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Original Title: A Woodworkers’ Cathedral – our Yamhill Arts and Crafts Revival
Original Author: Zack Semke
Originally Posted on: October 6th, 2010
As fine home building aficionados, we’re always looking for ways to indulge our zeal for working with wood.
The other day I sat down with Hammer and Hand project managers M.A.C. Casares and Christopher “Coop” Cooper to reminisce about a home building project that stands out in the annals of past H&H jobs as a singular celebration of wood and craft, or as M.A.C. and Coop described it, a “woodworkers’ cathedral”.
Designed by Emerick Architects and built by Hammer and Hand for wine aficionado clients and their young family, the Arts and Crafts revival sits on 40 acres of land nestled among the vineyards of Yamhill County. The new home project garnered lots of press attention, and deservedly so, including a 2002 Oregon Home feature article that enthused: “the carpenters and other crew members eagerly rose to the challenge of achieving a level of craftsmanship worthy of fine furniture making, if not violin making.”
The project was a major undertaking, but became a labor of love for our crew. Here’s our own Daniel Thomas as quoted by Oregon Home: “Once the crew got out there and understood the level of quality that was expected of them, they really took possession of it, the way craftsmen will do. They held that job in such high esteem that nothing but perfection was going to be allowed to get nailed up on the wall.”
To run the job, M.A.C. ended up moving out to Yamhill for two years. “It was a life changer, a really once-in-a-lifetime job,” M.A.C. told me. “The level of carpentry and detail was phenomenal. You could be working on the same wall or ceiling for a month. It was awesome.”
During our conversation, Coop and M.A.C. walked me through the project, starting (appropriately enough given the owners’ strong affinity for wine) with the wine cellar.
Originally meant to be a simple storage room, this barrel vaulted cellar was designed on the fly (an on-the-ground example of how effective design-build-client collaboration and improvisation can be). Coop built the vault from tongue and groove fir. The clay-based stucco on the walls is the same material that wraps the house, making a subtle inside/outside connection. And the cellar was wired with full data hookups for cataloging wines online (a big deal in 2002 … remember the days before wifi?).
Moving upstairs to the main floor, you can see the incredible woodworking and detailing at play in the house. The crown consists of huge cove pieces of wood with an 8″ stand. With the except of the crown, the tongue and groove, and the flooring, all wood was shaped on site. The fir came in on a semi truck and was examined, with knotty pieces sent back to the lumber yard. Only one knot exists in the whole house … one knot in one joint!
The tongue and groove ceiling material in this shot took 2 guys 5 weeks to install, because all the lines had to line up perfectly. The column capitals have 3×3″ brass inlays, a traditional touch for higher end Craftsman homes. “This house is as traditional as you can get and still be built in this day and age,” M.A.C. said.
Here we get a glimpse of the bathroom with its green marble vanities and floors. The French doors open onto an outdoor living room.
Here’s the anteroom, the most technically difficult room of the house in terms of aligning the wood. All the arches were hand-cut on site. The crew worked on a scaffold on wheels, with one carpenter on the ground measuring and cutting pieces and another on the scaffold installing the wood. “It’s the closest thing I’ve ever been to building the Sistine Chapel,” said Coop. “It was like being in a church. If you love wood and love woodworking, it doesn’t get any better than this.”
Here we see the living room in the foreground, with the gallery hallway in the center, and the kitchen beyond. “The gallery is really important for the design,” M.A.C. told me. “It’s a conduit for the rest of the house.” A coffered tongue and groove ceiling graces the entire gallery, with arched box beams defining “bays” that create portals to the spaces off of the gallery. The arched box beams were a technical challenge, with all work milled on site.
Of the master bedroom M.A.C. said: “somebody walked in and said, ‘Oh look, someone took a boat and turned it upside down!’” The collar ties and king posts tie it all together, and the arch of the collar ties is restated above the double doors. No trim meant no room for error. Coop added, “Neil Cooper and I took 3 months on this room.”
On the top right hand corner of the image a dutch hip finishes the gable. Notice how all the lines in the tongue and groove match perfectly. Cool, no?
