One in One and One go only!

The roof rafters are finally going up after the winter break for M House.

We could not be more impressed.....they look exactly like our models except in 1:1 scale, and it is the real stuff!  The accuracy on site is amazing.... Imagine, all the notching and cutting of the timber elements are done by human hand!!

first, the builders had to put up a "土台 (plinth)" along the top of the perimeter concrete walls, for the rafters to rest on. the notches are where the rafters will rest upon, and were notched one by one with human hand....

the perimeter wall is 19.5m at its longer side... it is impossible to do the plinth in a single piece of timer. Where the plinth joint is, this is how the pieces are connected, through tongue and groove connection (cut by hand again...) and bolted to ensure stability.  here it is clear how the notches are slanted at the inside (to either side of the joint) to meet the angle of the roof rafters.

slowly, one by one....the rafters are going up.....

the bolted connection at the ridge...after much testing, we have decided that the diameter of the individual bolt was more important than the bolt being counter-sunken and flush at face (this way the diameter of the bolt is bigger). I think it looks ok, not as distracting as it could have been.  (see the snow in the background?  it was snowing heavily that even the trains stopped running, we were so concerned that there would be further delay on site.....but look at the progress!)

get a taste of how the space would be like after completion... we can hardly wait!

this is how it looks like when the rafters rest on the plinth.. by sitting the rafter into the notched plinth there is extra stability and less visible hardware, makes the ensemble much crispier and cleaner....but of course much more work and labour intensive!  God is in the detail......