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| Raising the trusses |
Then: The 5th Week of July
The crew arrived on Monday and began final preparations to raise the trusses. While I was trimming trees, I heard a chipmunk "screaming" and looked up to see a hawk grab it right off a tree. Very dramatic! And not a great way to start the day.
RJ and Mike came up after lunch to watch the crew raise the double truss. Four of them climbed the third and fourth outside poles, one on each pole and each with a pulley attached to one end of the trusses. Working together, they pulled the trusses up the poles into place. Amazing! But with the trusses in place, it was discovered that the loft rafter was 3" too high. Lowering it was their job for Tuesday.
My job on Tuesday was to work on filling the well pipe ditch to the cistern. Mike helped, and RJ finished it. What a job that was!
Friday is JB's last day at work. He is taking his three weeks in time rather than extra pay so he can get out here more quickly. Retirement! I have an idea that it is going to be a big adjustment for him. He's leaving on Saturday and should be here by Wednesday or Thursday.
I asked the crew foreman if he could put in the ceiling for us which would be the insulation and tongue-in-groove pine. I also asked him to build the front porch. He agreed and gave us a very reasonable quote. Thank goodness, because there's no way I could see us finishing that 20 foot ceiling, or building the porch with everything else we had to do. And regardless of what else we had to do, there was just NO WAY we would even know how to go about doing that ceiling.
JB left Illinois Saturday morning and got to Sioux Falls, SD. It's time for the annual Sturgis motorcycle gathering so he's surrounded by "hogs" on the highway. He got all the way to Billings, MT, on Sunday! He will probably arrive by Tuesday, so I get Down There to do shopping and laundry. That little camping trailer is about to become a lot smaller. Saw a couple wild turkeys on the south ridge just before I left.
Now: June 15, 2011
It is 34 degrees outside this morning, but sunny and clear. And the ceiling is wonderful. Even with our pine walls, the ceiling is one of my favorite parts of our home.
Yesterday was another beautiful, but windy day, with no rain. Perfect for working outside. JB finished nailing all the joists into their hangers, then we got all twelve 4X8 ft pieces of plywood put on top and nailed in. Now we can actually walk on our deck! It is very firm and sturdy, but it is a bit rustic. Our next step is to put up the three middle poles, then waterproof the plywood and cover it with tar paper. At that point, we will be ready to put on the decking and the railing. The outside steps up to it will be built after we put up the steel sides. Looking at what I just wrote, it feels like we'll be lucky to finish by August. . .
I do need to mention our wild flowers. They are everywhere. It's just like living in the middle of a 40 acre garden right now. I have been carrying around my National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wild Flowers with we for the last two years trying to identify them all. So far I have found the names of 35 of them, but there are still a few that I can't find. Named or not, they are all beautiful. Yellow is the predominant color with Arrowleaf Balsam Root vividly covering all the hill and mountain sides. We also have the yellow Arrowleaf Arnica. There are a variety of purple flowers, the most numerous of which are Lupine and Wild Sweet Pea. There is also a myriad of small to tiny white, blue, and pink flowers. The white Flox is just blooming and is stunning with its tiny orange center. I enjoy all the seasons Up Here, but I think Spring is my favorite, watching the solid white turn into a rainbow of color.
The crew arrived on Monday and began final preparations to raise the trusses. While I was trimming trees, I heard a chipmunk "screaming" and looked up to see a hawk grab it right off a tree. Very dramatic! And not a great way to start the day.
RJ and Mike came up after lunch to watch the crew raise the double truss. Four of them climbed the third and fourth outside poles, one on each pole and each with a pulley attached to one end of the trusses. Working together, they pulled the trusses up the poles into place. Amazing! But with the trusses in place, it was discovered that the loft rafter was 3" too high. Lowering it was their job for Tuesday.
My job on Tuesday was to work on filling the well pipe ditch to the cistern. Mike helped, and RJ finished it. What a job that was!
Friday is JB's last day at work. He is taking his three weeks in time rather than extra pay so he can get out here more quickly. Retirement! I have an idea that it is going to be a big adjustment for him. He's leaving on Saturday and should be here by Wednesday or Thursday.
I asked the crew foreman if he could put in the ceiling for us which would be the insulation and tongue-in-groove pine. I also asked him to build the front porch. He agreed and gave us a very reasonable quote. Thank goodness, because there's no way I could see us finishing that 20 foot ceiling, or building the porch with everything else we had to do. And regardless of what else we had to do, there was just NO WAY we would even know how to go about doing that ceiling.
JB left Illinois Saturday morning and got to Sioux Falls, SD. It's time for the annual Sturgis motorcycle gathering so he's surrounded by "hogs" on the highway. He got all the way to Billings, MT, on Sunday! He will probably arrive by Tuesday, so I get Down There to do shopping and laundry. That little camping trailer is about to become a lot smaller. Saw a couple wild turkeys on the south ridge just before I left.
Now: June 15, 2011
It is 34 degrees outside this morning, but sunny and clear. And the ceiling is wonderful. Even with our pine walls, the ceiling is one of my favorite parts of our home.
Yesterday was another beautiful, but windy day, with no rain. Perfect for working outside. JB finished nailing all the joists into their hangers, then we got all twelve 4X8 ft pieces of plywood put on top and nailed in. Now we can actually walk on our deck! It is very firm and sturdy, but it is a bit rustic. Our next step is to put up the three middle poles, then waterproof the plywood and cover it with tar paper. At that point, we will be ready to put on the decking and the railing. The outside steps up to it will be built after we put up the steel sides. Looking at what I just wrote, it feels like we'll be lucky to finish by August. . .
I do need to mention our wild flowers. They are everywhere. It's just like living in the middle of a 40 acre garden right now. I have been carrying around my National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wild Flowers with we for the last two years trying to identify them all. So far I have found the names of 35 of them, but there are still a few that I can't find. Named or not, they are all beautiful. Yellow is the predominant color with Arrowleaf Balsam Root vividly covering all the hill and mountain sides. We also have the yellow Arrowleaf Arnica. There are a variety of purple flowers, the most numerous of which are Lupine and Wild Sweet Pea. There is also a myriad of small to tiny white, blue, and pink flowers. The white Flox is just blooming and is stunning with its tiny orange center. I enjoy all the seasons Up Here, but I think Spring is my favorite, watching the solid white turn into a rainbow of color.
I would love to see the designs on this. Does the bottom cord of these trusses clear the whole span or is it four pieces of wood on the bottom holding it all together? Anyway I can see a close up of the trusses themselves. Great work love the blog
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