Rafters Away

This morning we had all three walls up. Thanks (again!) to our saintly neighbors who came to our wall raising rescue at the end of the day yesterday. Our friend Joe had car trouble and our neighbors came over and assisted in the raising of the third wall. We would have felt so entirely deflated if they hadn't helped! We feel like we're racing against time and weather and work and so many variables... That's Bob up on the ladder, Thursday morning, shimming up the place where our walls meet.
Today was exciting because after a few delays and a measuring meltdown or two, we actually made good head way in erecting the rafters.

Each rafter had to lifted in place, measured and taken down so that a small notch could be cut in the end farthest from the house and relifted into place and then nailed. I got to be on the low end, which as I am really, really, really afraid of heights and detest ladder work (and have odd depth perception to boot) is fine with me. But mind you, the "low end" is over my head and there's all this open space and I wasn't comfortable at all. Bob, who is definitely part monkey, scampered up and down the high ladder, with that 20 foot long 2x6 board on his shoulder. I'm tired and I carried only a portion of the weight of all these rafters; I can imagine that Bob is exhausted. But we got most of them up!

Holy cow! It actually looks like a building! The space is nicely defined now: it has volume when you stand in it, or look back at the studio. (This is the side nearest our backyard, looking towards the driveway.)
I'm certainly glad, when I look back on all the work that we've done on a simple addition, attached to the house, that we weren't crazy enough to have attempted building a whole house. I don't think either Bob or I are natural born carpenters, but we're getting it done!

Brake Dancing

(And I am aware of the correct spelling of "break dancing"...) Bob and Joe and I worked on Sunday, starting early and measuring and whacking and chopping with the best of them. I have learned all manner of useful and informative carpentry terms; things like headers and sole plate and jack studs. And my favorite? If something is a tiny bit over or under (when taking a measurement) it's referred to as (and I am not making this up!) a "cunt hair". Apparently even Bob had heard this colorful term many years ago when he was briefly employed as a builder. And also, interestingly, what with Brazilian waxes and the general depilatory habits of the young this is becoming an archaic phrase. Will wonders never cease!
So onto my general discussion of all things studio building related. We realized by mid-Sunday afternoon that we were going to run out of 10 foot long 2 x 4's. It was agreed that I, as the least able to saw and nail, would be dispatched to the nearest Home Depot to secure more stock. For some reason, I wasn't in the mood, but finally I got in the truck. It is fortunate that I didn't get right on the highway, but noticed that I needed gas. I filled up and started to pull out of the station and promptly had one of those almost out-of-body experiences as I depressed the clutch and brake pedals and the truck just kept moving forward. I then realized why: I had no brakes! The truck rolled out onto Main Street with (unusually!) no one coming from either direction, as I was making a left hand turn across traffic. Somehow, with much coasting and careful down shifting, I managed to make it home, through several traffic lights and one woolly intersection where a major route hits the highway. Joe went to get wood instead.
So with one thing and another, we are still waiting to raise that third wall. It should happen tomorrow and then we can go onto the rafters and roof. And I'm still alive!

Two Walls Are Better Than One!

It actually looks like a building! I'm so excited... no turning back now.
I'm speed writing this as we leave in 25 minutes for Bob's opening in Danbury at Jim Felice's Trailer Box Gallery. Bob and Dave Gesualdi (whose work couldn't be more different than Bob's!) are showing, completing a week of three shows between Bob and I and working on the studio.
Joe came over today and helped finish up the second wall- and raise it. Bob and I had completed much of the framing on Thursday and then had an intermission day when we both had to do our jobs.
Today we started early and by 3:00, we had two walls.
Another view:

I even have a door hole. And a corner. And a view... and it seems to be standing.
There is a bit of a gap near the house because (funny enough) the house wall sways inwards. Bob and Joe are constructing a shim.

This is where the house and studio wall tie together. I say fll it in with silly putty and cardboard and packing tape, but Joe and Bob will do it right. Tomorrow, we do the last wall. It will really look like a studio then.

Walla-Walla Wonderful!

Last night I paid a visit to Home Depot on my way back from work. I have personally never purchased so much wood. A nice young man helped me analyze and load every piece of wood individually. I had started with my shopping list that Bob had composed. I realized that 28 2x4's (8 feet long), loads of 2x6's 10 feet long, twelve foot long 2x4's... this stuff weighed tons! And the racks were way over my head. Thank goodness that there were few shoppers at Home Depot and I had help. Look at that pile of wood!
So this morning we started bright and early to finish up the long wall. And an unexpected friend stopped by and Bob had to leave to take his mother to the eye doctor. I thought we'd never get this wall assembled, let alone erected.
Bob got home well after 3:00 and we started to wale away. We finished framing. And Joe arrived ten minutes later. The sun was casting long shadows.