In this kids’ bedroom we see more tongue and groove arch work, this time over the window. Those window screens were designed by M.A.C. (“after going to a Mondrian exhibit” quipped Coop). And see the little round holes in the ceiling, one above each window? That’s the high pressure HVAC system – low profile for low visual impact.
The kitchen features died concrete counter tops. A floating shelf runs all the way around, bolted through. This was another room that required lots of careful alignment work.
The left image above shows the inglenook. The tongue and groove pieces on either side of the fireplace was created from the leftover pieces of other rooms in the house.
The right image is a great shot showing how the gallery functions, with its coffers and portals to adjoining spaces. It also hints at how the details of one room connect with all other spaces … the trim at the bottom of the capitals meets the plate rail trim of the kitchen and other adjacent rooms.
The dining room on the left is reminiscent of the master bedroom, complete with dutch hip. The plate rail serves as the head case to the windows, buffet and doors. That cool red lamp was hand painted in San Francisco. All vents in the wood ceiling were custom-made from wood on site.
The detail of the inglenook on the right shows its masonry wood burning firebox, as well as the benches that double as linen storage for the home.
On the left we see the breakfast nook, whose ceiling pitch was added to suggest an Old World craftsman look.
The main entry on the right boasts another bench that doubles as linen storage, while the arch theme is repeated above the bench. A clever drop box for mail (across from the bench) acts like a laundry chute, shuttling mail from the front door entry into the “command center”, a bill-organizing-and-paying nook in the adjacent kitchen.
Throughout the house, nothing terminates out in to space. Instead, it all ties in and continues, connecting room to gallery to entry back to room, and so on. The overall effect is that of the Renaissance ideal of design – you can’t take anything away without diminishing the whole. It all works as a cohesive unit.
Now there’s no question that the home took a lot of wood to build. As M.A.C. says, “this is the largest amount of unpainted wood I’ve ever seen in a house.” Nevertheless, a green sensibility was brought to the project. All of the cherry flooring was certified sustainable, the house collects rainwater to use for irrigating the garden and grounds, a geothermal heat pump facilitates energy efficiency, and the original 90-year-old barn was upcycled to serve as the garage.
The project was a deeply satisfying collaboration with clients and architect. “Because of the Emericks’ vision, all of the cabinetry, casework and finish carpentry meld into one seamless whole of the highest level of finish work”, says Daniel.
-Zack
Original Title: Report from the field: breaking ground at Yamhill Vineyard Residence
Original Author: Zack Semke
Originally Posted on: December 27th, 2010
Hammer & Hand CEO Daniel Thomas and Project Wrangler M.A.C. Casares visited the stunning site recently with architect and client.
We’re happy to report to be working with Ken Dyreson of Scott Edwards Architecture on a gorgeous vineyard residence in Yamhill County, sited on a hilltop amidst 340-acres of contiguous property. The winemaker client, with an eye to future generations (kids, grandkids, their kids, and so on), is passionate about creating a building that will last 200 years and more. We, too, have a passion for building to last – indeed, this zeal underpins our company’s greater environmental ethos. To build to last is the most fundamental definition of sustainability, after all.
Check out these elevation renderings by Scott Edwards Architecture…
Daniel and M.A.C. met with Ken and the client a week ago to refine the siting of the project. The team had worked together in the office a while back, using a topographical survey of the site to rough-in location and orientation of the building. That rough-in was then staked on-site in preparation for the refinement session.
Upon close examination of the site and its specific surroundings, client, designer and builder chose to rotate the building by a few degrees to maximize views and minimize the impact of excavation on the land. (Photos by Daniel)
These pictures show views east and northwest, respectively.
These images show the property’s existing farmhouse and outbuildings, as well as newly-planted grape vines that abut the building site.
Here’s our truck, and excavation equipment awaiting the go-ahead.
Stay tuned for more.
“We’ll keep you posted as construction progresses,” M.A.C. said. “I have a good feeling about this project. Some really exciting things are going to go on there.”
-Zack
Original Title: Report from the field: excavation prep at Yamhill Vineyard Residence.
Original Author: Zack Semke
Originally Posted on: April 15th, 2011
See the latest photo installment from Hammer & Hand’s Project Wrangler, M.A.C. Casares.
