After our morning devotional from a local pastor, everyone was eager to get the rest of the trusses installed. We had completed about half the trusses yesterday. The worksite was really muddy this morning from some severe thunderstorms we had last night (as you can see from the large puddles in this picture). Fortunately, we remembered to bring our boots, but the ground was really sloppy and sticky.
By 9:45, all the trusses were up! Here’s a picture of Joe securing the last end gable.
The crew inside were working on securing the trusses and installing the ‘rat run’ to tie everything together. The ‘rat run’ is basically a series of off-set 2×4 beams that are tied in across multiple trusses. I was hoping that the naming didn’t really originate from rats running in the ceiling, but when I asked, that seemed to be the reason. If you get rats or mice in your ceiling … that’s how they get around 😉
While Joe was working on the trusses, I was working with a team to install the wrap on the south wall. The wind gave us some challenges as we worked to unroll a giant roll across the wall while keeping it level and tight.
Around 10AM, the team took a much deserved break. Cheryl from Habitat brought us some home-made blueberry cake. Even though we’re working hard, it’s tough to lose weight on this build!
After the break, Joe and I got the task of installing the safety rail on both the north and south side walls. To meet OSHA guidelines for doing roofing work, there needs to be a safety rail installed which is at least 40 inches high. We used the tractor to lift an assembled box about 2 feet from the roof. Once that was secured, we installed vertical posts that extended 39 inches above the roof. Joe was on some pretty tall ladders, so it was good that the ground had dried up a bit. The wind was a bit of a challenge, but not as bad as yesterday.
We’re right on schedule to meet our goal of having the house dried in before the end of the week! Another amazing day in Sullivan 🙂
it is really amazing to see this project continue to evolve. You make it sound like a walk in the park. That is becuse we don t see the details and the real life problems. Despite that it is impressive by any measure. Carry on.
Keep up the good work! You’re doing a great job.