Roof Sheathing 3

I had a bit of work to do on the west end of the JayBee's roof. First, I measured to see if the rafters were all the right length. I added a small chunk to the ridge board. (Turns out that it needed a few more inches to make the large overhangs I wanted on both ends. The east end was fine; the west end was a few inches short.) Trimming a rafter from the bottom up while hanging on a ladder is not easy, so I was lucky that only one rafter needed trimming.

I filled the cracks around the blocks with spray foam insulation.

After the foam cured, I trimmed the excess off.

I was initially puzzled about how to mark the cut lines on the sheathing--since it required measuring from the under side but marking on the top side--and I was working alone. I came up with this method: While up on a ladder, I measured on the underside of the sheathing. Off the end of each rafter, I drilled a tiny hole to mark a point that the cut line should go through. Then, to make those tiny holes visible on the top side, I stuck toothpicks up through each hole--sticking up above the top side.

Next, I climbed up on the roof with a straightedge and marker, and connected all the holes/toothpicks to make my cut lines. I have no idea how Arlen felt comfortable up there over the weekend; I would have slid off without my safety lines. (I used two safety lines. They were tied to the trailer frame--one on each side--and thrown up on the roof. Tying myself between the two of them, I could just barely manage to stay on the roof without sliding off.) There was no way I could manage to run a circular saw while up on that roof, so I used a jig saw instead. I cut the outer edges of the sheathing while standing on a ladder off to the side, and the rest while up on the roof.

Ta dah! Trimmed and ready.

Next up: Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation. And trim, trim, trim.

Also see:
Roof Sheathing 1
Roof Sheathing 2


In case you've been wondering why I am letting greenery hang over the west end of the JayBee... I have actually trimmed a lot of it back, but most of what is left at this point are grape vines. Large, concord grapes. For some reason, they are having an odd season. There have been years when I have had edible grapes. This year, the grapes are shriveling up and drying out just as they are turning purple--so they are not edible.

This snake visited me twice today--or there were two similar snakes that visited me at different times.

Monster dragonfly.