We're off!

The timbers arrived right on time. The truck driver was highly skilled and had no issue getting onto our site. We were concerned about a large flatbed negotiating one or two of the sharp turns. The unloading began immediately, timber by timber, with a 95' crane that I'm sure even Tim Allen would have been proud to use. I had business commitments, so I wasn't present to add a few of Tim's gorilla grunts to this step.

As the timbers were unloaded, they were also sorted. Riverbend pre-fit each timber and joint at the shop and so, each timber was numbered. Ellen tried to convince me that she helped put the timbers together, but I really think this shot just shows her playing Whac-A-Mole with our new house. The major frames are called 'bents' in the trade. The bents are assembled at ground level as this photo shows.

Now you too have attended a timber raising!! This was the first bent they erected. It's the rear bent for the great room. Alas, I was still working and missed this too, but the calls started to arrive demanding my presence because....


It's an old ship building tradition to place a coin under the keel for luck. That's been translated by Riverbend to mean placing a newly minted $1.00 gold plated coin under a bent. It will lie for as long as the house stands under the timber on the right side of this photo. Riverbend gave us two more $1 coins with which we can make a display to mount on the bent as a commemoration and also, to mark the specific timber under which the coin lies. Ellen immediately began thinking about how to create a plaque with the coins. I simply thanked the Riverbend rep for the 'instant rebate' on the cost of timbers and slipped them in my pocket.

The work progressed quickly. I described it as a grown man's tinker toys in view of the ease with which our crew assembled the bents and supporting timbers. That's a very high compliment to the workmanship of Riverbend's timber framers. Our builder was expecting to have to shave and cut each timber to size, but was amazed at how precise the joinery was off the truck.

It's a standard feature for Riverbend to hand carve a word or phrase of the customer's choice into a timber at no additional charge. Ellen and I agonized over this. After all, you can't hit the delete key and start over once it's in the wood. We didn't want something sappy or passe', but everything we came up with fell into one of those categories. What to do? We finally gave up and created a contest for our local nieces and nephews, ranging in age from 6 to 16, asking them to come up with the answer for us. A cash prize was set for the winner. We were absolutely determined to choose from the entries we received. We went to church one Sunday while the contest was underway. I'm really bad about listening to sermons. Instead, I use the time for personal reflection. During a sermon on the reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem, my thoughts drifted to our plans to build this house and from there, the contest we had devised. I thought it was really sweet that the kids were making an effort to come up with something for us. I realized how blessed we both were and decided on the spot that the only thing I wanted carved into this house was a praise to God. After the service, I proposed this to Ellen and she immediately agreed. We both looked through the Bible, and it was Ellen who suggested this Psalm. I just as quickly agreed. For those who know my life intimately, if you read this Psalm, you'll say, "Yeah. I get that." For those who don't, focus on the last verse. You'll understand our intent. BTW, because we suspended the contest, every contestant won the first place prize.

Check out the joinery. This is the precision I mentioned.
And so, the first day of our raising comes to a close. Even Riverbend was astonished at how much was accomplished, complimenting our builder and the crew he assembled. The beauty of the timbers and the work quality of all involved have made Ellen and I feel very good about the decisions we've made so far.