As many of you will know, Himself is a reincarnated Victorian engineer and inventor (he's actually a software designer, but hey!). He is meticulous and thorough, so his plans are a thing of beauty which should be shared.
Himself and our dear friend Pete spent many a happy(?!) hour designing and redesigning the tea house, discussing different types of joints, angles, load bearing timbers, roof curves, elevations, flooring depths, materials, insulation, sliding doors versus folding doors, etc (have you noticed - I almost sound like I know about technical stuff!). I was relegated to the odd comment along the lines of "no, that's not what I want, please can I have........" and "don't forget I want a wood burning stove and to be WARM!". Eventually, after their umpteenth discussion but no pen to paper, someone threw a strop, accused them of procrastination and the plans miraculously appeared!
Anyway, here are a few photos of our plans. If you click on them they will enlarge for you to see the details more clearly. Enjoy:
This photo shows the building's structure, including the roof lines, distances between the posts and so on.
Himself's ID system. All the posts and beams were numbered and lettered according to position. The next two photos show his cutting schemas and identify some of the different types of joints he needed to cut.
This one shows the concrete posts in the water, distance from water to top of post and to the bottom of the horizontal beam. Nothing was left to chance!
This one focuses on the roof - angles, joints, number of rafters, distance apart, etc.
This one shows where the pond is in relation to the tea house and which posts are above or below floor level.
Some of the details for multiple joints in a beam.
Himself's maths ........... good job he understands it!
I, in the meantime, was busy getting on with the garden design part of things - admittedly mostly in my head, but hey, who needs plans?!!! Yeah, yeah ...... I know - one rule for them, another rule for me! The thing is (in my defence!) I had had a very clear picture of the finished garden lurking in the back of my head for about 3 years by this point and had been working away on the hard landscaping to create it. I didn't need a paper plan!
Anyway, after some ongoing persusion from Himself - along with his arguement that he still didn't really understand what I was trying to do or achieve, I eventually spent considerable time and effort into putting together a scaled drawing with detailed planting plans for the Japanese garden - not! :)
The plan
The planting scheme!
Job done, everybody happy!!!
42 comments:
Creating New Worlds of Exploration...in this case, a place to sit and meditate upon and respect the Moment while drinking a potion that ritually stills the mind.
It will all be fun.
This is kind of like trying to read someone's notes on quantum physics (i.e., I have no idea what's going on or what the tea house will look like), but it's nice you've both got things down on paper which means you both know what you're doing and the thing will soon materialize. Right? Right??!?!
Looks like he's doing a thorough job on the plans. I'm really looking forward to seeing it together. A woodstove? Lucky you! Your planting list looks great! I just planted Japanese Blood grass by my pond and love how it looks already.
It's all going to look wonderful!
Hi,
How wonderful a garden and a tea house! OK I don't get the drawings but I can't wait to see the finished products. I lllllloooovvveee the idea of the Japanese Garden. What a wonderful husband. And 2 teenage girls you must be busy!
Hi Bernie, thank you for that - it'll be great when I can just sit and meditate on the moment!
Monica - Himself's notes make no sense whatsoever to me, but apparently my 10 second scribble did the trick for him!!! :)
Catherine - Himself is very thorough in all his planning(and I'm a bit slapdash ...as if you couldn't tell from my drawing!). It's all coming together really well now - and maybe I'll get into realtime on my posts soon!
The bloodgrass and other plants have taken really well and are maturing beautifully. I just hope I don't loose too many over winter.
Tess - hi and welcome! The Japanese Garden is one area in a large garden and my 'little' project has now taken 3 years!!!
Himself is fantasic - and VERY tolerant. The Gnomelets are 19 (and back at uni) and 16(in 6th form) so we frequently have a house full of other teenagers too. I love it!! :)
Hi Ruth,
Thanks for visiting my blog! It's so nice to meet you....come back to visit anytime! You could start a new fad in the UK by having a yard sale..LOL!
Looking forward to seeing your tea house.
:) Tracey
Hi Liz
Did he miss something out??? Not really, of course he didn't.
His plan makes as much sense to you as yours to him. The end result should hopefully be good mind.
