Oct. 16th, 2008 - Fourth Course

The fourth course took longer than others only because we had to go out of town for a few days. Jeff had a client to meet in Santa Barbara, so Brooke and I got to come along for a little getaway. We love Santa Barbara and had a nice time. We were also able to pick up some more scaffolding in LA on the way home. The other task that had to be done before more logs could be stacked was raising the chain hoists, which you see Jeff doing below. It scares me a bit to see him up there and he doesn't like it much either, but he uses his climbing harness for extra safety. So, it wasn't till late in the week that Jeff had logs pulled up and could start stacking the fourth course. Saturday morning, October 11th, we had our first snowfall of the season. Yikes, lots more logs to stack... hopefully the winter is kind to us. But, despite highs not making it out of the 40's that day, the sunshine warmed things up and it didn't slow Jeff down. The biggest worry if we are still stacking logs in the snow is that they will slide too easy and there one might accidentally slide down the hill. Now, when they reach the top of the hill they pretty much stay put in the loose dirt. So yes, we are of course doing everything possible to finish stacking logs asap. Below, you see Jeff shaving a little off one of the logs so they lay together a little tighter, with less gaps. He spends a bit of extra time once each log is stacked, rolling it and adjusting it to minimize gaps, but they don't have to be perfect, that's what chinking is for. Its also important to make sure the overall level is even. He uses a laser level to check that and so far so good.

Pounding rebar to hold the ends in place, the laborer will come and do the rest.

So, its pull logs up the hill, stack them, adjust, pin in place, drill holes, and then pound rebar every 18 inches. Each step is time consuming, but one course a week is the goal and if we can keep that pace, we'll be ready to start on the roof around Thanksgiving.