A timber frame raising is fun. When I was younger, I used to say that this was the frame's, and perhaps therefore the project's, most glorious day- naked against the sky, powerful visuals of structure and craft. Of course, the sun is ALWAYS shining in these stunning images of timber frames.
Now I know that it is Thanksgiving Day, or Family Reunion Day, or whatever occasion there is to put the finished space, the completed home, to its rigorous test of being functional, nurturing, inspiring.
Thus it is with even more excitement than the frame raising that the wall panels (having been pre-built months ago,) are lifted into place and roof tongue and groove is installed. These truly define the interior volumes in which we will spend so much of our lives. The window and door openings, so long a theory, now frame the views they were designed to frame, and control the traffic and our relationship to outside spaces that beckon.
NOW we're having fun.
I had assumed this was going to be difficult. I figured that I would be exhausted. I thought that there would be a fair share of simple hard work. I’m not sure I knew how exhausting.