Do you think you'll start planting stuff soon?
Hi Tracey, nice to see you. I'm definately thinking about a yard sale! :)
Hi Rob. You've got us sussed, we've spent 26 years not really understanding the way the other one thinks, but it works anyway! The tea house is really starting to look good now - the framework is up and the roof is nearly ready for the shingles - and the blog will catch up into realtime soon!
Planting started a while ago - I was too impatient and couldn't wait! It's maturing up nicely - I just hope the winter is gentle on the plants! :)
Ah Liz, the plans are a thing of beauty. Himself is a detail oriented person, lucky you! I think your garden design quite good as well. We rarely draw garden plans anymore, but used to when confronted with a blank space. Nothing is blank now. I can't wait for the next installment! :-)
Frances
I've missed you and popped over for a hug. Thank you, dear one, for your support over the last few weeks. Loved reading your meme ... you are 'quite the gal'! If interested, here is mine written, with not much thought, awhile ago (http://tinyurl.com/ycwslke). BTW ... You and Himself make a great pair!
Hi Frances. You're right - Himself loves to get the details right in the preparation. I just get on with it and hope it turns out alright! This is the ONLY plan I have ever drawn ..... I did it under sufferance to show Himself what I was trying to do and, as you can probably see, it took about 30 seconds! :)
Joey - I've missed you too and here's a HUGE (*HUG*)for you!
Yes, me and Himself balance one another very well - he keeps my hairbrained schemes focused in reality and I keep him in a positive frame of mind! :)
Hello there Ruth! Thanks ever so much for stopping by my blog. I look forward to reading yours. x
Hi Lucy - thanks for popping in and for becoming a follower!
I'm Liz by the way - Ruth is First-Born and she's listed because she does all the techi background stuff! (don't worry - you're not the first one to think I'm Ruth!!!)
WoW you are going to have some tea house aren't you? The plans look fantastic! I also read your 7 things about me. It was great and what an interesting life you've had. Thanks so much for finding your way to my post today.
Hi RainGardener. Thanks for popping in - I'm glad you enjoyed my posts and I hope you keep popping in to check on our progres! :)
How nice that everyone is on board with this undertaking. My hubby is also a software engineer so I totally understand this need for pefection. LOL I look forward to seeing the progress. Thank you for visiting my blog. Hope to see you again.
Hi Grace, thank you for coming to visit! Just about everyone who comes to the house gets roped in to do bits in the garden sooner or later ...... I reckon it brings everyone together - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!!
Another computer nerd eh?! Sounds like he's a perfectionist for details too LOL :)
Me again,
Liz I noticed ferns on your list and wondered if you knew about these people http://www.fernatix.co.uk/ they've been at Chelsea etc... worth a look?
Hello Liz,
I love the idea of tea house and look forward to seeing photos when it's completed.
Thanks for stopping by blog and for your kind comments. I'll be poking about the Nutty Gnome blog from time to time.
Your Japanese garden looks intriguing. The woodstove is a nice touch. Is it just to keep warm or to use for cooking too?
Thank you so much for visiting my blog, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I can't wait to see your teahouse when it gets built. What a lot of fun that will be!
Hi Rob - no, I'd not heard of them, I'll give them a look. Thanks for that. Won't be looking tonight though - been on an Outwards Bounds course doing, canoeing, caving, climbing, trapeze, zip wire, etc, etc, so am a bit tired tonight!!!
Hello Ms Opdycke and welcome to my blog!I'm glad you like what we're doing and please feel free to poke around the blog whenever you like! :)
Hello Lotusleaf - and a big welcome to you too! The woodstove is for warmth primarily, but I may make the odd cup of tea on it!
Msrobin - hello and how nice to see you! The tea house is going to be great - I'm REALLY excited about it and delighted with the progress Himself has made this weekend while I've been away enjoying myself! :)
Well, those are quite amazing plans, (not understandable), but amazing! The tea house sounds like it is going to be beautiful. I often have to draw a garden plan like yours for my husband, he just doesn't understand the waving hands.
Hi Kilbournegrove - I don't understand 'em either, but Himself does which is what really matters!