Hammer & Hand recently began building a new home for a winery nestled into the rolling hills of Yamhill County. Designed by Scott Edwards Architecture, the new residence and barn will overlook miles of coastal range views and pastoral landscapes. See this December post about the initial groundbreaking.
Project Wrangler M.A.C. Casares is leading the construction of the home for Hammer & Hand, and has begun a photo log of that process for publication on this blog. I sat down with him yesterday to view his latest installment, a series of images showing preparations for excavation.
This first image faces south and shows the footprint of the corner of the 104′ x 30′ barn. The crew is peeling off the valuable topsoil and stockpiling it before excavation. The deep layer of Saprolite – a chunky, dense clay native to the area – is then exposed.
This next image faces North and shows the future site of the house. The little structures pictured here are called batter boards, and are used to string out the footprint of the house. The strings are 500-pound test, and extend past the corners of the footprint so that they’re not disturbed by excavation. This high tension requires anchor points more substantial that simple stakes – hence the batter boards.
Here’s a nice image facing South.
This shot facing West shows the process of collecting the topsoil. This rich layer of earth is highly valued, and will be used in future landscaping at the site.
This shot East shows how the batter boards stand outside the future building’s footprint. The light colored earth pictured here is the saprolite.
Stay tuned for M.A.C.’s next installment. I’m looking forward to watching the project develop through his photo log.
– Zack
Original Title: Report from the field: footings for barn at Yamhill Vineyard Residence
Original Author: Zack Semke
Originally Posted on: April 28th, 2011
See the latest installment of photos by Hammer & Hand’s M.A.C. Casares.
M.A.C., our Project Wrangler, is documenting the construction process for the new home that Hammer & Hand is building at a Yamhill County winery. (View his last installment.) His latest shots follow below…
This photo, looking due West through the “batter board” used to string out the footprint of the barn, shows the beginning stages of the structure’s footings.
In this photo (looking due East) the footings for the barn have all been set, and M.A.C. and his team have begun installing two layers of rebar mat. These mats provide the structural integrity of the footer. The lengths of rebar lying diagonally across the footing are “verts” that will end up standing straight up to tie the footing to the foundation wall. The verts are #5 rebar (meaning 5/8ths in diameter) placed 12″ on-center. “Big and often,” says M.A.C.
This shot gives a closer look at the footing and rebar mats. Notice that the verts are now installed in their final, vertical orientation.
Here’s another view, looking West.
This shot shows Hammer & Hand’s J. Leaver on the sheeps’ foot, used to compact loose soil.
Here’s shot of the property’s current dwelling…
… and a view of the surrounding landscape.
– Zack
Original Title: Report from the field: concrete footing pour and form setting at Yamhill Winery Residence
Original Author: Zack Semke
Originally Posted on: May 18th, 2011
See the latest installment of photos by Hammer & Hand’s M.A.C. Casares.
M.A.C., our Project Wrangler, is documenting the construction process for the new home that Hammer & Hand is building at a Yamhill County winery. (View his last installment.) His latest shots follow below, along with his annotations…
“Looking Southwest, prepping for today’s pour: 60 yards, 3 guys, 6 hours of nonstop pouring.”
“Prepping to start pumping, the pump house laid out in the ground.”
“Starting to fill the forms for the footing, only 45 more yards to go…”
“Close up view of the forms filling up … almost not quite but a little close to not even being near done …”
“Footers done and filled, 6 hours after the first shot from the pump. Feeling tired and accomplished.”
“Footings poured and stripped.”
“Jake Welliver in the foreground with J. Leaver in the lift.”
“Just getting started … these forms are 8 feet tall.”
“Setting forms, rebar verts (verticals) protruding from the already-poured footer.”
“Forms with #4 verts tied to existing #5 verts. #4 set 12 inches on center for horizontals…”
“Looking Southeast, zoomed with Mt. Hood in the distance.”
Original Title: Report from the field: 7 weeks of progress at Yamhill Winery Residence
Original Author: Zack Semke
Originally Posted on: June 24th, 2011
See the latest installment of photos by Hammer & Hand’s M.A.C. Casares.
