On left: the pavilion we will soon help build in Texas

In just over a week, The Year of Mud crew (April, Jacob, and I) will all be headed to Texas. I never thought I would have reason to say I’m going to Texas, but here we are: Texas beckons, and we are heeding the call. More specifically, the Timber Framers Guild beckons, as they are hosting a week-long workshop to build a large outdoor pavilion in the historic town of Nacogdoches. Interestingly, this will be the first workshop I attend that is not our own, and I’m excited for the opportunity to purely participate in some one else’s event. Since our timber frame instructor Tom Cundiff first worked with us in 2011, I have been very excited by the possibility of attending a TFG event, and the stars have aligned.

April, Jacob and I are all very serious about pursing the timber framing craft, which when compared to many other building techniques, is a lot more technical and demanding. I love its history, the sheer ruggedness and beauty, the scale, and the timeless quality of timber framing. We fully expect to employ timber framing in our future buildings once we acquire land, and it seems like you can almost never get enough practice, as it encompasses so many different skills — math and geometry, physics, understanding wood, joinery, rigging… needless to say, it’s a bit more involved than nailing some 2x4s together.

I’m excited to spend more time around experienced framers and pick up new knowledge, and explore a new place. The roof style is one I am particularly intrigued by. And spending a full week on the pavilion will be excellent practice for our own upcoming Timber Frame Workshop, which we’ve yet to announce, but plan on putting on our Natural Building Workshops page very, very soon.

3D rendering of the Lake Naconiche Pavilion

To be honest, I’m not much of a traveler, so this is a rare chance to experience a brand new landscape, too. Expect to hear more about our workshop experience, with plenty of photos to boot. This will be the largest structure we’ll have had our hands on to date, and that alone is exciting. Time to sharpen those chisels up.