Brennan Timber Frame Day 6-9

The Brennan timber frame porch is now raised, roofed, and finished. We completed the work on Wednesday after beginning the installation on Monday. Originally, the plan was to have raised the frame last week, but plans (being what they are) changed. Looking back, the change worked well for everyone involved with the only downside being a delay in these blog entries. Committing to a routine writing schedule does not come easily to me, and the week of downtime didn't help. At any rate, that serves as my poor excuse for consolidating what should have been three posts into one.

Taking care of a client's property always influences the logistical decisions of accomplishing onsite work. This aspect carries even more weight when the property is fully developed and furnished. Often, construction projects create progress while leaving a mess of mud and sawdust in their wake. This isn't necessary.

Approaching a build with a little foresight can drastically reduce the construction footprint left behind. Notice the patch of yellowed grass in the picture, its the only sign of us having been onsite. Well, that and the new timber frame porch! As part of our setup, we laid down a tarp to catch all of the sawdust, spent hardware, and debris that we generated during the build. Such considerations require little effort and produce sizable returns. 

There is also a good deal of sense in organizing all of the materials, tools, and hardware necessary ahead of time. Life requires us to scramble and improvise a good deal, no need to add to that jazz. 

On this project, all of the trim work pieces were cut and fitted onsite. I am now keen to try and prepare most of the trim work offsite. The trim blocking that wraps around the base of the standards and the ends of the side headers could have easily been fabricated offsite, and I didn't have the foresight to recognize that. I am excited to give that approach a go, it has the potential to reduce the construction footprint even more.  

 The client's house was the first house I worked on as a master builder's apprentice. It was quite a honor to come full circle and add a bit of my own work to such a lovely place. For those curious to learn a bit more about that build, click here. Many thanks to the Brennan's for their hospitality and the wonderful opportunity. 
 

Thanks also to the Lewis brothers. Jack and Will are a rare breed of men, always an honor to work along side them. 

And thanks to you, dear reader, for joining in the conversation here. Below, I've included a few more photos of the build. Perhaps one day I'll come back and comment on them too, but I plan on spending the rest of the evening with my wife and family. So for now, goodnight.