Putting Up a Beam
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| Moon Shining On Me |
I was able to lift the beam into place, four pieces at a time and it went relatively smoothly, more smoothly than I anticipated. Part of that is because I fastened on some temporary pieces to cradle the ends of the beam until I could get it fastened in place. Another part is that they were longer than each of the rooms so I could get them lifted part way up, readjust as needed, lift one end into the cradle, readjust and then lift the other end into its cradle.
But it wasn't without its setbacks. For some reason, I designed it for 2x10's and order 2x12's. While the latter is stronger and only cost perhaps $10 more for all four pieces combined, it did affect my plans in subtle ways. The ridge is 2 inches higher than planned which means the roof pitch is a bit steeper and all my roof joist calculations are now off. This wouldn't be a big deal but the beam boards of course are cupped and twisted in places which complicated finding out where they theoretically should be in space so that when my roof joists are in place, everything is in a straight line. Long story shortened, it meant a half dozen trips back and forth between shed and garage and dozens of climbs up and down the ladder to determine the correct geometry as best as I can figure.
All that finally caught up to my aging body and I pulled something in my knee during one of those trips up the ladder. It isn't terribly painful but it is such that I didn't feel stable enough to continue putting up joists beyond the four (not shown) that I got done. I'm giving it some rest and spent time cutting out some more rafter joists in advance so that when better, I can get a better start.
Ed, I'm sorry to read about your knee--it sounds fairly serious, are you going to have a doctor take a look? It's interesting to read all these small details, I never knew a structure like this could be so complicated. It sure looks great so far, though!
ReplyDeleteMy physician spouse said it was probably a ruptured cyst in the muscle. I took a couple days off and have been taking it easy in the week and a half since I wrote this and I am almost back to normal again. I just wore a brace and made sure to not stress that muscle as much as possible.
DeleteI hope your knee heals quickly. You could have taken a table saw and created a 2x10 while giving yourself a couple 2x2s!
ReplyDeleteI thought about that but running those huge boards through my table saw didn't seem very appealing either. It worked out in the end pretty well and my wife can hang all the plants she wants from the center beam!
DeleteI was thinking what Jeff said, but didn't know if that would be more effort than what you actually did (recalculating).
ReplyDeleteHope you give your knee plenty of time to heal.
It is probably at about 90% a week and a half later. I've been taking it easy and not stressing it which means slower going over that time but still allowing progress to be made.
DeleteKnees are one of the weak spots of the body and way too easy to tweak. Glad that it's improving!
ReplyDeleteMe too!
Deletethat will be a very strong building. Don't you just like it when one miscalculation throws everything after that out of line!
ReplyDeleteWhat is worse is I remember distinctly upsizing some lumber just to make it easier ordering and thinking that it would reduce my chances of messing something up but just didn't realize the unintended consequences.
DeleteLooks like you're making good progress. I hope having to take a break for you knee doesn't ruin your momentum. Ladders can be hard on knees.
ReplyDeleteLadders have weight limits but they also need age limits I guess!
DeleteLooking good!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteThese blasted older bodies.
ReplyDeleteRecent meme sent to me by my brother: "Getting old is weird because you're still that same enthusiastic kid trapped in a shitshow of a body."
DeleteAs I have told many young people, knees and back. You will need them for life.
ReplyDeleteOn the bright side, you did not get boards that were too short. That, I have managed to do.
I did manage to cut one rafter too short but I was able to salvage most of it for other purposes within the building. But thus far, I've been pretty fortunate in not wasting too much material.
DeletePlease be careful, Ed. You really don't want to injure something. We were told that spending too much time on a ladder can cause hemorrhoids.
ReplyDeleteThose I haven't had to experience yet and hope I never do. After this project is done, I hope it will be many years before I use any of my ladders again.
DeleteKnees are pretty tricky joints. Take it from a gimp.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've had problems with that knee ever since my late teenage years. It has been pretty good this last decade though so I am not complaining.
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