Roof Rafters 3

I began the day by peeling back the roof tarp on the west end of the JayBee so I could continue the rafter work. After last night's downpour, today was sunny and windy. Very windy. Quiz question: What will fill the JayBee this time of year if the house is left without a cover--even more so on a windy day?

Those who answer "leaves" are correct! In addition to the leaves that collected in the JayBee today, there were also red berries dropping and schmooshing everywhere. Very pleasant.

Once I climbed up onto the ceiling joists on the west end of the house, I noticed how nice the view is from there. If there was not a house in the way, the river view would be great.

The insect world ruled today. I was visited and sometimes hounded by several species. Many hornets and bees...

...a couple of cicadas (Can you find the one in the photo below? No, it's not the hornet. It blends in with the leaves behind it.). This photo also shows some of the berries that have not yet fallen and squished inside my house.

I think of this kind of bug (below) as a "stink bug." I don't really know its official name.

These dragonflies (below) were so "occupied," I had some difficulty dislodging them from my shoe.

I began the day with five more sets of rafters ready to install. I fastened the first set,

and then fastened two more sets in the west end of the house.

Dale arrived to help, and he offered to take some photos of me installing two sets of rafters in the east end of the house.

Now the easier stuff is done. What's left (as far as roof rafters go) is to figure out the east and west end roof overhangs, and the north- and south-facing gable peaks. Lots of compound angles to figure out and cut.


Also see:
Roof Rafters 1
Roof Rafters 2
Roof Rafters 4
Roof Rafters 5
Roof Rafters 6
Roof Rafters 7
Roof Rafters 8
Roof Rafters 9
Roof Rafters 10
Roof Rafters 11
Roof Rafters 12
Roof Rafters 13
Roof Rafters 14
Roof Rafters 15
Roof Rafters 16
Roof Rafters 17
Roof Rafters 18
Roof Rafters 19
Roof Rafters 20
Roof Framing Wrap-Up

Roof Rafters 2

Today was very summer-like--bright, hot, humid. I was in shorts and a t-shirt, and too hot at that. No rain, though; great day for working on the house.

Before I began, I tied open the tarps covering the doorway and windows. The wildflowers behind the JayBee (to the north) are quite pretty at the moment. The bees were appreciating them a lot today.

I began rafter installation by hanging a joist hanger centered over every 24" o.c. stud in the west end of the house. (I had originally intended that these joist hangers would attach each rafter to the ridge board. What was I thinking?! They would never work for that. So, I switched things around. These will hold the tail ends to the walls. The hurricane ties I purchased as wall connectors will actually attach the upper ends to the ridge board; I'll use one on each side of each rafter.) I used three nails and one screw on each hanger. (Nails have more shear strength than screws.)

I put some boards on top of the ceiling joists--to give me something to stand on.

I wrestled the first rafter into place. Just sitting there--without fasteners yet--it looked kind of perfect.

It got more complicated as I began to fasten the rafters because the weight of one rafter deflects the ridge board just enough to make it hard to attach the rafters straight and square. Clearly they have to be installed in pairs. Finally, I had the first pair fastened.

I cut four more rafters...

...and installed them.

The beginning of a roof!

Also see:

Roof Rafters 1

Roof Rafters 3

Roof Rafters 4

Roof Rafters 5

Roof Rafters 6

Roof Rafters 7

Roof Rafters 8

Roof Rafters 9

Roof Rafters 10

Roof Rafters 11

Roof Rafters 12

Roof Rafters 13

Roof Rafters 14

Roof Rafters 15

Roof Rafters 16

Roof Rafters 17

Roof Rafters 18

Roof Rafters 19

Roof Rafters 20

Roof Framing Wrap-Up

Roof Rafters 1

Even after the rain stopped this morning, the day remained very dark and very humid.

I spent the morning in the JayBee, reading roofing chapters in books...

...and drawing a rafter template on the floor of the JayBee. (In the photos below, I enhanced the lines of my drawings in Photoshop so you can see them.)

I am using 2x10s for my rafters. That's much more rugged than is required structurally; I want the added depth in order to install a lot of insulation in the roof.

I cut the peak end of a rafter (left end in photo below) with the miter saw and drew the tail cuts.

I cut the tail-end cut and most of the bird's-mouth cut with the circular saw and then finished the bird's mouth with the hand saw.

I then made sure the rafter matched the drawn template.

I cut another rafter to match--so I now have one as a template and one I can use to install and make sure the template is right. Hopefully tomorrow I will install my first roof rafter!


