The most recent side projects that Kirk and I have been working on for homework involve finishing wood and hunting down materials.

We've collected some miscellaneous odds and ends: very cool salvaged wood that turned out to have lead paint on it (dang it!); new redwood from an auction (for things like the pump house); funky but possibly neat wood windows for outbuildings; old and awesomely tall french doors for outbuildings or sliding pantry doors.

Most recently, I made several trips to a local sawmill to pick out some rough sawn planks of douglas fir for our bedroom ceiling. The wood is very rough- the splinter that went under my thumb nail today was unreal!- and very charming (the wood, not the splinter. The splinter was not charming at all). We tested some different finishing methods (light sanding, brushing by hand, and sealing). It turns out that clear matte sealant is pretty much invisible on smooth sanded wood but looks faintly greasy and plasticy on deeply textured wood. The planks looked beautiful when sanded with an Osborn brush but it was definitely a more finished and smooth look than the rough and rustic edge were going for. We couldn't find a halfway point on the sanding though. Trying to clean up just a little bit of spotting yielded a totally smooth patch that stood out amongst the deep grain. It was all or nothing and so we went for nothing- no sanding and no sealant. We did our best to clean off the dirt and loosest debris with a stiff bristled grooming brush that turned out to be the best tool for the job. We cut them to size and slid them up onto the beams.

We have also been taking stock of our logs. We plan to have five peeled logs holding up various patio overhangs. Oaks are plentiful on our property. They are not as plentiful as pines, which grow like weeds, but the oaks have more interesting curves and there were enough that needed to be removed for power lines, leach lines, etc that we chose to use them for the tree posts. The challenge was finding enough of them that were least 6" thick over an 8-13 ft span. Our trees are still quite young so it was easier said than done. Once we tracked down a handful, I got to try my hand at de-barking. Some sections peeled away like butter, putting me in a hypnotic trance. The majority, however, were more of a hand burning fight against a very tight fitting skin.

Partially peel oak log