The Winter Months

During the winter is seems that construction tends to slow down in San Luis Obispo County, partly due to weather, partly due to the holidays, and partly due to the timing of other jobs starting later in the year.  For us we usually find some time to take a vacation or work on projects of our own as well as fill in work with jobs that are small enough to complete within a few days to weeks.  In short this is what we have been up to.

Late last year the patriarch and matriarch of the Whitaker family sold their home in Arroyo Grande and were able to purchase a piece of property in the Huasna Valley, a place that they have many friends and have been visiting for nearly thirty years.  In celebration they decided to have the Whitaker family Thanksgiving gathering at their new property.  However there was next to nothing to provide shade or shelter for the gang.  So the idea was born to build a trellis from old form boards and other left over materials from other jobs.  It was a blast building with no plans other than it needed to be done within a few days, and this is what was created...

Left over TJI were used to build columns and 2x12, 2x10, and 2x6 were used to build the rafters and other details.

Chad's outlooker design.

Sometimes work can be fun, Coby swears there was a fly on Chad's head.

The trellis turned out pretty good and only took about a day or two.

Our friend John Gutierrez need a roof system to be put on the shop he was building himself so we took a few weeks to install the trusses and sheet it for him so he could finish the project.  Of course we like to use Louis' Crane when we lift things because he is simply the best and we have done work with him for many years.

Chad knows how to run the ridge blocks like a champ, he is pretty much fearless.

Phil has earned his place working on the ground,  walking plate is a young mans job.

We placed the last truss as the sun set, the short days of winter make you appreciate the long, lingering days of summer.

No shave November is a common act of defiance and as the month ends wild facial hair becomes sculpted masterpieces.

This is how to cut rafter-tails.

We were fortunate enough to return to the Van Buerden residence to install HAT channels for Soenke Construction.  These were meant to hang the ceiling material from to form the illusion that the ceiling was floating. 

Vacation!! Coby with his girlfriend Melanie visited the Eastern Sierra in December.  Note that the beard continued past November.

Another day of R and R.  Coby was invited to join his girlfriend's father at Tejon Ranch to "hunt" pheasant.  It was a blast!

The PC Whitaker Construction christmas parade float in the village of Arroyo Grande, Chad's father-in-law provided the vintager tractor and trailer.  He drove it from San Luis Obispo to Arroyo Grande, nearly twenty miles.