M.A.C., our Project Wrangler, is documenting the construction process for the new home that Hammer & Hand is building at a Yamhill County winery. (View our Facebook album of the project.) A selection of shots chronicling the first 7 weeks of progress follow below, along with his annotations….
“We’re 8 weeks in now on the project (though the photos here bring us to Week 7), and if I do say so myself, we’re kicking it! It’s a 104′ x 32′ building and we’re 90% framed up .. after pouring 8′ foundation walls.”
“Week 1: This photo, taken on pour day, shows the set up for the 2′ x 4′ footings. We poured 60 yards of concrete just for the footings. By comparison most houses use 20 yards in the entire foundation.”
“Week 2: Here are the poured footings.”
“Week 4: Skipping ahead two weeks, we see the Quick-Form Lite used for foundation form, with its solid steel panels with plywood facing. We did the foundation in two pours, both 52′ long.”
“Week 5: Here we see the poured foundation walls, complete with rain drains. The light spray line visible here is waterproofing. Layered on top of that we see the water screen which allows any moisture that hits the foundation to quickly drain down.”
“Week 6: In this shot we’ve begun to compact the saprolite fill almost to grade. Later we’ll add a 6-8″ layer of the top soil that we stockpiled onsite during excavation.”
“Week 7(a): Here we’ve constructed the 60 trusses that provide the structural support for the roof.”
“Week 7(b): Finally, we’ve added the rafter tails, 3.5X12 Glulam engineered lumber centered at 4′.”
“The next step will be to add outriggers to create eaves on the gabled ends of the structure. Then we’ll add 2X10 fascia and barge boards and roof sheeting. Photos of this process will follow in the next post. – Mac”
Original Title: Slideshow video animates progress at Yamhill Winery Residence
Original Author: Zack Semke
Originally Posted on: July 7th, 2011
M.A.C. Casares prepared this annotated progression of construction field photos taken from a single vantage point on site.
This series of images shows excavation, foundation forming and pouring, truss construction, and roof assembly of the outbuilding for our Yamhill Winery Residence.
Original Title: Yamhill Retreat celebrates site and inside/outside connection
Original Author: Zack Semke
Originally Posted on: October 14th, 2011
The Corten-clad retreat, designed by Seed Architecture and built by Hammer & Hand, embraces its bucolic environs.
This 1,000 square foot building in the hills of Yamhill County, Oregon offers a fresh take on the relationship between structure and site. Designed by Daren Dougherty of Seed Architecture and built by Roman Emery and his Hammer & Hand home building crew (with project supervision by Project Wrangler M.A.C. Casares), the Corten-clad retreat cuts a striking figure.
As I spoke with Roman recently and we pored over the client’s beautiful photos of the project (featured in this post), I was struck by a couple themes. First is the retreat’s connection to site. The building’s generous windows and doors allow the interior spaces to reach out and bring the bucolic Yamhill surroundings into the structure, making it an integral part of the experience of life within.
Next is the dramatic materiality of the structure’s exterior. The Corten steel that you see here sits in juxtaposition with its natural surroundings now. But as it weathers, the Corten will acquire that rich reddish-orangish-brown patina for which it is so valued. This natural process will transform the building and strengthen its relationship with the natural context surrounding the site.
But perhaps the most important architectural element of the retreat is its application of upcycled wood screens. These screens – really a series of sliding doors hung on a system of overlapping tracks – are a clear nod to the shoji screens of traditional Japanese architecture.
“The exterior screens enable open inside/outside connections one moment and privacy the next,” the client wrote to me. “Similarly, interior screens act as a warming, architectural detail and provide partitioning when desired. All doors are an eye-catching foil against the cement floors.” And because they were built from the salvaged wood from the deconstructed cottage that previously stood on the site, the screens connect the new retreat with the history of its place.
Please read on for an annotated tour of the Yamhill Retreat…
Glass doors accordion open to connect with the outside. Polished cement floors cover radiant heating.
Sapele hardwood graces the bar’s cabinets, built by Big Branch Woodworking.
The sapele used on the cabinets (left) was used for this exterior door (right), built by Dan Palmer, Hammer & Hand’s master jointer. Read more here about Dan’s work on custom windows and doors.
