We put a new roof on top of the antique timber-frame that we built in Sugar Hollow.

I have found that old roof systems often have their share of “issues”.

For one thing, there always seems to be a few rafters that are unusable… either rotten or broken due to rain getting in or perhaps a tree landing on the roof. So, it’s rare to have a complete set.

And, I have found that rafters are often “baked’. I guess having spent a couple centuries in an attic that that would be expected. They feel “dried out”, light as balsa wood, and their ability to hold a tight grip onto a nail has severely diminished.

I have always been impressed with the excessive over-build in old houses. The floor joists, bracing, and walls in these antique treasures are often two to three times the size that they need to be, but for some reason the rafters on old houses appear to be too small.

I once took down an old workshop that had 24 foot long rafters on it, that were only 2by4’s, with a low pitched roof, and it had a slate roof on it! Amazing… but it had stood for nearly a hundred years.

Maybe it’s just me, but I like knowing that I have a very strong roof. I’ve never used pre-made roof trusses, preferring to hand pick the individual rafters myself.

My clients have never had a roof problem, nor will their children, nor their grandchildren, nor their great-grandchildren. I guess you get my point… when you build… build it so that it will outlast you.

Originally posted 2015-04-15 12:05:03.

Here’s a great set of photos showing the real life process of setting a top plate…

The first one shows the challenge of aligning all the tenons of the posts as the plate is lowered into place.

The second image shows the foreman stepping in and pointing out the problem…

The then this photo reveals how man has been solving all his problems since creation… “just hit it with a hammer”… in this case a very big hammer…

Finally, pegs are driven into place, locking the building together for the centuries to come…

Originally posted 2015-04-13 14:45:41.

With the aid of a crane all the second floor joists floated down onto the frame.

As each was locked into place this home grew more and more stable… any sign of movement disappeared. She became “solid as a rock”.

I’m always torn with the use of a crane. For certain they require less physical effort on the individuals who build these homes. So, there is that.

But there is also something lost… for one thing… silence. A diesel engine runs constantly. Everything else is drowned out. There is no conversation, no sound of masons striking their chisels, no birds signing in the background.

And the focus of the work becomes the crane… it must be fed. Men become servants of the machine. All attention is given to getting the job done, there is no time for savoring the now… enjoying the moment… or seizing the day.

Originally posted 2015-04-13 14:29:44.

After the top plates were set on the front and back of the Sugar Hollow House, then we set the end plates…

Originally posted 2015-04-13 13:39:12.

The problem with the top plate not properly fitting is found.

My foreman points to the area that needs attention.

The top plate then slides into position and it is once again reunited with the home.

And, as an added bonus, I had taken one of the best photos of my career. 🙂

I am reminded of another “life lesson” in looking at this image… one that I have found works well throughout the construction of a house… whenever I encounter a problem rather than hover over it and try to figure it out… I find that I can often solve it by standing back and just take in the bigger picture, and then the solution is often revealed.

Originally posted 2015-04-12 15:38:09.

There is clearly a hold up… somewhere along the long line of tenons one of them is not behaving correctly. The job foremen scurries down the ladder to find where the problem area is.

Can you see the energy flowing from him? Can you see the urge to point? lol

Originally posted 2015-04-12 15:15:48.

Here you can see that everyone is in position. The crew now needs to guide the top plate as twelve different vertical tenons have to align perfectly at the same time.

Originally posted 2015-04-12 15:02:03.

Here we see a man who is clearly, fully, committed to setting this top plate in place. Both hands on a swinging beam. It looks scarier than it was… but still, it takes a special breed of man to do the work we do.

I’ve been running my own restoration/building company now for twenty six years, and other than my broken finger, the most serious injury that I recall on my crew were splinters (we have had our share of them).

And for that, I am so thankful.

Originally posted 2015-04-12 14:40:28.

Here we have a forty-four foot long piece of clear heart pine lumber being slowly craned up for the crew to install.

Try walking into a lumber yard and asking for a piece of wood like that. 🙂

The crewman in the middle, seen in this photo, is most eager to touch this treasure.

Originally posted 2015-04-12 14:28:31.

Men never fully grow up.

It seems as if there remains inside of each man a little boy.

I have observed through my many years of building unique homes that men love to climb. It’s just part of their nature. Like monkeys, they are.

I’ve got tons of photos similar to this one. Photos that I find that I’m not sure what the crewman is doing, but certainly he is hanging on… and clearly busy.

It doesn’t matter if we were building a timber frame, or if it was a log cabin. Regardless of the project, there are photos throughout my photo box of men hanging onto various timbered structures.

Now keep in mind, that this activity was not brought about because a ladder was unavailable… I always kept an ample supply on site. And I must confess that I was not immune to the “call to climb”… boy, I could tell you some stories in that regard. lol

It is a shame that our world today supplies little opportunity for men to climb as they once did when they were little boys… but I am here to bear witness, that if given the opportunity, eventually all men, will climb.

I’ve also noticed that they smile more broadly when they do.

Originally posted 2015-04-11 17:22:19.