Teamwork

I'm finding that good teamwork is crucial for the enjoyment and progress of this project. Greg has been, and continues to be, the cornerstone for our project; able to consider anything the project, which in so many ways is outside the square, can throw at him. Such as the house plans themselves; working with old unsymmetrical hardwood poles (that at times i have obsessively matched for size and colour), rough sawn slightly twisted rafter and framing timber, my continual crazy ideas (which will gradually become apparent throughout the project); the list continues.

We started building a year ago with another carpenter who along with considerable hardwood experience had advised us on the jointing system (based on his log cabin building experience) for the beam system. On site however he was not easy to work with and considered the beam system construction his domain; keeping all measurements etc to himself and not keen for Greg and i to 'interfer'. After a very stressed couple of weeks he left the project after making a straightforward and avoidable mistake. The result was that Greg and i had to pick up the pieces and in some ways start from scratch again, as he had not shared he ideas etc. To correct this took considerable time as more mistakes became apparent and everything had to be re-measureed/calculated etc. Lesson learnt; team players only please!

March 2010 and enter Craig. Him and Greg compliment each other; they work very well as their own team but patiently answer my questions relating to something outside their then line of thought. Everyones' families are very important within the project and there are frequent visits by everyone and always flexibility regarding family priorities. We all feel happy and relaxed to be there.

We have also 3 travellers helping too, Tomek and Chari for the last month or so and now Till as well. This brings a very European flavour to the site but also requires a lot more organisation/planning on my part, so that T, C, T and me can support G & C in their work and then move further ahead along the planned building route. Although at times intense, this has enabled a lot of work to be done.

Teamwork definitely seems to pay off