Two views from opposite ends of the same axis show how interior upcycled wood screens can both hide and provide access. “From the main room down the hallway, we installed nine bypassing doors,” said Roman. “They step, covering the WC, the entry closet and the lounge closet, but it looks like one continuous plane.”
A study in inside/outside connection: The left image shows the landscape outside, revealed by an open exterior wood screen. Immediately inside that open screen is the “bamboo pit”, open to the sky and home to a future mini-grove of bamboo. The “bamboo pit” is clad in slate, which continues through to the shower (seen in left and middle images) and on into the double-sink area (right image). The landscape-bamboo pit-shower-sink room series can either be enclosed or opened by sliding wood screens (both exterior and interior) and sliding glass shower door.
Here we see the cut-out for the bamboo pit. “Roman worked so hard on ensuring the harmony among the slate, cement board, and Corten, including the placement of the bolts,” said the client. “This image doesn’t yet show the additional detail Roman added to mask the vents, which are already painted black in this image. The bamboo will be up-lit and clearly visible through the glass shower door in the evening. Consider it living art.”
Here we see the floating staircase to the structure’s “Tower”, with balustrade and handrail custom-built by Hammer & Hand. “The hardware detail is offset nicely by the beauty of natural plaster walls,” said the client.
Detail of the custom balustrade construction.
A glimpse of the view from the “Tower”. “The upstairs flooring is made of the famous upcycled Lewis and Clark bleachers used by Hammer & Hand at its headquarters,” the client said. “We morphed the idea and filled the gaps with corks from a few favorite bottles… just happened to have a collection!”
Speaking of upcycling, here’s another gem. “M.A.C. had the terrific idea to cut the top off the old cottage pressure tank and use it as a fire pit,” said the client. “I love this image of Roman.”
And then returning to the structure… a warm summer evening at the retreat.
Open to the Yamhill evening.
– Zack
NOTE: all photography courtesy of the client. Thank you!
Original Title: Yamhill Vineyard Residence first phase of construction: a study in concrete, steel and precision
Original Author: Zack Semke
Originally Posted on: December 5th, 2011
Hammer & Hand’s “M.A.C.” Casares captures construction of the new home in striking B/W photography.
Hammer & Hand project wrangler “M.A.C.” Casares and his team are hard at work in the hills of Yamhill County building the Yamhill Vineyard Residence, a beautiful new home designed by Scott Edwards Architecture. A few months back we blogged about progress on the barn/outbuilding for the residence (see “Report from the field: 7 weeks of progress at Yamhill Winery Residence”).
Now work is well underway on the main house, and it’s an impressive study in concrete, steel, and precision.
Ultimately, the residence will look like this early rendering by Scott Edwards Architecture, with a tower-like structure (on left) commanding panoramic views of surrounding vineyards and mountains, augmented by a lower a longhouse structure (on right). For now, though, the residence will include just the tower-like structure.
M.A.C. and his team of Hammer & Hand carpenters and subcontractors have been working for the past two months to lay the foundation and build the steel skeleton of the building. And it’s been no small task. The structure is built of 16′ high, 12″ thick concrete walls topped by twelve 10′ high steel columns holding three 39′ long I-beams at 1200 pounds apiece.
M.A.C. walked me through his photo documentation of the project earlier today and the resulting photo essay follows…
This first photo (all photography by M.A.C.) shows the footprint of the structure after the foundation was poured. To provide the structural strength required for the 16′ high, 12″ thick wall, lots of rebar was required: 930 sticks of it to be exact. The team tied together this rebar into two parallel “mats” with vertical and horizontal bars placed at just 12″ on center.
M.A.C. took this aerial shot from the man basket (see his shadow along right). The “H” shape at top left is the front entry, facing north. The square pad on left is for the fireplace.
This photo is taken standing at the northwest corner of the structure looking southeast across to the vineyard. The mats of rebar have built up to the 12′ mark here, with another 4′ to go. Off in the upper right corner the barn is just visible.
The inner mat of rebar is being built up inside the outer mat.
