Rafters, rafters

 

 

Well, yes that is our plan.

We set the rafter stand on a sawhorse on a scaffold. You can barely see a car jack under the rafter stand. We use that to adjust the angle of the rafter.

 

 

 




Our friend, Phil, helps prepare the next rafter.

 

 

And our friend, Simon, helps to raise it. Having two makes it more stable. At least, it will, as soon as someone climbs up there, pushes them together, and inserts two ½" lag screws to hold them together.

 

 

 




The house will have five rafters. But before we put up the middle one, we use the open space to lift purlins onto the pairs of rafters at each end. Purlins are 6x8 beams that cross the widely spaced rafters and support the planking of the roof. You can see two purlins in this picture. The upper one is still being manuvered into place. The rest of that stuff is a kind of ladder that we made so we could climb up there.