Bob went next door and called on our neighbors, who were crazy enough to offer to help if we needed any assistance in raising the wall. Meagan and her son CJ came over. Between the five of us, it was easier getting that wall up than any other part of the proceedings! It literally took five minutes.

Lookee there! It stands! Bob nailed up cross pieces and nailed in the sole plate and miracles of miracles! We have a wall...

Wowee Zowie!!! I got window holes, I got a partial studio! Huzzah for good neighbors and walls that stand!

Or Would I Rather Have a Swimming Pool?

Apparently the gods that preside over such things as barn raisings and STUDIO construction misheard what I requested and decided to deliver a swimming pool instead. In case no one noticed, it pored last night and despite Bob and my best efforts to cover the nascent wall in tarps, water accumulated. It was a tough day anyway; we had to buy more 2x4's in the morning and we had just gotten underway with sawing and hammering when it started to rain.

This puddle is a foot deep! Nice soggy wood... Bob uncovered it this morning so that it could dry out but it's still pooling up between the studs.  Here's a shot that looks like a Richard Diebenkorn (an abstract painter who worked on a series of "Ocean Park" paintings that this resembles):

Well, at least it looks like art! We went to South Norwalk to an opening at a "pop up" show that both Bob and I were in last night. The rain held off until we had arrived home, which was one good thing anyway as we were very tired (as is now the norm!) We had spent some time schlepping all the wood into my present studio so that it wouldn't warp. Here's Jules inspecting the newly rearranged studio:

Yes, sort of an obstacle course but at least the wood is safe. Now I have to go back to work tomorrow so it will be Wednesday before we get to complete this wall. We had hoped to have at least that one done this weekend. No wonder it took Mommy and Daddy ten years to build our house!

No Time!

The clock in the kitchen inconveniently died this past week. Habit forced Bob and I to constantly look at the wall to see what time it was (or wasn't as there was no clock). After the fiftieth attempt at telling the time, I resorted to a studio version of a clock. It's symbolic of the fact that we have simply had no time to even go to a cheap department store and purchase a clock. (Conceptually it's great; you simply set it to whatever time you wish it was.)
And on to what everyone is really interested in : the studio project. With one thing and the next, such as a seriously ill, hospitalized co-worker, I have had to work extra hours and we have had less time to work on my studio than we had planned. And our friend Joe, whose legs are visible in the below photo with Bob's legs, has also be super busy and unable to come and help with the framing. That left Bob and I to only one day this week.

Bob and I purchased many two by fours, in various lengths, to commence the wall construction. Of course, after careful measuring and laying out of skeleton walls, Bob started up the skill saw. And noticed an odd thing: the supposedly 8 foot long 2 x 4's were all short.
Turns out the lumber yard had given us "pre-cuts" which are great if you're making a standard interior wall. But for us? We needed the extra couple of inches...
So back in the truck went all that wood and we had to return them for the correct wood! A waste of an hour or so, but at least it was a nice day weather-wise and we got to double check our math.
Bob and I feel like we accomplished quite a lot, given the vagaries of a full moon day, but I could use another solid week of working on the studio. I'm anxious (as is Bob) to get that roof up so that all our lovely wood isn't wet, or the crawlspace beneath the floor doesn't get all damp. We'll be at work tomorrow, at least until we need to leave for one of three openings that we're participating in in the upcoming week!
No time!!

Doors and Windows- Oh My!

Talk about shopping from home! I came back from work on Tuesday to discover a whole array of possible doors and windows had been magically transported by Bob from our friend Joe's storage barn. He'd always said, "When it comes to doors and windows for your studio, don't forget: I have LOADS of doors and windows." He wasn't kidding. I described to Bob what I had in mind, stressing that I was flexible and would settle for whatever Joe had available.
But the ones presented are perfect! Bob brought back a French double door that Joe had promised to me and it's so nice! It has a really cool patina of three layers of paint that we're going to try and preserve by applying  a sealer to it. You can sort of see one panel of it in the middle. The windows can be mounted horizontally or vertically, and they're thermal and brand new. (You can see the tags in the pictures).
So Bob and I went out to the studio site and Bob erected a string at the height of the studio roof line. This gave me a conceptual framework to figure the actual layout of the doors and windows. I tried drawing this stuff on paper- and approximated where I might want openings- but really it wasn't until we stood on my floor and held up tape measures and real doors that it took shape.

This is the other side door. Bob and I bought this door at the auction a year or two ago just because we both liked it. I guess we had somewhere way back in our heads that it might come in handy when we built my studio, or added onto the barn. The doors will double as windows and let in a lot of light. I can't emphasize enough how I need all the wall space I can manage- uninterrupted wall space.
I can't believe that I may have deleted the picture I took of my completed floor. I'll have to re-photograph the floor tomorrow. It looks kind of cool; like a expectant dance floor or an artist's landing pad. I'm getting psyched!