The black that’s visible through the mats of rebar is the face of the inner form for the concrete pour. The team used the DOKA form system, which is like an erector set that you can rent for forming concrete. This image also gives you a sense for the gravity of the rebar. That’s a lot of steel! The three boxes visible along the face of the wall are knockouts for windows that will be installed in the wall later in construction. The foundation drain is laid out, wicking water away.
In this photo the forms are in place ready for the pour, and the truck has just arrived with the concrete.
Here the concrete truck has extended its boom in preparation for the pour. Hammer & Hand’s J Leaver, in black, is holding one end of the boom. The boom was necessary for this project because the wall is so tall. For a sense of scale, take a look at the figure at bottom right. That’s a tall wall.
And voilà! We’ve got our concrete walls. The walls are actually 12″ thick for the bottom 14′, and then 6″ thick for the top 2′. That’s so the 9 steel posts can sit directly on a shelf of concrete. These 10′-2″ tall posts will hold up the I-beams for the post-and-beam structure that will ultimately support the roof assembly. The space between the posts will be all glazing, offering stunning views across the Yamhill landscape.
This shot shows close-ups of the steel posts, each 7″ by 7″ and constructed of ½”-thick steel. The image on right shows the stirrup on top that will hold a Glulam for the roof structure. The two knife plates jutting out below will hold I-beams.
Speaking of I-beams, this is the first one being hoisted to the structure. It’s 39′ long, 12″ tall and 1200 pounds of steel. The I-beam will be placed across the top of the steel posts and its stirrups will hold Glulams.
The first I-beam is being lowered into place.
Here the I-beam is getting set. As M.A.C. said, “there’s no forgiveness here.” This is precision work, with tolerances of less than 1/8″. Any larger error would spell disaster…you can’t just bend this stuff into place after all! No less than 57 “embeds” were carefully incorporated into the forming of the concrete by M.A.C. and J, integrating steel plates throughout the concrete structure at precise points to accept the steel work. So when that I-beam was lowered successfully into place with its perfect fit, it was the culmination of months of preparation and care. Our guys, the steel and concrete subs, everybody had to get it just right.
This artsy shot shows how the I-beams bolt onto the knife plates on the steel posts.
The post-and-beam system is complete.
Now the structure’s just waiting for the roof package.
The next steps are to install big beam stock and get the steel wrapped in wood. The I-beams include a series of 3″ threaded studs so that the team can drill wood and bolt it onto the steel, giving our carpenters something to nail to in subsequent steps of construction.
“The Yamhill Vineyard Residence is out of the ground,” says M.A.C. “Now it’s in our carpenters’ hands. We’ll put the house together with wood from here on out.”
Please stay tuned…
– Zack
Original Title: Yamhill Vineyard Residence: rafters set for pyramidal hip roof
Original Author: Zack Semke
Originally Posted on: January 3rd, 2012
M.A.C. continues his onsite photographic series.
Last month, “M.A.C.” Casares shared his striking photos of the foundation and steel beam construction at the Yamhill Vineyard Residence, a new home designed by Scott Edwards Architecture and built by Hammer & Hand.
Today M.A.C. makes his latest installment, this time capturing construction of the rafter system for the pyramidal hip roof of the structure.
Before diving into the photos below, some jargon definition is in order. We’ll be looking at the following:
Hip Rafters: Rafters that run at a 45-degree angle from the end of the ridge to a corner of the structure. In the case of a pyramidal hip roof, the hip rafters radiate directly from the center out toward the four corners.
Jack Rafters: Shorter rafters that run between two rafters or a rafter and a top plate.
Common Rafters: Rafters that extend from the plate of the roof to the ridge at right angles to both members.
See this illustration, courtesy of homecents.com’s Illustrated Building Materials Glossary:
And now on to M.A.C.’s photos…
This photo shows the first hip rafter being placed on the southeast corner of the structure. The peak bucket at the center of the roof structure is custom made of steel and has 4 knife plates and 4 bucket grooves. The bucket grooves will hold the hip rafters and the knife plates the common rafters.
This photo shows the second hip rafter in place.
Here we see the fourth hip being lowered into position, completing the roof line of the residence.
