If you are a Big Tree then I'm a Small Axe.....

Yep, that's a pretty big saw alright.

This is what is required to cut 6x8 larch timbers, actually
itt barely cuts through the six inches.


Additionally, we need to get a 10" circular saw to make the lap joints.
The 16 incher is a rental that has seen better days, it's not cutting exactly square anymore.
That's fine when we're cutting the beams to length, but we want those laps to look nice and tight with an even line. If you look at the lower left hand part of the joint there's a pretty big gap
(almost a 1/4"!)



Thanks to the kindly intercession of Marshall Witzel, rammed earth draftsman extraordinare, our train is back on track and moving toward the light at the end of the ring beam tunnel.
We've got all the wall heights measured, we know where our high and low spots are, and we've got half the larch cut to size.
Cutting the lapped joints will be a task, drilling the anchor bolts will be a task and moving these beams on top of the walls will be a task, but now we KNOW what those tasks are, how they are done, and we feel much better.

If we'd known sill plate gasket was basically sheets of foam packing material, we would have started saving it up months ago. This weekend we'll to try to find a cheaper and more efficient way to protect our larch from the moisture that could wick up from the concrete than the teeny rolls they sell at the lumber yard. Sheesh.

Sorry there hasn't been much action blog wise, we're trying to pick up the pace.
Thank you so much for your continued interest.