Day 2 - The Frame Raising

Saturday, October 14

 

Saturday morning arrived,
and we were ready to start raising the bents.

After moving the crane into position,
the crane lifted the first bent up slightly - just enough to place wooden pegs underneath
to use as "rollers."

The crew then rolled the bents into position,
and the first bent began to rise!

...and a little higher...

The crew then "walked" the bent over to its final desination, lined up the pegs at the bottom of the posts with the holes pre-drilled in the floor,
then the crane GENTLY lowered the bent
into position.
The bent was then braced to the
subfloor and nearby trees.
The second bent was raised, then the crew began attaching the bents to each other.

Here you can see the purlins being put into place. That's Ritch and Brian on the ladders.

(Purlins provide the roof support and are similar to rafters; the main difference is that purlins are horizontal and rafters are vertical. The side bays of our timberframe have purlins, while the middle bay is a combination of purlins and rafters.)
Not all of the action was happening on the deck. Here, John is nailing the metal tie staps to the purlins.
Setting another purlin in place
(and hanging on for dear life.)

"I CAN'T WATCH!"

(Lori's favorite phrase for the day,
as the guys climbed to new heights.)

Wow! The end result on Saturday.
The left bay of the frame is now complete.

This bay will become the master bedroom, closet, and bath (on the first floor) and a bedroom, closet, and bath (on the second floor).
The view from the side.
A closer look up through the frame. The large square that you see in the middle of the roof is for the dormer.