With all of the walls of my brother Barry's house stood and partially sheathed the next phase is a big one, installing the roof trusses. Using timber trusses has many advantages, including strength, and cost, and they are very #eco-friendly. Long spans without intermediate supports create large open spaces. For these reasons, Timber roof trusses are becoming more and more popular as 60% of new homes are built using them instead of stick framing the entire roof.
As you will see as we move along, the biggest advantage is the amount of time that a roof truss system saves the builder. Saving labor = saving money. In this case, the cost of labor is not a factor as this home is being built by a few friends and family members.
Brother Barry has helped out so many people with all types of construction projects, including myself. All of what has been accomplished up to this point has been done by just a few of us, but on this day a few more hands were needed and it was wonderful to see some of his friends step up to the plate.
By the time the 60-foot crane showed up at the job site, our two brother-in-laws, who live just around the corner, and two other skilled carpenters had arrived from New Jersey. The crew that we had that day was chomping at the bit, ready to start throwing some lumber around.
Positioning the crane was critical in order to be able to set all of the trusses without having to restage the crane a second time.
It took a little less than an hour for the crane to be put into position. With the operator making his way into the cab, it would be asses and elbows from here on in.
Earlier that morning we had attached the fly rafters to the trusses that would be placed on the gable ends of the home. The fly rafters provide an overhand at the edge of the roof
A quick wave accompanied by a beaming smile, just before kickoff, said it all. To see my bro happy as a lark almost brought tears to my eyes.
He has done so much for our family that it would be impossible to ever pay him back, even in five lifetimes. As I write this I'm getting choked up remembering all that he and his beautiful wife did for our parents, while living below them in their two-family home.
They were the ones that most of the responsibility of caring for Mom and Dad fell on, and they did it without hesitation and with loads of love.
With the scaffolding staged,
the trusses were lifted into position and secured in place.
Once we got started everyone was on top of their game and before long the trusses on the right side of the house were completed.
This is Ed, the owner of the Tri-State Computer Flooring. He and his son had traveled to Herkimer NY from NJ the night before to make sure they were on the job bright and early the next morning. I guess that when you're the owner of a company you can take a few days off to help a good friend.
Here is Ed, setting up a laser that will make sure that the trusses that will be installed over the main part of the home will be plumb with the floor below.
Partners in crime and friends for life.
With the aluminum pick in place, the right side of the home was ready to have the trusses set. After that, we would be working on the cathedral ceiling trusses that span the main part of the home.
Here is a picture of our brother-in-law John holding the tagline. The tagline keeps the 40-foot trusses from spinning and helps to guide them into position.
It's a good thing Barry isn't afraid of heights. With the outside truss set and braced off, installing the remainder of the trusses went like clockwork. Just to give you an idea of the size of this open space, the tip of the truss from the floor is 22 feet high and the span is 40 across.
What a room!
Here is a picture of the completed main room with all of the trusses set. What a beautiful site!
It takes a master carpenter to put this puzzle together, and look at all of the pieces.
By four o'clock we had completed installing all of the trusses.
After just seven hours we were helping the crane operator pack up his gear, simply amazing!
What a great crew we had that day.
This was a huge step, but there's still a lot to be done.
This is Kelly, Barry's better half. I'd say she looks pretty happy.
