Looking Like a Pavilion Bucks

By the end of the summer our concrete patio had safely cured, and our lumber was dry enough to use. It was time to frame the pavilion! Framing the pavilion was one of our fastest and most satisfying projects to date.

We used timber from our property to frame the structure. Early this spring, Fred helped us fell some large fir trees that were infected with dwarf mistletoe (the parasite, not the Christmas green).

We brought the logs to Fred’s sawmill for him to rough-cut. Sam was tasked with sawing the nubs off while balancing on a log in the rain.

The wood dried out over the summer and was ready to be cut to the final size in September. Fred cut 8×7’s for the posts, 6×6’s for bracing, and some other custom sizes for us. He even cut an angle on the two roof-support beams to match the pitch of the roof.

After much debate about how to preserve the wood (stains, clear coats, etc), we ordered “Baker’s Gray-Away Wood Seal” from a place in Texas. We experimented with different mixes of their clear and pigmented oils until we found the magic blend.

Then I spent a solid week applying the oils. It brought out the natural colors in the Doug Fir and eventually dried.

The cats were eagerly awaiting their shaded structure and made sure I didn’t take too many water breaks. They have no idea what it’s like to stand in the sun for hours while sweat pools in your respirator.

Meanwhile, Sam was in the shop making brackets with his newest machine – the Scotchman Ironworker!

It punches holes/slots, cuts, and bends metal! It can even shear thick pieces of angle.

It is pretty neat and much faster at these simple tasks compared to the CNC.

Sam made a whole collection of brackets in an hour or two! Then he sandblasted them and painted them black. Painting was the most lengthy task.

Douglas, the carpenter, returned to frame the pavilion. He arrived with a giant circular saw and cut all the wood to length. The saw enabled him to cut very precise angles, especially compared to what Sam would have achieved with his chainsaw.

Sam and I installed the base brackets into the concrete blocks, checking a hundred times that the four corners were square. Then we drilled holes in the bottoms of the columns so they would sit flush on the brackets.

Douglas and Sam began the assembly! It went up so quickly!

We didn’t even need to call the ER – the erection barely took four hours.

Sam’s brackets looked real sharp!

The roof joists and fascia went up the following day. Douglas used some fancy carpentry tricks to make the fascia boards very straight and square. If only we had half of his knowledge when we framed the shop…

Even with the days getting shorted, the roof framing was complete by dusk!

Progress continued. Sam and Douglas put all the sheathing up the next day. Unlike our shop roof, they didn’t have to trim every single piece of plywood. Douglas was so precise with the framing that they were able to throw up a bunch of full sheets and nail them down!

We are so over covering structures with tarps and plastic, especially now that we have a real garage door and don’t have to listen to plastic flapping in the wind anymore. Sam and Douglas immediately applied a “peel and stick” roof underlayment to the plywood. No shingles, no problem. We’ll welcome the fall rain (if we ever get any).

Douglas’s work was done; however, ours was not. First up was installing the wind barrier. We ordered a “Sleek Fence” from Canada to act as a wall on two sides. The metal fence sure lived up to its name. “Sleek” might even be an understatement.

Next, Sam hooked up the propane for the grill. I marveled at the flaring tool I had somehow never seen before.

We tested it out that evening and found that the grill performs better with the new regulator!

We still need to install the shingles, metal fascia, soffit panels, and lighting, but we have a pavilion that we can use!

Hopefully the cats don’t mind sharing their new space with us…