BUILD DAY 3: 9 days to go

It's been a long hard day today for the team and slower progress than they anticipated. It's a difficult thing though, building a structure as complex as a huge shed with no centre poles and a curved front, using tree trunks as posts and no concrete to stabilise anything. On top of that, every part of the construction is being done with an eye on easy dismantling, as we only have 3 1/2 days to get out of the park when this is over.So, as a result, what appears a simple task one day may turn out to be a long and involved marathon the next day. We plan what we think might happen, but often it doesn't and rolling with a flexible attitude is crucial.


Today the boys thought they might get the roof pretty much finished. The beams were all up but one - some are 9 metres long and just so very heavy. It looks fantastic with the roof fanning out from a lower back roof height - like a giant fan shell broadcasting to the world. The tree trunk posts all have a bend in the same place, so it's like a wave in the front profile - just so full of character! The last wall is up with its huge window that will be filled with a fantastic floral window box from Sandra.

The team and I in front of the shed with its new beams.

I'm just relieved to see it coming together so beautifully like the picture in my head, but even better. That's due to Stewart grasping exactly what effect I was after and just adding to it with his technical skill. He's quite artistic too actually and can recreate an effect in a very creative way. When the Oregon beams first arrived at the Uni landscape yard, they looked brand spanking new and beautifully square. The first thing Stewart did was tie a chain around them and one by one, he dragged them around a paddock on the back of a tractor, inflicting dents, chips and a great colour. Somehow they seem to have seen a bit of fire damage too but I don't want to know too much about that. Now they look so old they are genuine looking reclaimed timber. I'm sure there was some 9 metre beams out there somewhere that already had this reclaimed attribute, but we couldn't find them. So he made them and they're fabulous. Now we need one more than planned, and that's going to cause a problem. I suspect tomorrow morning I'll be attached to the phone.

Tomorrow has to see the roofing battens finished and the roofing iron on, or we won't be ready for the students to do the floor on Tuesday. I just hope the rain stops at 7am tomorrow!