3.6.2016 - Sheathing is Done!!

Quite the Red Letter Day for us - all the roof sheathing is now done!  We couldn't be more excited to be able to check this block - now we are pretty safe from the elements.  Here's how the day went...

We cut the next piece of sheathing and Jim got it up on the landing.

I went up on the upper landing to help support the sheathing while Jim got it outside.

Once he got it in place, I had to take a picture of what it looks like from the inside.  Not much roof section left to fill in!

The sheathing is in place and Jim is getting ready to fasten it in place.

It's really tough to work on this side - you can see that Jim is basically vertical as he's trying to get these screws in.  Plus it's pretty hard on his feet because there's not much room to perch on those toe boards!

Jim decided to cut this next piece a little different.  There are many angles to this piece and it would be really tough to get them all perfect on the ground.  So he basically cut a rectangle for the next section.

He has no choice but to take the sheathing up on the outside now.  Getting it up this high on the scaffolding is not easy either!

Readjusting...

...and then sliding the piece into place.

Fastening the piece down...

Now that the piece is in place and fastened a little, Jim puts a straight edge up...

 

...and then uses his saw to cut off the extra!

Then he cut two little pieces for either side...

Cutting the very LAST piece of sheathing!

Definitely have to sign this one for posterity!

Attaching it...

Again...you can see how Jim is vertical working on this steep roof.  Scary!

Ta da!!  It's done and Jim is one happy man - with one happy partner on the ground!

Putting some tape on to help keep out water until we can get some underlayment on.

 

Finishing up the tape...

While Jim was working on the roof, I started dismantling all the tarps and plastic that Jim had stapled up to try and keep water out.  It looks so much better without all that plastic down!  Plus, water had worked its way under the plastic near the door so it was a little hazardous to walk on.  Another nice block to check!

Not one to rest on his laurels after a good day, Jim wanted to start investigating a next step.  He has spent a lot of time researching which type of fascia board to use.  He's getting a quote on the one he wants but it's not structurally heavy enough to support gutters.  So Jim ordered some special steel track that only has the flange on one side to attach to the bottom of the tails.  This gives him a way to attach the fascia board as well as the soffit and gutters eventually.

Some end-of-the-day pictures...front side...

...and the side with its new roof!

High 37/Low 22

 

3.5.2016

More electric progress this morning...Jim got the conduit placed in the holes on the outside of the frame.  He then ran wire across and down to a box on the other side.

 

He continued wiring up boxes and getting receptacles installed and working.

We had thought it was going to be a little warmer than it turned out to be - especially with a pretty brisk wind again.  But after lunch, Jim went back up and got all the screws finished on the first course of the sheathing.

We cut the next piece of sheathing and Jim carried it out and onto the landing.

I helped steady the sheathing from the inside while Jim pulled it to the outside and then got it into place...

Getting everything aligned and into place...

Everything was a good fit so it was on to attaching!  Things went a little better on this side of the hip rafter - by the time Jim stopped to come home and get ready for church, he had gotten the whole piece fastened down.

 

High 31/Low 16

 

3.4.2016

Jim again worked on some wiring this morning.  He got the holes drilled through all the steel on top of the door frame.  He put grommets in the middle studs and is making some conduit for the thicker end pieces.

 

He got some more outlets installed...these are 20 amp industrial receptacles.

 

Then Jim switched gears to working on the roof.  He got the upper and lower track pieces installed for the dormer window area.  Next came some temporary rafters - Jim will use these to attach the sheathing but they will eventually come out when he installs the dormer.

 

Putting the last temporary rafter in place.  He also put more screws in some of the rafter areas that he couldn't reach before.

Measuring and getting ready for the next piece of sheathing...

Pulling up a full sheet of sheathing is not so easy this way...

Setting it into place...

Starting to fasten the sheathing down...

Cutting the next piece...

Fitting this one into place - little difficult because now Jim has to work on some uneven planks to be able to reach the ends of this piece.

