RiverEdge

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Roof Rafters 9

Regaining momentum once it's lost can be really challenging. That's how it felt to begin working on the JayBee's roof rafters again--after not touching them for years. The JayBee has been covered in tarps all this time. I thought there were two layers of tarps...

...but there were actually three layers.

I decided it was time to work on the two dormers over the living room and entryway.

Climbing up and down and working up high (even though it's not that high, really) had me shaking with nerves, so...

I created a harness and safety rope to strap myself into whenever I climb up into the rafters. That rope hanging off the ridge board is not a noose; it's my safety line. I haven't been rock climbing since I was in my 20s, but I easily remembered how to create a harness out of webbing. I clip into the end of the line before I climb the ladder and, as long as I'm staying near the ridge board instead of working on top of the outer walls, I also clip into a loop that shortens the line considerably. All of this makes me feel better when I'm moving around among the rafters, and my legs shake a lot less.

At first, I couldn't make sense of the open space along the ridge board where the dormers will go. Nothing lined up. But that's because I had totally forgotten that the rafters are 24" o.c. Once I remembered that, everything lined up perfectly! I drew marks where the four additional rafters will go along the ridge board.

I wondered how well the ridge board and rafters had survived these last few years. From down below, it looked like maybe the upper edges of them had grown some mold. Once the tarps were removed, I was relieved to see that the darkness was not mold at all; it was just some of the blue plastic off the tarps.

I kept drawing and re-drawing the south dormer and finally settled on this design. This photo doesn't do my latest drawing justice, because it looks all skewed, but you get the idea. This is a 2D rendition of a 3D object, so it's not perfect, but it helps me envision things as I work.

Once again, I'm being tortured by compound angles.

Wrestling with 14-foot 2"x10"s has been a challenge. Here's a funny moment. I did not take into account that once I finished hand-cutting this board (because the miter saw could only do so much with the compound angle I had given it), its weight would no longer be balanced over this small workbench. Oops!

So much work! Up and down, up and down, up and down. Finally, I installed one of the blind rafters on the south side. (The rafter tail isn't cut yet.)

Then, I installed the opposing rafter on the opposite (north) side.

Also see:
Roof Rafters 1
Roof Rafters 2
Roof Rafters 3
Roof Rafters 4
Roof Rafters 5
Roof Rafters 6
Roof Rafters 7
Roof Rafters 8
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

Cat Capers

As I have been working on the JayBee these last several weeks, the cats have been hangin' out with me. They sleep nearby, they walk all over whatever I'm working on, they get in the way, they demand attention. But they are also good company, and often entertaining.

Some of you may remember that, years ago, Bear used to climb up into the JayBee's rafters. He hadn't been up there in years, as far as I know. Two days ago, when I had the JayBee opened up (the tarps pulled back off it so I could work on the rafters), Bear sprinted up the ladder and joined me up in the rafters.

He hung out a bit...

... then hopped back down the ladder.

George had never done any real climbing, that I knew. He always even seemed challenged to look up and appreciate that I was up overhead. Then, today, he seemed particularly distressed that I was up in the rafters and he was on the floor. First, he jumped up into a window opening.

I guess that wasn't good enough, though. Next thing I knew, he hopped up the ladder and joined me up in the rafters! Doesn't it seem odd that these cats so easily climb a ladder with round, metal rungs?

He freaked me out with his wandering around. He didn't seem all that stable or steady. I kept reminding myself that cats are nimble and agile, but he worried me nonetheless.

When George had had enough of being up high, how did he get back down? Did he go down the ladder? No. He fell! Yup. He tried to get down using a window header as a step, and he fell. He bounced off of a few things, and ended up on his feet. He's kind of an old guy, so I was worried about him. But he seems to have survived okay.

Willow Tree Removal

I mentioned in a previous post that a huge willow tree had fallen over onto my septic field, miraculously missing the JayBee, the shade tarp and saws, and the existing garage. It had to get moved quickly because I worried that the branches, which stuck way up in the air, would break off and hit something. So, over several days, the problem was eventually resolved.

Dale getting the chain saw ready...

... and using it.

Steve is back in the woods, ready to pull on the rope to make sure a large branch falls in the right direction.

It's not completely gone, but things look a lot better!

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Pantry Cabinet 6

The right door being installed...

The left door being installed...

The finished cabinet (with the adjustable shelves that sit in the back of the cabinet not installed at the moment)...

I was going to leave the cabinet with no finish (and no door handles) on it for now because I have not decided if I will be painting or staining the kitchen cabinets in the JayBee, and I have not yet decided on a cabinet-handle style...but...I have moved the cabinet into my regular house (so I don't ruin it and have it in the way out in the JayBee) but I am worried that I will ruin it anyway if it has no finish on it. So, I have a decision to make. If I put a finish and some door handles on it, I could start using it...

Also see:

Pretending It's Spring (Pantry Cabinet 1)

Pantry Cabinet 2

Pantry Cabinet 3

Pantry Cabinet 4

Pantry Cabinet 5
Pantry Cabinet 7
Pantry Cabinet 8

Pantry Cabinet 9

Friday, July 4, 2014

Pantry Cabinet 5

Here is the left cabinet door, with the shelves attached to its inside:

Below, both doors are complete and sitting inside the cabinet. The small cracks along the outside edges are for the piano hinges.

In the photo below, the piano hinges have been installed on the door edges (36 screws down each side!), but not yet attached to the inside of the cabinet.