Half a Roof

Today I got half the roofing up, it is pretty nice to work with this Ondura, you have to be sure to get the nail in right the first time as pulling them can mess up a sheet quick. I had to pre-drill some of the tougher boards. We had big winds yesterday and some good gusts today so I had to be real careful. No problems though. Tomorrow I'll go get the rest of the roofing and finish the north side.

Amina la carpintera

Today Amina came by to help with the roof. We worked mostly on details. We decided to go with Ondura roofing. It is a pretty locally made product, comes from Fredericksburg, VA. It is made from 50% post consumer recycled paper impregnated with asphalt. Sam has it on the house and it is holding up well. Standing seam metal roofing would have cost around $2600, commercially available metal roofing , also vertical seam would have been about half that, Ondura is about half of that or $600 dollars for a 500 sq.ft. roof.

Wetting the Bush Celebration

Last night we invited people involved with the project and friends of Sam's and Kappy's children. Wren , Anna and Stuart attend a local high school and have some very cool friends that came. The main contributor to the project is Rob Roy Mackey, he has loaned us big machinery, donated wood and helped out with planning and design. Thanks Rob! We celebrated the roof framing being up, this is traditionally the time to hoist a cup to wish the building a long , good life. First Kappy gave thanks then all of us said something. It was great. We burned a big pile of brush from the area we cleared for the studio. Spuds in foil and hot dogs cooked over coals were dinner. The moon was almost full and the sky clear. Yesterday and today the temperatures were in the high 50s, maybe 60s. A nice respite from cold weather.

Ready to Roof

Today I finished putting up the roof sheathing. It looks like today will be the last of these pesky cold days for a while. Wind and twenty degree temperatures are a drag. Anyway, we are going to have our "Wetting the Bush" ceremony this Saturday. It will coincide with a nice, fat moon and hopefully warmer temperatures. We plan a bonfire with friends and some nice wine to toast the building. In Chile they call it "Tijerales" when the roof structure is up and the owner puts on an "asado" or bbq for the workers.

Work continues at a relaxed but steady pace. I have been helped recently by Mr. Josh Dibb of Baltimore. He is a musician but enjoys building. He knows the value of a sixteenth of an inch. We put up the rafters and are now beginning to put the roof sheathing in place. We are looking at standing seam panels to match the roof of the ecohouse. Current plans are to move the ecohouse here around March 1, weather and bureaucracy willing. Sam Droege, Rob Roy Mackey and myself, Eric Hempstead, attended a meeting with the Administrator of the Botanic Gardens and the gentleman responsible for crane operations last week. They couldn't have been more helpful so we will have excellent support for the move.

Ridge Beam

Today, with the help of some egyptian technology I raised the ridge beam and placed it on the posts. I used two dry saplings as ramps and with a come along and some nudging got the beam up and in place.

Its been a while since I posted. I was doing more of the same, cutting boards. At last I'm going vertical and it feels mighty good. We are gearing up for the eco house move. That's the little building on the mall at the Botanic Gardens. We figure sometime in early February. Stay tuned! We have been using both boards we cut on the Pittman's land and lumber salvaged from the Glen Echo Amusement Park renovation. That stuff is amazing. Old oak and pine posts. Super stable and the growth rings are sooo tight. Its a pleasure to work with. A few nails to pry out or just close your eyes and push a little harder on the circular saw. Thank goodness for carbide blades.