Fastening all the screws into place.  Unfortunately, Jim ran into some issues again trying to get the screws fastened at the hip rafter.  He basically has to get the screw at one perfect spot where the rafter bends - otherwise, the screw just bounces off.  He spent maybe 45 minutes and got 3 screws in!  It was very frustrating for him - especially when you look up and see all those connections left to go.  But perseverance is Jim's middle name!

End-of-the-day...really looking great.  The sky looks very wintery and it felt wintery this afternoon - the temperatures are supposed to start warming up which will be so nice!

 

High 32/Low 10

 

3.3.2016 - First Working Light Switch!

Another really cold day and the scaffolding platforms were still covered with a little sheen of ice - not a good roof day.

So...Jim worked inside on wiring today.  And...let there be light!  We have our first working light switch and light in the bathroom!  As well as a working outlet nearby.  Very exciting - and there will be lots more of that to come.

I got to put the grommets in the stud openings while Jim just pressed on with wiring.

 

One of the challenges with steel framing will be all the inside finishing work - which includes the wiring.  Jim needs to run wiring above the door where all the header pieces are located.  He decided he will cut holes in the steel and run some conduit through the holes to feed the wire through.

 

He didn't have the right size conduit, so at the end of the day he headed to Lowe's to pick that up as well as some more outlets.

 

High 25/Low 8



3.2.2016

Our forecast snow never materialized but we did have some a little rain overnight that froze.  The weather news of the day was the cold and the wind - gusts up to 40 mph!  So definitely not a good day to be up on the roof.

Jim went this morning to pick up some steel he had ordered.  After lunch, he headed out to the site.  He worked on more electrical work inside.

Part of the steel that Jim had ordered was to make box rafters out of the two rafters on either side of the dormer window area.  He just decided he wanted the extra stability.  This afternoon, he got both of those pieces cut and mostly attached to the rafter.

He also put up a 3' section of scaffolding on each of the towers.  Because this roof is so steep (see note below!), this extra height will allow him to work a little safer - he won't have to climb from the towers to the roof before he even begins.  He also attached some planks so that he can work on the section of roof where there is no scaffolding.  On top of all that, he got the rest of the end angle put on the tail rafters. 

Quite the day's work on a blustery day!

 

I updated yesterday's blog post because I made an error in describing the steep pitch of the roof - the front and back sides are a 12/12 pitch but the side that we are working on now is a 16/12 pitch.  That means that for every 12" horizontally, the roof rises 16".  This is the steepest pitch on the entire carriage house!

 

High 30/Low 7

 

3.1.2016

Jim worked on more electric work this morning...running more wire, wiring up more boxes...

...and getting things ready for switches!

In the afternoon, we again turned our attention to sheathing.  I was up on the landing to hand Jim some tools for the first piece we put up today on the front...

Cutting the last piece of sheathing for the front roof section!

Walking out on top of the wall to carry the piece over to the front...

Putting it into place!

Fastening the last piece down...

A few pieces of tape on the course seams...

And the front roof section is all sheathed!

Taking a moment to look out the window!

In order to work on the big side section, Jim has to build up another section of scaffolding.  Unfortunately, we don't have any more 5' sections so he had to pillage from one of the front towers.

Setting up the scaffolding on the side...

The first step is putting on the angle.  First, Jim wanted to cut a little bit off from the angle on the back side.  He left it a little long to see how the corner would go and now needed to use the grinder to cut it off.

Putting the angle on the rafter tails...

It was tough for Jim to get enough leverage to be able to screw the corner down since the scaffolding tower is not real close.

Putting up the next angle section...

Cutting the first piece of sheathing...

Carrying the sheathing up the scaffolding...

Putting it into place...

It was a perfect fit first time out so Jim starts to attach it.

This section of roof has a 16/12 pitch - the steepest in all of the carriage house.  Jim said it feels like scaling a wall!  He's almost vertical trying to get the screws in.  This is going to be a real challenge - and a scary one!

 

End-of-the-day shot...

 

We have a winter weather advisory out tonight and into tomorrow afternoon for snow and ice - definitely doesn't sound like it will be a roof day tomorrow!

 

High 34/Low 23