Oh Deere Me

  

  Spring is a tough time for construction. The weather is unsettled, unpredictable, and just a bit quirky.
Days that are predicted as sunny are damp, and days that should be drippy are bright and sunny. Do we ignore each band of puffy clouds or run for the tarps?
     Ed and Rick keep plugging along. They finished putting the headers in for the upstairs windows and framing the north and south walls.

    The next thing to go up was the giant glulams that support the front porch and back balcony. These things run from post to post and are monstrously big and heavy. Once again, that tractor paid for itself. I suppose there would be a way for six strong guys to lift one of these in place without anybody getting killed, but I have no idea how that would be accomplished.  At least in the front, there is some room to maneuver the tractor. In the back, there is much less room, as the hill drops off dramatically

What we don't want is for the tractor and driver, namely Ed, to drop off dramatically as well.
Ed rigged a platform and chain (not OSHA approved) for the forklift tines and tied a come-along rope to the beam. Ed then hoisted up the beam and  Rick guided the beam into place. Like ants moving a Snickers Bar, they scurried up ladders and dropped that huge thing into place, without a 1/4" to spare.

What a relief! Six big, heavy, and it seemed to me, dangerous glulams, all in place.
   Once that was done they moved on to putting the plywood sheeting on the north and south upstairs walls. Again, how would we do this without that tractor.

     In the meantime, we'd hit a run of really nice weather and Ed put me to work staining cedar plywood for soffits and eaves and painting cedar trim for ..well..trim. We learned it's a lot easier to paint and stain when it's down flat than when it's cut and up two stories. I dug out the rollers and paint trays, a pile of rags and my baseball cap. Yup, it was that sunny! That raw plywood really sucks up the stain. I used five gallons on 20 sheets of plywood.  Rick's wife, Jenny came down to help me which really made shuffling the plywood a breeze. We ran out of stain in about two hours. Now only 32 sheets to go!

    In the meantime, we received another lumber delivery, this time it's support beams for the porch...6"10" pressure treated beams, the longest one at 20'.  Now the tractor can't help carry them to the back because the beams are too long. Ed and Rick had to manhandle them back there and put them on the sawhorses. Then they had to measure and notch the beams to fit around the vertical supports. There was no room for error. As usual it was a perfect fit.

      Lots of work doesn't even show. Carriage bolts, and hundreds and hundreds of 16d nails. The rest of the plywood sheeting is up front and back. Today Ed and Rick framed up the columns front and back. We haven't decided whether we will encase the columns in stone or shingles, but regardless, they'll be massive when they are finished. The beams supporting the back porch and back balcony are all in place awaiting  the floor joists.

     The front is really starting to take shape. Each day makes such a difference. Passersby tend to slow down as they go past the driveway to take a peek.










Ed is really working hard each day. Sometimes (not often) I feel guilty because I'm not much help on the construction site. But just when it begins to really bother me, I find someone a little lazier than me.  Midnight began as a barn cat, keeping the barn safe from packrats and other nasties. Now...well, now he's pretty much a couch potato.