While pondering how to get the ridge beam 4m into the sky, I lit my pipe and then started wondering why any sane person would want to ponder something like that. Why would one man want to build a complete wooden house by himself? Not just the house, also the doors, the windows, the furniture, everything. To top it all off, why would he also want to sawmill every single plank and beam from trees that he harvested himself?

Obsession, a lack of money, the feeling of self sufficiency, the urge to create something unique, some primeval instinct for shelter, a quest for achievement, a strange desire to be in total control, a dissatisfaction with the work ethics of others. It is probably a combination of all these that turns me into a masochist and workaholic. There is probably a whole list of things I can’t think of right know. My wife reckons it is a strange kind of vanity – that I think the work of others is simply not good enough. I might agree with her. I know some true craftsmen but I can’t afford them.

To have a dream and vision is of course very important. It is also the easy part. It needs to be followed by hard work, more hard work, determination and all the other big words. We’ve all read them. The phrase I like is “One must do whatever it takes.” That is a real important one if you want to realize that vision. I always try to snap out of all the deep thinking while the going is still good. Too much thinking can become dangerous and then nothing will get done. Safer to ponder practical challenges….

So how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! The ridge beam is 120mm x 300mm by 4.8m solid Pine, quite a hefty piece of wood. I could hardly lift on end off the ground, what you mean get it 4m into the sky on top of two notched posts. I dragged that mother with my trusty rusty Ford bakkie up the hill, then levered and rolled it into position next to the posts. One bite at a time. I borrowed some of the future rafter beams and spent pretty much the rest of the day building and rigging a crane with two sets of pulleys. As they say in the classics, in the dying light of the day, I finally hoisted that beam into place, one bite at a time. It dropped into the notches with a very satisfying kethunk! Sweet satisfaction of a challenge overcome and a job well done! Hey, maybe that’s why I do it….

P.S. I think the wifey took a picture of the whole crane affair. I’ll see if I can get it to post in the photo gallery.