EL QUINCHO, part 1

Tuesday, April 9, Morning

If I ever start living my life like a damsel in distress, please just set me out to sea on an ice drift. Or close me in a room with a pile of lumber, a saw and a drill and don't let me out until I've made something useful.

Wednesday, April 10, Afternoon

I cut my finger changing the blade on my circular saw. It didn't hurt, but I had to put a bandage on it because there was blood running onto my project.

I taught myself how to build furniture by reading anawhite.com. I don't have many heroes, and even fewer who are alive and just normal people. Ana White has quickly become one of them. I'm not sure if she would describe herself as one, but the woman is an amazing feminist. She started her blog when her family, in Alaska, lacked access to high-quality, affordable furniture. Despite having no experience, she plunged straight into building her own bed, one that she still sleeps on today. She used to wait for a man to come home to work the saw, and so did I. But she got over her fear of power tools, and so did I. I have so much pride to be able to point to the many pieces of furniture in Mantagua that I built, me and my own two hands. 

Thursday, April 11, Afternoon

Winter is coming and the game/barbecue room (quincho in Spanish) we started building with a contractor last spring is still not finished. We got a quote from a new contractor. It is way too high.

Manuel came home one day and told me he had bought a pool table. This table is gorgeous, old and huge, and it fits nowhere in the house. The only logical solution was to build it its own house. And since Manuel's first love is grilling, the pool house will also be a grilling palace. The contractor we hired has already poured the foundation and built the giant side-by-side barbecue and roasting pit. Manuel cannot wait to have it finished. 

Thursday, April 11, Evening

Manuel and I had whiskey with dinner and decided that I should be the contractor for the quincho.

Friday, April 12, Evening

I spoke to dad about self-contracting. His reaction was "I'm not sure why you didn't do that all along." World's greatest dad.

Monday, April 15, Morning

I couldn't sleep last night. Day 1 as my own contractor. A friend is coming over to help me out.

Monday, April 15, Evening

Today we finished work that I thought would take 2 or 3 days. Just me and one guy.

Tuesday, April 16, Morning

My body hurts.

Tuesday, April 16, Noon

I bought myself a new tape measure, but now I can't find either of the two I own.

Tuesday, April 16, Afternoon

Using trig to find rise/run because I don't have a compass to measure a 20* angle.

Wednesday, April 17, Evening

My brain hurts.

Friday, April 19, Evening

The end of day five and one wall is (basically) done. It's on the ground waiting for more muscle to lift it.

Sunday, April 21 Afternoon

The sun came out today so I indulged in a little quality time with my saw and some lumber. Getting a head start for the (work) week.

Monday, April 22, Morning

I have two friends here today and wall #1 is raised!

Monday, April 22, Afternoon

Wall #2.1 is framed, awaiting OSB.

The friend who is helping me, Carlos, is a perfect workmate. He is a perfect combination of doing what I ask, asking questions when he is unsure, and opposing my opinion when he feels strongly. He's fast, and despite claiming that he had no experience before we started, he has picked it up very quickly and has started teaching me new techniques that he is learning by doing. Also, he is nice, compliments the lunch I cook, and doesn't mind my dog sitting on his lap while he tries to work. Bau is an adorable nuisance when we're working.  If what we're working on has OSB on it, he likes to stretch out on it. He'll sigh, and we'll say facetiously "Oh Bauz, you work so hard." He also likes to stand in the path of the saw and wants to cuddle when you are hammering. He's the best. 

Tuesday, April 23, Morning

We have two guys building and I'm running the saw. Walls 2.2 and 2.3, here we come.

Tuesday, April 23, Evening

Wall #2 (all three parts) is constructed and raised. We are now a well-oiled (wall-building) machine.

Wednesday, April 24, Morning

My ankles itch. I think it may be from slivers flying at them while I cut OSB on the ground.

Thursday, April 25, Afternoon

Two more (smaller) wall segments built. They're laying on the ground; there isn't enough muscle around here to lift them. Must wait for reinforcements.

Friday, April 26th, Morning

I dropped one of the wall segments on my leg. It's going to leave a pretty big bruise. (Update: the bruise is beautiful.)

Friday, April 26th, Afternoon

Wall #3 built, also on the ground. I need to start doing more push-ups so I can lift my fair share.

Friday, April 26th, Evening

Lumber for wall #4 is cut. Who will raise my walls so I can keep building?

Tuesday, April 30th, Evening

With two friends and Manuel (and me mostly staying out of the way) we raised the wall segments and wall #3. The quincho is taking shape!

Thursday, May 2nd, Afternoon 

We have troubles with a wall that is not plumb. Possibly it is not square. 

Friday, May 3rd, Evening

We lost most of the day dealing with the un-square wall. In the end we lifted wall #4 and we're good to go with the trusses on Monday.

Most nights when I go to bed, I am so exhausted that I fall asleep immediately. My early days start a little after 7 am when I wake up to take Manuel to work. By 8:15 I am at the lumber store buying whatever we may need for the day. Back at the house, I'll clean the dishes I never have energy for in the evening, drink some tea and prep a little for lunch. Carlos arrives at 11, he has a coffee and I a tea, and we head outside. After the first wall, which we hammered together, my job is usually cutting and layout, and Carlos nails it all together. Around 3 we have lunch together. In the afternoon we race the sun to finish what we are working on by the end of the day. At 7 Carlos goes home and I sit at my computer to prepare for the next day. This involves studying the plans we will be using, mentally tallying the supplies we have and supplies we need, and considering division of labor and timing. By the time I'm done I'm ready to be carried to bed. 

Monday, May 6, Morning

I started measuring and cutting the lumber for my trusses today. I'm feeling quite indebted to my math teachers.  

Wednesday, May 8, Evening

Truss #1 is BUILT!!!! 

Thursday, May 9, Morning

We're leveling the walls before we can hang the truss, there's a bit of an unevenness mystery here… 

It's a little hard to explain the unevenness mystery without pictures, but here's a try. Between the two sections of the back wall there is a 4cm height gap. To figure out where it was coming from, we decided to check that all the walls are level to one another. The first wall we built was the right wall and it sits level on the foundation. The second wall was the front wall. At the corner where it meets the right wall it is slightly lower than the first wall, maybe by .5cm, but we didn't realize this at first and they are very well-nailed together. All three segments of the front wall are level on the top, but I will concede that there is a little bit of stair-stepping down between them, probably for a maximum total of 1.5cm. We corrected the one gap that we could for a total un-level of .5cm approx. Between the front wall and left wall we are pretty much perfect, and the left wall is level all the way across. Between the left and back walls we messed up and there's about a 1cm step down between the two, for a total of 2cm lost in the journey around from the first wall. But that still doesn't explain how the right-most section of back wall is level with the right wall, but sits 4 cm higher than the left-most section of back wall. Dad couldn't figure it out either, so he told us a way to cheat. 

Thursday, May 9, Evening

Truss #1 is hung. I'm leaving Saturday to go to the United States, and I'm not sure we'll finish #2 before then. But Carlos is completely competent now. He can handle it.

Friday, May 10, Afternoon

Cutting my last 2x4s before my trip to the States :(

Friday, May 10, Evening

We worked extra fast today and truss #2 is built! All cut and built in one day, woop woop! (Next stop, Houston, Texas!)