Goal posts

Last week we start preparing for the raising of the twelve “goal posts”, which are the combined beam/post assemblies that serve as the support for the walls, second floor, and roof of the two-story section of the house.

First we assembled the 24 posts, each of which is a sandwich of three 2x4s, the center one being longer since its ends serve as tenons for the joints at the floor and roof. This was a fairly straightforward job that took a couple of days.

Then I had to undergo a minor surgery that is probably going to keep me off my feet for at least a week. So I missed most of the next step, which happened yesterday: the raising of the goal posts. We called in several friends to help us because this is one step that can’t be performed by just two people, and at this point we were down to just one. First, each goal post has to be assembled flat on the deck by fitting the ends of a beam (all 12 of which we had made a while back) into posts (which we made last week) and nailing it securely. Then comes the step that requires friends: pushing the goal post up and dropping it into the holes in the floor at the ends of the floor beams. Finally the goal post had to be braced to keep it steady for the next steps (decking and sheathing).

We are very thankful and grateful to our helpers for all the hard work they did yesterday. It’s always interesting to hear the ideas of helpers during this house-building process. Each person has experience that is useful, but this house is not like anything our helpers have seen before. So in a way, this house-building is a two-way education for both ourselves and our helpers.