I wonder if it's a man thing, this not getting the waving hands description technique?! It works for me :)
Nutty Gnome, luv your plant list; too bad I can't just hand some ophiopogon, tricyrtis, anemones, liriope, iris, japanese painted fern... over the fence to you. (Note: we had to ban the j anemones from the main garden... are now in the hinterland where there is no water and only gravel... amazing how they grow here)
We had an 8 x 10 pergola (wisteria about ate it and floor began to rot), thus converted it into our screened-in 'tea room'. Will have to post on it soon.
We are all excited to see the progress of your Tea House.
Looks wonderful - and everyone is happy! Even me!! Something to look forward to.
Whenever you finish your projects over there (will you, do you think?), you could come over here! :-)
That's a lot of hard work. Hoping to see pictures of how it went.
Thanks for stopping by my blog :)
The Site plans are fantastic !! This is informative !! I love reading and understanding them !!Unseen Rajasthan
Hi Di - what a pity you don't live next door!I think we'd have made great neighbours and scrounged plants of each other all the time :)
Your ex-pergola tea room sounds interesting .... I'd love to see a post on that!
Shady - once this bit is done, I'm on my way!!!
Urban Green - hi and welcome. It is/has been a lot of hard work, but it's well worth it - and the photos and posts will catch up into realtime soon. We're actually at the point of being about to start putting the shingles on the roof .... so hang on in there! :)
Unseen Rajasthan - great to see you and I'm really glad you love the plans.Himself will be so pleased to have someone understand them! :0
I shall just have to come and inspect that tea house over a cup of, er, tea when it's finished!
Enjoyed reading your meme. Impressed by the gliding and the makeshift washing machine in the Land Rover! Sounds like a fabulous trip. I have visited India and Nepal, but not Pakistan, though I did sneak into Kashmir before they slammed the gates shut. Fantastic. Also, I believe my mother has a photo of herself with a ruddy great python round her neck taken somewhere on the Karakoram Highway.
Hi, thank you for your comment. Good luck with your tea house and your garden!
Hi HOTH -you are more than welcome to come over and inspect the progress on the tea house whenever you want to .... tea included :)
Lucky you - we tried to get into Kashmir, but they weren't having any of it!
Of Spring and Summer - welcome and thanks for your good wishes. Hope to see you again soon :)
Hello! Thanks for stopping by my blog - lovely to meet you!
The plans look wonderful and I can't wait to see the finished pictures of the tea house.
Hey Woozle, good to meet you too! Hopefully it won't be too long before it's finished now - I start putting the shingles on the roof tomorrow! :)
Hi, I'm just replying to the comment you left on my blog...
I too could be classed as a Rotherham girl if you like... depending on how you see things. I'm from a small town on the outskirts of Sheffield/Rotherham/Worksop - we're quite confused about where we're from as it's a Sheffield address, Rotherham Council, and Worksop telephone number!
Thank you for visiting my blog, I'm just commenting and running at the moment but will read your blog later!
Hi Liz - I know the area (and the problems!) well as I worked in various schools out that way and I have friends out there too - total confusion and identity crisis!!!
Nice to see you and hope to see you again soon :)
Wow.. such precision! Of course, much needed precision for a job such as this.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your last post! You are a fascinating woman!
Hi Spooky - it's a good job Himself is in charge of the precision bits .... I'm a bit too slapdash at times!
Thank you for that. I don't see me as particularly fascinating, but I have grabbed lots of great opportunities with both hands! :)
Wow, this is really impressive! It's going to be a lot of fun seeing this special place come together. I'm so glad you enjoyed visiting my blog and thanks for the kind comment. We are not that far apart, I'm trying to see where Pasco is - I'm out on the Oly Peninsula. Have a great day!!! Bonnie
Hi Bonnie - thank you for your kind words about my blog, I'm glad you like what we're doing.
I suspect you've also got me mixed up with someone else though - I'm in the UK, which is nowhere near the Oly Peninsular!:)
Wonderful, everything – the team work, the thought and care, the drafts, the maths. This will be a kick arse teahouse!
Camellia, I love that .... a kick arse tea house eh, wonderful!!! :)
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