Mike U and Mike C assemble a railing for the cottage.
Well… spring is officially here. Not only have we passed March 20th, but we’ve had our seasonal soggy mess (mud season, we call it) and freeze/thaw ground heaving. But also around this time, things begin to come to life. This year is no different.
This 1810 house restoration project has been progressing steadily but slowly over the past few months as we’ve been finishing off our small timber-frame cottage for living in during construction and coordinating untold details and people to get everything lined up where we need them to be. Friends and family ask me how the house is coming and I’m embarrassed to not be able to show them a standing frame yet. It doesn’t look like much progress has been made. In reality though, when you’re building a house yourself (no contractor), there is nearly just as much planning and prep work as there is sawing and hammering. So, how is it going? Right on schedule. We’re systematically checking the items off our list: approval from the town, sale of the existing mobile home, finalizing the foundation work plan, on and on it goes.
Tomorrow my brother-in-law will be digging a trench for the water line to the cottage. Once we have running water in there, we’re off to the races. There are still a few more things to button up in the cottage (downstairs top floor, window trim, the remaining railings) but really we’re quite close to moving in there.
Cottage loft railing installed.
We’re posting updates on the Dispatch every weekday, and starting next week, the progress will be exponential. There will be a lot of exciting stuff happening. Whether you’re into timber framing or finish carpentry or even just the logistics of building your own house, we’re documenting it all over there.
This week, the big pieces are starting to fall into place. The weather has shifted, spring has sprung, and this project is underway. There’s no turning back.
-Joshua