"Ben, the two of us..."

That's my tribute to the late MJ. Admittedly, I used to have a poster of him when I was 10. I remember that for one month each year we were the same age.

It's amazing what can get accomplished when you work with someone who has more experience and knowledge than you. Our friend/building consultant, Ben, worked with me on the cabin yesterday. We finished putting up the first course of 2x6 rafters (see the previous post for an explanation). It took awhile to get everything sorted out. The reason Jim and I had such difficulty last week was because the ridge plate wasn't quite centered nor was it level. Consequently my 45 degree angles were more like 43 and 47 degrees. Once we got things figured out the rafters went up pretty quick. Today we'll add the second course of rafters and perhaps get to laying down the roof sheathing.

Ain't she a beaut! (spoken w/ Aussie accent)

Prior to working on the roof, I went ahead and put up the wall separating the kitchen and bathroom. We're still deciding on what type of door to use for the bathroom. We discussed going with a folding door to minimize floor space. A narrow louvered door might also do the trick.

The loft area is visible here

Christy and I have chosen terracotta red for the roof color. We're going with a metal, standing-seam roof instead of the standard asphalt roofing shingle. The roof has the Energy Star rating; it's comprised of 50% recycled content; it offers good solar reflectance and emissivity - 32% and 87%, respectively (which equates to lower energy costs); the manufacturer offers a 40 year warranty (40 years!!!); and lastly, it's recyclable.