Today is one year since our Rural Municipality issued the building permit. A year already!! We're overwhelmed by how much is left to do, but chanced upon a picture from May and realize how very far we've already come on this adventure. Wish I had a picture, but that will have to wait for daylight and another day. So, just believe me: one exterior wall is up.
Tuesday, Sept 6 the SIP's (structural insulated panels) were delivered. These are essentially OSB & styrofoam sandwiches that will go around the outside of the frame to be the exterior wall/insulation unit. They are big, bulky and because of their size, heavier than you might guess. The largest pieces have the equivelent of 12 sheets (4x8') of 7/16" OSB, which would have a total weight of, well...more than I'm ever going to be able to lift! Here are a few pics from last week.
I discovered your blog through a link on the Northern Lights website. Timber framing has interested me for a number of years now and I would like to build one someday. I stress SOMEDAY! Not anytime soon. It seems as if you are located in Manitoba. Might I ask what region? My wife and I live in Carman. I like what I see and read pin your blog and I am going to keep tuning in to see the end results!
ReplyDeleteHi unclejames. We're kinda in the Steinbach area.
ReplyDeleteWe read a few DIYer's blogs to help gather the courage to jump into this project. I'm of the opinion that there are 2, well 3, kinds of people. The 3rd kind: those to whom a timberframe is, at best, an oddity worth only the briefest glance. Then there are those who want to own a timberframe, and those who want to BUILD one. We are learning that building your own is a long process that both takes away from and adds to the wonder of it. In the words of a favorite prof "if you have to go, at least make sure you enjoy the journey". Buckle up...building is a great journey!
I sort of thought that you might be in the South East portion of the province...I'm not sure if it was a lucky guess or if I am putting those things I learned in my Physical and Human Geography classes to use! My dad spent some of his growing up years southeast of Steinbach but he hasn't lived there since the late '50s.
ReplyDeleteI am wondering what your husband has done to educate himself about timberframing. You mentioned that he took a one week course in Minnesota. Has he done a lot of reading on the subject and, if so, what has he read? I know that Ted Benson has a number of books on the subject and he seems to be a well respected voice in the industry.
Benson seems to be widely regarded as one of, if not THE, father of reviving the craft of timber frame. His books are excellent. Dennis collected a small library of books and read them all.
ReplyDeleteHe would prioritize them in this order:
Benson--Building the Timber Frame House
Jack Sobon / Roger Schroeder--Timber Frame Construction
Steve Chappell--A Timber Framer's Workshop
Benson--The Timber-Frame Home
Sobon--Build a Classic Timber-Framed House
We own a few other books that appear to be about timberframing, but after we got them home, found them to be nothing more than picture books.
Timber Home Living is a fun magazine that we read while we were developing our floorplan and defining what features we wanted: brace shapes, corner treatments on the beams, dormer shapes, frame configurations on the second floor, etc.
There came a point where Dennis wanted to prove that he could do this and evaluate how big a job it really is. It was also the perfect chance to add to his tool collection. When he was about half done cutting the joinery for the hobby barn, the opportunity to go to Northern Lights for 5 days came up. They cut all the joinery for a shed...maybe 10x12'... and using the overhead crane, had frame raising on the last day. The workshop was a valuable, mostly for the experience, but also for the opportunity to ask questions and get feedback.
if you want comments on the books we've read, or have more questions, drop us a line timberframerwife@gmail.com
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