Kingpost project begins...

LarryRB · November 29, 2008, 04:22:22 PM

I like your fix. My question is will your roof be about 10" higher?

Brad_bb · November 29, 2008, 10:28:49 PM

Hey Jim,
I'm wondering how difficult it would be for Stanley to make a standard 25' tape measure with the 1" or 10" already burned? What I mean is that zero marking would start at the 1" or 10" burn point. It could be simple to make a run of tape measures like this depending on the method they are using to print them. Their method may be such that they could adjust the start point. Is there an engineer from Stanley watching this forum?...This could eliminate some layout mistakes, especially for lesser experienced.

Jim_Rogers · December 01, 2008, 05:15:52 PM

Brad:
What I did on one set of drawings was that I created a point 10" off the end of the beam and made that my starting point for my baseline dimensions. That way the 10" was at the end of the beam and all the other dimensions came out right....

Jim

Thehardway · December 01, 2008, 09:07:51 PM

Larry,

When I cut the rafter 10" too short it affected both rise and run. The new piece returns the 10" to both, so the answer is no, the roof will not be any higher than the original plan.

Thehardway · December 18, 2008, 09:48:56 PM

Why is it that when you take vacation to get some work done the weather always seems to take a turn for the worse? Persistent rain has made working conditions miserable though I have soldiered through this week. Monday was spent busting the ice out of the tarps that covered up the timbers and trying to get rid of water/mud that never ended. I finished assembling, pegging and wedging the dovetails. I then stood the truss up. Seeing this thing go vertical was a big boost to my "dampened" spirits this week. It has been a 1 man operation. Moving hoists and truss can be a delicate balancing act. I would equate it to a slow and graceful ballet but with much much more mass... and not much leaping...

The only thing left now is to get these things on top of the walls. Tues. was spent trying to find a rental place that carried a 25' roustabout. All of them were out of state and would take 2-3 weeks to get them in. That meant plan B. Build my own lifting apparatus. I toyed with 5 or six different plans but finally settled on a "lifting mast" made from 3 steel bar joists welded into a triangular tower and fitted at the top with a hanging point for a chainfall. It is all welded up and on the trailer ready for transport tommorrow AM.

Will post some pics once I get it erected.

If all works well I will get the trusses on top of the walls Sat.

kfhines · December 19, 2008, 07:19:38 AM

Thehardway,
Nice looking work! I know how much fun the one man crew can be at times. With the weather being what it is this time of year it would be safer to bite the bullet and hire a crane for the morning and get those trusses anchored in place. Just a thought. Nothing is worth getting hurt for. Any way I'll get off the soap box now.
Good luck this weekend.

kfhines

wkheathjr · December 19, 2008, 09:25:54 AM

Wanted to say that I was just getting through reading the whole 6 pages of your progress with some helps from other members.. You are one of many reasons us rookies get motivated about doing this by ourselves instead of hiring a professional and pay big money on it. In the end, you will have your pride and joy! ;)

Raider Bill · December 19, 2008, 09:33:38 AM

Bob,
Great going! You are going to have a fantastic house when done!
Just be careful!

Brad_bb · December 20, 2008, 12:32:42 PM

For safety reasons, I don't think you should be doing this lifting by yourself I'm stubborn too and have done some things myself that I should have had someone or others there to help, or at least to call 911 when things go wrong. Don't you have anyone that will join you for lifting? If not, put a call out for help from local TF'ers for your lifting day. Is there a local crane you could hire for a half or full day to lift all the trusses with lifting straps? I know they ain't cheap, but for safety...it's worth it. Lay out and assemble all your trusses like you did the first one, but put the second one on top of the first one with block spacers etc so you have all your trusses stacked on top of one another in the assembled position, then have the crane pick one at a time to set in place. Have a few guys to guide them into place and secure them and to install the purlins.

Thehardway · December 20, 2008, 10:21:19 PM

I appreciate the safety concerns. I would have opted for a crane if it had been possible but the lay of the land does not permit a crane. A cement truck is just about the limit of what can get in and out. Add to that very wet and slippery red clay and the situation gets difficult.

I started this AM at sunrise and a beautiful one it was. It looked for a short while as if the entire eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mt.'s were on fire as you can see.

First job was to raise my version of a "gin pole". It is actually a tower style mast with a bracket attached to the top for a chainfall but it could easily be fitted with cable and winch or a block and pulley.

I raised it into vertical position after attaching the needed chainfall and straps with the 20' roustabout by connecting just above the balance point. I then winched it up until it would clear the floor and make vertical.

The base was then lagged to a couple 4X6 for stability and to keep it from sliding or kicking out while under load.

That took until about 8:30. My raising crew arrived around 9:00 and with more hands Straps and a rope that were previously secured to the top and were then tied off at three points on the concrete walls to stay the pole from falling over. This all in place the first rafter assembly was raised with relative ease and then lowered into the pockets in the 10' walls. It was almost too simple. one man could easily lift and lower however the additionsl crew was neccesary to position and secure.

After the first one was in place and tied off the straps were removed and the ginpole was picked up with the roustabout and moved to the next lifting postion secured and the second lift was done.

With 3 man crew we were able to install the rafter pairs in a couple hours. We did not attempt the kingpost today as I want to get a heavier duty chainfall and some of the crew had a christmas party to get ready for this eve.

It feels good to know that two of the three lifts are complete.

i am so pleased with my lifting apparatus I am now playing with ideas on how to modify it put my panels up with it. They are 8'w X 20' L and about 600lbs each.

kfhines · December 21, 2008, 12:15:48 AM

Thehardway,
Beautiful sun rise! Your gin pole looks to work just fine. Looks good!

kfhines

logwalker · December 23, 2008, 12:52:32 AM

Good show.

Thehardway · January 02, 2009, 02:11:08 PM

They are UP!!! 8)

Tuesday I succeeded in putting up the Kingpost Truss. I had assistance from my best friend, my wife, and my son. We encountered no problems. Biggest difficulty was getting straps in proper position to lift it without damage. I did get a 2 ton chainfall for this lift.
Here are some pictures of the final raising:

Truss assembled and vertical awaits raising

Beginning the lift and reverse angle

Positioning foot in the wall

Bracing and disconnecting chainfall/straps

Celebration

Affixing the traditional pine bough.

Wed. they survived 55mph plus winds with temporary bracing so it looks like they are up to stay.

Hope you all have enjoyed following this thread as this chapter of my house comes to a close. I have to now concentrate on getting the gable ICF's up and installing purlins and panels.

Thanks to all for the help, encouragement and advice along the way. I will post additional pictures of the roof/porch/interior in a new thread as I get it done.