageable. It's only when we think more specifically about all of the steps between that pile and a framed house that a multitude of questions arises, each one accompanied by a little drop of fear. Being in over our heads, however, is home turf for us!
We've enlisted some knowledgeable friends, a library's worth of books and an internet's worth of questionable information; we're armed with the knowledge we gained from building the shop from the ground up, and all of the mistakes we made along way, and we're both far to stubborn to let anything stop us.
Let's build a house.
Spring is indeed here. What a brave lot you are to take on these challenges - but how exciting too. I am in awe.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I'm excited to see your house going up. Also, what is that crazy dish structure over your garden? Greenhouse, satellite dish?
ReplyDeleteSpend enough time on craigslist, and eventually you'll find an airport shutting down. My friend James and I repelled that thing off of a roof, loaded it on my pick up and we eventually hoisted it up over the entrance to our garden. We're hoping to train some wisteria to grow up and over it. For now we have some hops starting to climb it. It was a pain in the ass.
ReplyDeleteJohn - You inquired on my blog about potential local barter/swap groups and I was not sure if you would have a chance to get back to my site to see the response, but I wanted to share with you that there is a group on Bainbridge island that do regular weekly barter meets and it looks like they are up and running for the season - here's a link to their web page which gives you all the details:
ReplyDeletehttp://bainbridgebarter.org/
I have yet to make it because they hold this at 9 or 10 am on Saturdays which is when we do the Kingston Farm and Garden Co-op Giving Garden work parties. Unfortunately I cannot be at both places at once. Hope that helps!