Post and Beam - How to build

So in case I forget it, I want to tell you I am "rounded". That means I know how to do a bunch of stuff, some of which is not actually just my job. One of those things is woodworking and carpentry, yeah I know, not really girly is it. All those manly power tools and things. Actually CandiFLA and I have that in common, I too have some very nice Milwaukee power tools. And I know how to use them. But I digress.

What this post is about is not woodworking, but moreover a concept in woodworking. You see one of the really neat things about woodworking is that you, for the most part, figure out clever ways to stick two pieces of wood together to make something. And of course you stick another piece on and so on until you have made something useful, or beautiful and if you are really lucky, it is both. But the trick is picking out how make those connections. And there are good ways and bad. For example, you could just plop some glue down between them and let it dry and hope for the best.

We have seen how that turns out sometimes when our discount store purchased dresser or chair falls apart. Usually it is the glue that gave up, and the rest of the structure failed to hold it together. But in really good joinery (yes that is what we call it), the glue is often incidental. Meaning even if it did fail, it would not matter. And in excellent joinery, you don't even need the glue at all. And in those cases, the materials, mesh and meld to make something more durable than they were alone.

If you manage to build things that way, they will be useful 100 years from now, no lie. Assuming you took decent care of the piece and did not leave it out in the elements or subject it to extremes of temperature and humidity. For example, the Stradivarius violin hundreds of years old is still sought by professionals today. Around the world there are homes and structures that were built using these joinery techniques, often referred to as post and bean, or mortise and tenon construction. With proper care such buildings could last 1000 years, and in Europe some have.

So if these methods are so good, why don't we make everything that way. Well two reasons, cost, and speed. If you are going to build with post and beam, you usually need to make all of the parts yourself, and likely right at the site. So you need tools, materials, know how, and help. You are not going to lift that 500lb beam yourself. Picture the image of the barn raising from the film Witness, that is how they really get built.

Of course we don't often have a community of skilled craftspeople on tap to work such things so we take it slower and more methodically. And get the help when we possibly cannot do it ourselves or can afford it. We call in an expert. And those things take time. And cost something. And thus, there is a tendency to take the easy path, the shortcut, the rapid road.

So what does this have to do with being trans you might ask. Well, everything frankly. You see, if you are trans, and you believe you need to do something about it then you have taken on quite the construction project. I am not going to cover the litany of things you can do to feminize yourself, go Google that stuff, there is plenty of info out there. But what I do see is that girls (and I am sorry that I only have the MtF perspective, as I am one) get into a rush. And I am reminded of an old saying in my Engineering business, you can have it fast, cheap or working, choose any two. And so those girls who go quick and are successful got fast and working, but it was not cheap.

Some who know me will say, hey Sharon that sounds like a load of crap, you seem to be going really fast. They are almost right. What I am doing is working quickly to get my materials in stock, my site prep done and my plans complete. And once those are in place, then I expect to build at a very slow pace. Why you might ask? Simple, I want to be built to last.

I saw a girl at group a few weeks ago, she was new, mind you I fit that description a few months ago. But I could see that she was actually much "newer" than me. Her presentation was that of a teenager, she had on nutty fetish shoes, and frankly, she looked like a tranny, oh and she was in her late 30s. She professed to be transsexual, and had apparently started hormones. But she had not yet learned anything really about being a woman. She was ready to come out at work. And then she made a comment. I want the doctor to jack up the hormones, I can take it. I need to get there as fast as I can. This floored me.

I mean, if I could snap the fingers, and be there tomorrow that might be awesome. It probably would come at some cost though, most of the real world is not magic. And so I said to this girl, hon, this is like baking a cake, you do not cut the time in half by doubling the temperature of the oven. The moderator thanked me for that analogy as it is spot on. Now I have some friends that do not completely agree with this, they think you should go as fast as you can without jeopardizing your health. And that is probably a good idea, but I guess my question is, if I rush, am I building with post and beam, or am I just using glue. And it kind of feels like glue to me.

So for me, this is going to take a while, not the deciding what I want to build part. That is pretty much done. I need to figure out a whole life thing, not just do I want boobs, and when. This is a complete construction project. Site prep, materials prep, foundation, plans, permits, and expert craftsman may need to be called in, masons, electricians, plumbers among others. This is going to take some time. How long, who knows, but it ain't gonna be done next week. Years I would guess and considering I do not have my permits worked out yet, it might be a very long time. In the mean time, I think I will go look at some siding, I hear there is a lovely cedar shake I can use.