This photo shows the 6.75″ x 21″ hip rafter running horizontally across the image, with the 5.5″ x 18″ jack rafters radiating out from it. Like the peak bucket mentioned above, the skewed buckets that the jack rafters sit in were custom fabricated for the project.
In this view looking toward the southeast, all rafters are in place. The four pieces of tube steel seen at bottom right provide the structure for a future awning that will be built there.
In this shot the boom is pointed into the center rafter, the common rafter for this face of the roof.
“A little gentle persuasion”, M.A.C. explains, “forty feet in the air.” Hammer & Hand’s Val Darrah sets a common rafter into place on the peak bucket.
Here we’re looking down the spine of a hip rafter, with jacks coming in at acute angles.
The white (actually silver) facing on the vertical beams and under the horizontals is a layer of Polyiso foam that creates a thermal break and vapor barrier between the steel structure and the wood. This will keep the steel from oxidizing and wood from rotting.
This handsome shot displays the various rafter types nicely. Moving from left to right we have a hip rafter, two jack rafters, a common rafter in the center, two more jack rafters, and finally the hip rafter at the right corner.
M.A.C. took this photo at 4:30 in the afternoon, looking due west out toward the Coast Range.
This shot was taken looking straight up at the peak. The larger members are the hips, with the commons placed in between.
Here’s a close-up of the peak bucket, with the 8X8 king post (see next photo) pointing straight down at the camera.
This shot shows the 4 hip rafters and 4 common rafters all tied into the peak bucket, with the king post dropping down from the center.
Wondering what the king post was for? This photo shows the horizontal collar ties attached to the post at the center and the hips at the four corners.
And here’s a close-up, taken from below, showing how the collar ties fit into their buckets on the king post.
M.A.C.’s team has completed the structural roof package and is ready to install the 2X6 tongue and groove across the top. The underside of the roof will be exposed underneath, providing the “old world lodge feel” sought by the client.
“The whole concept for the house is that it look like a fire tower,” explains M.A.C. “A fire tower on steroids. What was odd in construction was that it wasn’t until the roof structure went up that we could really feel the immensity of the structure. For scale, those hip beams are almost 2′ tall.”
When one considers the bucolic context, with rolling hills of vineyards surrounding and coastal mountains in the distance, the idea of a big, comfortable fire tower makes perfect sense.
– Zack
Original Title: Yamhill Vineyard Residence: roof complete, cladding on its way
Original Author: Zack Semke
Originally Posted on: February 15th, 2012
Photos capture latest phase of precision construction for new home building project in the Yamhill Valley.
“This project has been really satisfying lately,” said “M.A.C.” Casares, Project Wrangler with Hammer & Hand, of the Yamhill Vineyard Residence, designed by Scott Edwards Architecture and under construction by Hammer & Hand. “It demands as much knowledge as brawn. Every movement takes a lot of consideration and thought because there isn’t a single element of the building that isn’t tied in with everything else architecturally or structurally.”
In last month’s post about the new home construction project, M.A.C. shared photos and narrative about setting the rafters for the structure’s pyramidal roof. This month, the story’s about the completion of that roof, with its gorgeous tongue and groove deck and exposed, lodge-like system of rafters.
(Jargon Alert: for definitions of terms like “hip rafter”, “jack rafter”, “common rafter”, “collar ties” and “king post”, please refer to last month’s post, which also includes a diagram depicting these key elements of roof structure.)
This photo (all photography by M.A.C.) shows the beautiful 2X6 tongue and groove “car deck” (so called because in elevated garages a similar structure is laid to pour concrete upon … something of a misnomer in this context.) The system of rafters and horizontal collar ties reach out toward the central king post, just barely visible at extreme left.
This shot is taken directly underneath the king post. “It’s odd how tiny these beams look in this picture,” said M.A.C. “They’re big. The hip rafters are 6.75 inches by 21 inches and the jacks are 5.5 inches by 18 inches.”
Here’s a close-up of the king post, showing detail of how the collar ties connect to this central structural element.
A nice photo of a hip rafter and collar tie.
This is one of my favorite shots of the rafters, collar ties, king post, and tongue and groove. It’s a gorgeous assembly of wood that will surely be a showpiece for the new home.
