Meat And Potatoes

  
  Ed is waiting for the roof trusses. Waiting is the one thing he doesn't do well. He starts getting twitchy and looking for something to do, and decided to work on the columns and joists for the front porch.
    You know how a good pot roast just isn't really there until the mashed potatoes are on the plate? That's kind of how the columns are. The frame is just the skeleton without the muscle. In the front are two double columns at the porch entry, and a single column on either side. They visually anchor the house.

  

  Once the columns were sheathed in plywood, they wrapped the portion adjoining the porch in felt paper and began cutting the joists for the porch. Since I'm not a spatial thinker, it's hard for me to visualize the size in advance, and I am continually agape.

The front steps echo the shape of the eyebrow dormer, so Ed had to mark the center front joists in a perfect arc, then bevel the ends to accept the bent riser joist. I haven't a clue how he figured that out. He started to tell me and my eyes glazed over after the first sentence.

  


I had to go up top to get a good look at how the steps will come down off the porch.

  In the meantime, he was still waiting for those roof trusses. We went and picked up scaffolding. Ed and Rick hauled itl up to the second story and got it all set up. Ed is hoping for no rain, but really...it's Washington and it's spring. The trusses are due this morning. It's raining and thunder and lightening is expected this afternoon. The crew is here and we're waiting for the truck. At least there isn't any wind.