Andy and I currently live in a one hundred year old school which was converted to apartments some time ago. Our apartment is on the fourth floor, built out of the attic. One of the best things about it is its ancient, partially-exposed skeleton. Huge chestnut beams support the ceiling of our living space. A beam enters our kitchen at an oblique angle and is bolted to the floor with correspondingly large hardware, rendering most of the open space in the room useless. I tried to count the rings on the end of a beam in our bedroom once, but lost count around 50; I could only conclude that it came from a very old, established tree. The beams are beautiful structures, and relics of an era. If I could I would saw a piece of one to take with us when we move, but I don’t want to be responsible for the building collapsing…
None of the beams in our new house will be cut from ancient chestnut trees, and pretty soon just about all of them will be hidden under clouds of cellulose insulation and layers of drywall. Building a house, though lets one see what is under the surface- and there is a lot. Here’s some of what we’ve seen (and some pictures of our beloved chestnut beams for comparison) over the past few months.
Can ‘beams’ and ‘pipes’ be considered art? The photos – old and new – seem to suggest so.
That’s how I see them- geometric art!
Hey Rohini – beautiful blog!! How do you find the time?? Love the pictures – did you take them all yourself? They’re very artistic and you should definitely frame some in your home when it is all completed! I’ve enjoyed peeking in on what you and Andy have been doing – very very impressive, and it seems you’ve become extremely knowledgeable about so many aspects of home building and energy usage!
Thanks, Steph! I have taken most of the photos, though Andy did some, and some are from our project manager. As for the time thing, remember, you’ll have a lot more free time once you’re done with training!!