Prior to beginning day 18, I made sure to take stock of my material pile. What had begun as several piles of what would comprise our house was now dwindling daily. Large stock was taken down as the lower rafters were framed. I knew that by day’s end my pile of rafters would no longer be on the ground; they would be on the house.
Additionally, as much as I enjoyed relief from the sun after I had framed the loft floor I found further relief after framing the lower rafters. The trellis effect was now in existence throughout our entire structure.
Framing the upper rafters worked out just as the previous day: making a template, cutting the remaining rafters, and placing them as I went. It would have been more efficient to cut them all and then raise them all at once, but I didn’t have extra space to temporarily store the 15 rafters; furthermore, I found it energetic to see each one go up.
Using the same techniques for spacing the rafters as I had done for the lowers, the upper rafters were notched and put into place in no time. I’ve found throughout this process that the longer I do a similar task, the more efficiently and quickly I can complete it.
While it took me 6 hours to complete the lower rafters, the uppers were done in 4. Even though it was the same exact process, the cuts were made with more confidence, and I was given newfound vigor to see my pile dwindling and our structure growing.
After all of the rafters were in place was the first time I could honestly take a step back and say “it’s starting to look like a house.” While the shape and footprint had been given from the walls, the rafters encompassed the vertical limit. It was now that our dream was starting to become reality, and I still get goosebumps thinking about the first time I saw our house with rafters.