By the time I started working at the Boar’s Head Inn I had already learned the skill and confidence needed to construct a home. I had personally undertaken all the various trades involved in building a home. I was a certified “jack of all trades”.
I had also salvaged many older structures for their materials. And, I had gained an eye for studying homes, seeking out what appealed to me, and questioning what was it about each of those structures that made them special. I had also taken engineering and business classed in college… so, even though I was unaware of it… I was on the path to becoming a designer/builder.
Here on this project, while working at this high-end “Old Virginia” resort, I learned what could be built today using modern materials and techniques, where cost was no object… in other words… quality ruled the day.
All I needed to complete my future niche in home building was to gain exposure to log and timber-frame construction. And, that is when fate stepped in.
You see, our summer lease on the apartment that we had rented in the city was coming to an end and so we sought out, and found, a rental home out in the surrounding countryside. It turned out that we moved into a house across the street from Charles McRaven… the most widely published author on log cabins, stone work, and blacksmithing.
Originally posted 2015-06-17 14:48:05.