Chestnut pillars

Today was a big day, putting in one of the main supporting pillars of the house. They are local chestnut and Mateu selected the trees from the wood yard and debarked and sanded them here,then cut them to size with a chainsaw.  These trunks were selected do that they match each other and are easy on the eye when you look at the pillar from top to bottom.  We considered using a single tree, but it would have been a challenge to find one of the right size all the way up and the line of sight will be cut by the terrace anyway.  The first floor pillar is held in place by a metal spike in the bottom f the trunk into the beam below and a hidden wire buried in the cob.

This is an especially fine piece of work by Mateu and it gives me great pleasure to see such a craftsman at work.  There is no substitute for skill and experience on a project like this, which is completely organic and every joint is unique.  The house is growing more beautiful b the day and I can’t wait to live in it!