We awoke this morning to find a half an inch of snow on the ground, and more soft, white flakes tumbling from grey skies overhead. Crap. The forecast had called for sun and unseasonable warmth! Despite the fact that our springlike weather disappeared overnight, Charlie rolled up the driveway at 8AM on the dot, cheery as ever, ready to start the build.
Not long after, our dear friend Joanna arrived too. She's been wanting to build a shed of her own, so we called to see if she wanted to learn how with us. We were thrilled when she jumped at the chance, taking a day off from work to help out. And so, with Charlie acting as project manager, we all got to work nailing studs to headers and footers, cutting bird mouth joints, toe-nailing in rafters, putting up plywood siding, and installing tongue-and-groove roof decking.
Much to my surprise and delight, just as Tyler had promised, building the shed was easy. What's more, the whole project was a blast because we had such great company. Joanna was eager to help and just as excited to learn as we were, and Charlie was just a dream come true, selflessly sharing his time and vast building knowledge with us.
At 8AM this morning, there was nothing but concrete slab at the end of our driveway. By the time we started packing at 4PM, there was a three-dimensional building sitting on it! This project has renewed my faith in our ability to make this homesteading a reality. I love timber framing and natural building but man is there something to be said for dimensional lumber and stick framing. It's fast!
Over the next few weeks we'll put up tar paper, insulate the inside, and find some reclaimed barn boards for siding. Come spring, finances permitting, we'll put six solar panels on the roof and hook up a charge controller, inverter, batteries and more. It feels so good to have this shed started! I feel accomplished and satisfied, and I've learned a ton. Charlie and Joanna, I cannot thank you enough!