Roof rafters

June 1

Last week we began work on the roof structure of the octagon. We hired Nick to help out and Dave, back from the north, helped for three mornings. All but 9 rafters on a single side are now in place and we are nailing up the first rows of roof boards in hopes of keeping the incessant rain off of the plate. It has been a lot of long hours and days. I tell Sam that when he is my age he’ll wonder how I’ve managed to keep up the pace. If the weather cooperates we should have a dry work place in a couple of weeks. The wood structure was tough, especially with 48 jack rafters to cut with a handsaw, but it looks good and the final height and shape of the finished house is now visible.  Jim

Second floor

Dave and John came this morning unexpectedly to help set the timbers on the second floor (Good thing that I spent yesterday evening cutting and measuring them so they were ready!) Sam decided he wanted to go with the 1866 barn framing timbers for the main supports rather than the laminated beams we made up for the rest of the structural members out of 2x10’s . It makes for a little more work but the look should be worth it…especially the one that has the date on it in big black numbers. Sam had to square up a damaged side of one using the adze…an experience only few have had in the last century! We started at six and were done by ten. Now for the attic joists!

Jim

Dennis stopped over yesterday morning and today to help us set the attic floor joists. He was an immense help. The days are really heating up and we must take breaks during the heat of the day. A few days of futzing and we will be ready to think about roof rafters. A little bit every day gets the job done.

Sam

More floor joists

April 24

Another busy week. The second floor joists are almost in place. Next will be the kitchen ceiling which we plan to give a timber-frame look using the hand-hewn beams that Jack contributed to our project. They come from his grandfather’s 1860’s barn. Dennis helped us today to get the longest of them (18ft) in place ten feet up on the existing walls by lifting them in place along with Sam and a neighbor. Hopefully sometime next week we should be able to start work on the second floor walls. We need to get a roof on soon to protect our already completed work from the spring rains!  Jim

This house is freeing and restricting. I am able to learn so much and see wonderful results. At the same time I must and have said “no” more times than I have in the past. If I want to reap the results of this project I, in turn, must cull other opportunities. I am happy with the work so far and am better understanding the entire picture.  Sam

Kitchen floor joists

April 7

Work of late has been a little like playing crack-the-whip. The going seems easy as we cut the floor joists and timbers. When it comes to leveling and setting, the inertia picks up and the real effort and work kicks in. What at first seems easy, take caution, more work is around the corner. Sam

Kitchen floor joists all laid and leveled...a bit of a challenge considering the field stone wall they were set against. Plate is also secured to the walls and now ready for the second floor joists. The four 6x6 posts in the center of the house will support the second floor as well as the cupola at the center of the roof. The warm weather has given us a head-start here as has the lack of rain. We are both tired and a little overwhelmed at the end of the day but need to get as much completed as we can before the bugs and heat of summer which can't be far away. Much of the lumber we are using is recycled so extra time is needed to trim it all to the same size as modern structural members. We are beginning to see what the inside of the house will look like as the work progresses.  Jim

Recycling

April 3 2012

After a long winter of working indoors we have finally turned our attentions back on the outside and the house itself. We were fortunate in the last couple of weeks to get nearly all the roof and floor boards from a turn-of-the-century barn that was coming down about 5 miles from here. For a couple of weeks we hauled boards and pulled the thousands of nails from them so that we can re-use them on the roof and for the attic floor. This week we are trying to get the sill plate in place and the three laminated beams that will hold up the second floor joists. The warm weather here has put us ahead of schedule.  Jim

My brother asked me around February when we would start working on the house. When have we stopped! Things are larger than I imagined. Jim has five or six tasks lined up so I will never get bored. There are of course the main carpentry tasks on the house to complete, minor landscaping, and doing little things to prepare many steps ahead of ourselves. Although I am not a fan of grass; it is a waste of gas and time to mow and a poor use of land, the little we spread to help with erosion has added a nice color to our site.  Sam

Starting 2012

Feb. 1 2012

In a construction project winter is nearly always a down time. That is not the case on this project. Sam and I work nearly every day preparing materials for the construction that will pick up as soon as warm days arrive here again. First and foremost is the shaping of stone. The bars of limestone we purchased last summer must all be cut to length and then carefully dressed to produce the quoins and trim we will need. This is accomplished with a six pound hammer and a variety of stone cutting chisels. The split pieces are pretty rough until exposed to the hammer and chisel. It is mind-bending work and takes from 15 to 60+ minutes per piece depending on the condition of the original block. Hardest is the creating of a 45 degree angle on the corner quoins without damage to the thin edge. We will need 90 of them as well as nearly 200 flat ended pieces to frame the windows and doors. Lastly are the 100 pieces needed for arches and base trim. The dressing is done in the basement near the warmth of the wood stove. Dust and chips fly everywhere. We are nearing one quarter of all the pieces completed.

The arm, heart and mind get a little weary of stonework as a steady diet so we have also worked on restoring the wood trim for the gingerbread porch we acquired last fall. There were lots of missing pieces to be fabricated and then glued up as well as the paint stripping and sanding to be done. The 10 posts are finished and look like new. We have turned to the 24 brackets and accompanying gallery, and on the warm days we can work outside in the winter sun. Jim

My brother stayed for a week and a half on his vacation to help strip the bracketing and handle the long limestone bars that we split. It was a great help. Sam

Thanksgiving onward

Dec.2

The site is now officially closed for the season. It seemed to go very slowly as we worked this summer but seeing all the first floor block walls in place on top of their four foot footings, and the basement in under the kitchen and bath, and the sewer and water in, and most of the landscape dirt in place, and the stones for the landscaping in piled and waiting for spring, and most of the wood we’ll need stacked and ready…. Well, it is really quite amazing.

The structural lumber came from an ad on Craig’s list (Thanks John for helping with a truck and trailer to pick it up!) Some of it will have to be sized to a standard 2x10 but that along with dressing all the limestone and stripping and repairing all the porch parts will be a winter’s project. There is also wood to plane, stringers for stairs to make, etc. etc. etc.! Should be a busy winter as well.

Sam got lucky this week when an old friend offered him a piece of furniture for the finished house… a beautiful buffet for the dining room. It is in a style that both he likes and will match the period of the house. Jim

Today, weather permitting; a few of my family and friends will be heading to Hudson to see the beautiful octagon. It was a year ago that Jim and I saw it for the first time. I imagine that on today’s trip all will be shocked. It is one thing to see a hole in the ground, and then block walls, but few people can imagine what the end product of our pile of materials will even look like. It will be a good time and a real eye opener. Jim has homework for me on this trip. We need a few measurements with the cupola and roofline. Proportion is important and we want to be sure to get it right. Sam