Construction Journal Entry Week of 3/23/14

3/26-28/14 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Wednesday through Friday.

I stopped in and dropped something off at Priscilla's on the way and I stopped and visited with Uncle Charles in Monroe. I arrived at Camp Serendipity at 12:15 and was greeted by both Bert and Ernie. I had dog biscuits in the truck so they got their biscuits as well as their hugs without having to climb the snowbank going up to the cabin.

After having my lunch, I built a fire in the wood stove and then took my usual nap. When I got up, I went to work on the roof repair. After thinking about it, I decided the best plan was to install the fascia board first, then screw all the shims to the rafter, and then haul the rafter up and install it. I started by hauling the fascia board up onto the scaffold platform and then placing it where it belonged. The bottom butted against the next lower fascia board and the top rested against the mitered end of the opposing fascia. I tied a loop of rope around the board and the second rafter, which was already in place, and the rope held the fascia snug so it couldn't slip down.

I caulked all the seams and cracks good at the fascia miter joint. Wasps had gotten into the roof before it was damaged and I wanted to prevent them from getting in again.

Next I screwed the four shims to the rafter down on the porch before quitting for the day.

On Thursday, I lifted the rafter/shim assembly up to the scaffold deck with a rope. I slid the rafter into the cavity in the roof between the fascia boards and the second rafter and between the roof and the ceiling boards. I shoved it down far enough so that I could run the top of it through the loop of rope. From there, I slid the rafter all the way up to the ridgepole inside the rope loop. Then I twisted the rafter to stand it upright in the cavity and finally I used a big hammer to bash it over against the remnant of the first rafter.

Then I used a clamp to clamp the rafter to the fascia board in the correct position and I screwed the fascia to the rafter through the shims. Then I went in for lunch and a nap.

When I got up, I used the vibrating saw to trim all the broken edges of the old OSB so that the edges were straight and square. I brought the camera with me so I could shoot some video scenes, but I was too rough with it and I broke it. I had to resort to using my cellphone to make the video shots.

I installed the last two rafters, which went pretty quickly, but then it started to rain. I quit a little early and went in and worked on the jigsaw puzzle for a while. Very relaxing.

On Friday morning it snowed but I went up on the scaffold anyway and made the measurements for the pieces of OSB I will need to make and for the roofing material I will have to buy. I also worked on the jigsaw puzzle for a while too. I left for home at 12:45 happy that all four rafters and the fascia were in place.



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