Also see:
Roof Rafters 2
Roof Rafters 3
Roof Rafters 4
Roof Rafters 5
Roof Rafters 6
Roof Rafters 7
Roof Rafters 8
Roof Rafters 9
Roof Rafters 10
Roof Rafters 11
Roof Rafters 12
Roof Rafters 13
Roof Rafters 14
Roof Rafters 15
Roof Rafters 16
Roof Rafters 17
Roof Rafters 18
Roof Rafters 19
Roof Rafters 20
Roof Framing Wrap-Up


I went on an eagle hunt late in the day. At least one eagle had been calling all day down by the river, so I went to see if I could spot it. I found more mushrooms (so added photos to yesterday's post) and signs that fall foliage colors are on their way.

When I got down to water's edge, I startled the eagle (who was directly overhead) who then startled me as it took off--so I didn't get a photo of it.

Guess who joined me?

Top Plates

Good news: With all the pouring rain we have had this week, not a drop ended up inside my JayBee. No leaves got inside either. ::: dancing' a jig :::

Today was my day to add the second top plate to the north and south walls. I planned to construct each top plate out of two scarfed 14-foot 2x4s.

The boards were too long for me to make the scarf joints on my table saw by myself. I decided to make them using the circular saw instead. First, I used my pipe clamps to set up the boards so I could make the cuts to all the boards at once.

Since I have plenty of cinder blocks :-) I used some to hold the boards.

With the circular saw, I made tons of cuts.

I used a hammer and chisel to smooth out the joints.

Then, I got really lucky; Dale came over to help. Going up and down the ladder a gazillion times and hefting those long boards up onto the walls would have taken me days. Having another set of hands helped tremendously. I stopped taking photos (sorry) but we got the job done quickly. See? Second top plate installed.

For your added enjoyment, I took photos of some of the mushrooms growing in my yard at the moment. With all the rain we've had, I have a bumper crop this year.

People tell me on a regular basis that it would be nice if I was in more of the photos. Since I'm both the primary builder and the photographer, that is a hard request to grant. I tried an experiment today: I set the timer on my camera, grabbed Bear, and tried to get into position... Oops! Didn't quite go as planned...

Why? What's the Point?

I've had a few conversations with people recently who are new to checking out my project. As usually happens, they were a bit puzzled about why I am putting so much energy into a house that is so tiny, on a trailer, just the first of TWO intended houses, so much more work than using a yurt or clunker mobile home for a few years, etc. If you're a new visitor/follower here, have similar questions, and don't want to read this blog from the beginning, I recommend two posts:

Long Time Comin'

Why don't you just...?

Those posts attempt to explain the dreams, desires, and conditions that have led to the decisions I've made. Enjoy!

Revised Timeline

When I first began planning this project in earnest--back in January--my thought was that I would build the JayBee and move into it before winter set in. It was a nice idea, but I had no clue at the time just what was headed my way during the spring and summer that would seriously reduce the amount of time I had available for the project. By April, it was clear to me that keeping to the original timeline would be impossible. As many have suggested, I could pay others to do a bunch of the work (assuming I could find eager, competent help--not necessarily a sure thing, I've sadly discovered) in order to keep to the original timeline. Since one of my major reasons for taking on this project was my desire to build the home myself, that solution was simply unacceptable to me. So, I've revised the timeline, in order to keep building the house myself--and preserve my sanity and the *fun* in the project.

My plan now is to move into the JayBee sometime next spring or summer. (I'll just have to limp my current, sad house through another winter.) I really have to get a roof on the building (next phase), finish the exterior walls (frame the entryway and the west-end bumpout), and install the windows and door before the snow flies. If I luck out (both weather- and time-wise), maybe I'll get some of the siding on the house before we're buried in snow and/or dealing with sub-zero temperatures. The excavation for the water and septic lines won't be done until next spring. During the winter, I'd like to work on the interior... I can always dream, can't I?

Rain Proofing

I felt a bit funky today, so it was nice that I could move at slow speed. I fastened the west-end sheathing that overlaps the north and south walls. I worked on the last bit of sheathing for the east-end peak.

It's amazing how much time can be spent on something so small. By the time I thought to take a picture of it installed, I'd already covered the area with a tarp.

There are now tarps to cover all of the openings, and they can be tied open to allow access and air flow.

I'll add a photo tomorrow that shows all the tarps down. Not only was the JayBee collecting water before; it also collected leaves. I hope to spend far less time now bailing water and ejecting schmutz!

I finished the day by straightening the whole yard. I have a sizable pile of cinder blocks! I also have some tarps that are NOT in use at the moment.

Update 19 Sep 2011: I promised another photo but then...I left for work when it was barely light, and I returned from work when the daylight was mostly gone. This was the best I could get:

All covered and ready for the anticipated rain.