Moving outdoors, this photo shows a hip rafter radiating out to a corner of the pyramidal roof structure, with two decorative “zero tails” emanating directly from it. These pieces don’t actually go into the building, unlike the jack rafter tails visible at the left and right extremes of the photo. A level cut at the end of each rafter tail creates the tapered profile.
This shot shows a zero tail at the top of the image, followed by a jack rafter tail at center and a common rafter tail at bottom. Below this eave, the window openings are now framed out.
A cold day at the jobsite.
Here we see how the overall structure has progressed. The team has begun cladding the building in ½ inch ply.
A nice elevation.
This photo shows the entryway, which will eventually serve as the pathway from the primary, tower-like structure to the future longhouse. 6X8 post and beam construction, replete with custom steel knife plates and 20-inch bolts, matches the heft and scale of the overall structure.
“This is structurally ‘heavy’, meaning there’s lots going on,” said M.A.C. “This house is probably the most structurally demanding work I’ve done. I love it. It looks easy, but the road is definitely hard-won.”
The entry way with the full building elevation visible around it.
This photo captures how the rafter tails, entryway, and soffit detailing harmonize with one another. Framing is completed, and the actual window dimensions have taken shape.
“This photo really shows the vibe of the place,” said M.A.C.
We see the shape of the windows. The soffit’s been built around the steel and framed out. The knee wall under the windows is framed. To the far right, framing for the only interior wall in the entire 1600 SF space (for the refrigerator and oven) is visible. And the open whole behind the scaffold on the left awaits the fireplace.
Next up for the Yamhill Vineyard Residence? Finish cladding, finish the front entryway, pour the first floor slab, and then bring in our partners in the trades.
“It’s really starting to feel like a dwelling now” said M.A.C. “With the sheathing on, the windows framed, the fascia complete, it gives you a different sense of the whole job.”
– Zack
Original Title: New home moves from framing to finish – photo update from the Yamhill Vineyard Residence
Original Author: Zack Semke
Originally Posted on: June 12th, 2012
Hammer & Hand’s “M.A.C.” Casares shares latest from site of new home in Yamhill, designed by Scott|Edwards Architecture.
Throughout construction of the Yamhill Vineyard Residence, designed by Scott|Edwards Architecture and built by Hammer & Hand, Project Wrangler “M.A.C.” Casares is charting project progress with his camera. He’s captured some pretty striking images – see these posts:
“Yamhill Vineyard Residence first phase of construction: a study in concrete, steel and precision”
“Yamhill Vineyard Residence: rafters set for pyramidal hip roof”
“Yamhill Vineyard Residence: roof complete, cladding on its way”
The project’s at an exciting stage now, with the transition from framing to finish work fully underway.
This shot shows the home’s windows installed, with trim and sills in. The mason’s scaffold on left leads to the masonry chimney, formed up and ready for its pour.
360 degrees of windows offer sweeping panoramas of the bucolic Yamhill environs.
The home’s exposed beams both impart an old-world lodge vibe to the interior and draw the eye to views outside. In this shot, the custom buckets for the rafters have been painted black, the ceiling completely sanded, and the sheetrock installed. At far left the hearth has been poured and the mantle is under construction.
Hammer & Hand poured the hearth and sanded it down to 2000 grit.
The surface is now as smooth as glass.
In this photo the mantle is completed and the dry-stacked Kodiak stone is nearly fully installed.
The wood for the deep sill pictured here comes from the 100-year-old barn that stood in disrepair on the northwest corner of the property. M.A.C. and his team deconstructed the barn, and stacked and dried the wood last winter.
“The client really wanted to reuse this wood, both to avoid waste and to bring the character of what was originally on the property into the new house,” M.A.C. said. “So we’re coming full circle. This spot was originally a homestead, and now we’re upcycling it into the building of this new home.”
In this shot, nearly identical with one shown earlier in this post, the stone has been installed on the fireplace, windows trimmed, and sill installed.
View of the coast range, looking west.
Next steps? “Keep trimming, get the cabinets in, and tile the bathroom and main floor,” says M.A.C. Stay tuned for the next update!
– Zack
