Building the Second Floor Frame

 Sliver Me Timbers!

Aye Mateys! This past week was pretty much devoted to raising the 6 x 6 timbers into place to support the trusses. I started by cutting and raising the post and beams to build the center support octagon. By Tuesday evening I had completed the octagon except for just a few brackets.

Wednesday started out on an ominous note as my truck would not start. I had noticed the day before that the starter on the truck seemed to be laboring a bit. Well, the “a bit” became “a lot” on Wednesday morning. So I got the trusty, rusty old Bobcat out and jump started the truck. I then made a dash into town to buy two new batteries for truck. Now she purrs like a kitten. I guess I’d rather replace the batteries now than on a cold, cold winter morning. Then Wednesday afternoon it rained. Needless to say (but I will) I did not get much accomplished on Wednesday.

The rest of the week I worked on raising the outside post and beam frame. I decided that I would get as much of this done first before trying to raise any of the trusses. Since Wednesday was a wasted day, I decided to work part of the day Saturday before returning “home”. These latest pictures were taken today before I departed. As you can see, I managed to get a little more than half of the post and beam frame up.

When I raised the beams on the first floor, I had the assistance of the trusty, rusty old Bobcat. But the second floor would be a different story. The Bobcat couldn’t even come close to raising the beams. So, I had to come up with another plan. I came up with an idea of using a ladder, a strong leather belt and two screws to help raise each beam. As it turned out, it was easier to raise them this way than by using the Bobcat. Can you figure out how I did it? Email me your answer and I’ll let you know if you figured it out.

Next week I will work on finishing the post and beam frame. If I’m lucky, I may try to raise a few trusses too. I have been thinking about how I can get those trusses raised by myself. I’ll let you know in my next report if it works or not. Stay tuned.