Another day of progress... vacation for the win!

Literally chipping away at it... here's another of those posts I milled with my chainsaw last summer. The downside to hand-milled lumber is more chisel-time when I try to use off-the-shelf framing hardware. No big deal though, and I like the way the carved recesses look.

The second breezeway beam. This one turned out to be a HEAVY piece of timber: super dense and strong. I'm glad to have this sketchy bit of lifting out of the way. I tied the rope around the beam to keep it from falling on me if I fell off of my chintzy little ladder balanced on a springy piece of plywood over the trench. Yeah, sketchy.

I ended up lifting this beam twice. See that little notch at the lower end pointing down? Yeah, that's supposed to point UP to clear the top plate. I realized this when I had it all the way up and it wouldn't fit correctly. Deep breath... sigh... reverse the steps, flip it around, and do it again. 

This guy came wondering through while I was in the midst of frustration. Banjo. Cool name for a cool dog. Super nice and friendly; turned the whole mood around.

Right side up this time, and getting it done.

Up the hill at the end of the day. Starting to be able to see a real house in there... but there's plenty of work to do yet.