In architecture, a “viga” is a large, exposed wooden beam, typically used in a Southwestern US Adobe Building.
The left side of the image above is the typical exterior of a structure with a viga. The right side is the inside of the structure. Basically beams to hold up the roof but also sticking out to make construction simple.
Cool, but why should we care about a viga? Its part of the style of the house we’re building. I don’t think we’ve showing the architectural rendering of the house before.
Note the blocks sticking out on the top. Those are vigas. Since we have modern construction techniques, we don’t need actual beams going through the house, so they are just a decoration. In order to help with the construction, it helps if you can find/source unique things to save time. We found and purchased a single viga from a vendor to see if it would fit our needs. Its amazing, but we wanted to take it a step farther. We’re installing lights on the underside of them to illuminate the house at night.
Today was the day we prepped the vigas before delivering them to the house for construction. While they don’t need them yet, we want the space back in our basement.
Danelle starts us off by measuring to ensure they are as similar as possible. We compared it against the first one.
These vigas are made out of fiberglass. We have to be careful cutting them to protect our lungs. Masks are mandatory along with running a vacuum to minimize the particles in the air. I also wore my ear buds to block out some of the noise.
Danelle got quite efficient during this process. Here we are opening up the back of the viga to allow the electrical components to be placed inside when its time.
When complete, we re-bagged each of them and loaded into the car for transportation.
When we arrived, there was still ice all on the inside of the house. We carried them two by two around to the basement door and inside. One more house project down. We’re looking forward to when they are installed with power to view!
Hogan Haake
That’s a great idea, especially for adding additional lighting to the house, either for aesthetics or safety. Bravo!