Working Hard

The weather man missed the mark yesterday. We didn't get the heat but got rain instead. It started about 8:00 PM Thursday and continued on and off until about 5:00 PM Friday. We had some pretty spectacular lightning and thunder to accompany the rain. I did manage to put the mower back together. New steering parts, repaired deck, new drive belt, new air cleaner. Still need to change the oil and filter but I'll do that after I finish mowing today while the oil is warm.

I got the mobile home axles dug out yesterday as well. The rim clamps for the wheels came in and I picked up the bolts on Thursday. I did a little staring and head scratching and I've got my plan of attack ready for those. I still need to move the pile of sheet metal out from under the building but I think I can roll the top of the barn out of the way by the middle of next week and then start on both the new walls and the lifting cradle. I'm still working out the details on the cradle but I've got a rough idea of what I want to do. I built a trailer for the Tech Department a few years ago and I measured that up yesterday. It's 18' long - long enough to transport my lifting beams after I get them fabbed up.

I got the lower chord replaced on the outside truss on the south end Thursday. I've got just a little more to finish up on that but no biggie. I used two come-a-longs to lift it into place and put a floor jack under the middle section to snug it up tight. Went pretty easy, actually. The side walls had a double top plate as is normal but I don't need both layers stuck to the trusses. The plates were fastened to the trusses with little hurricane clips which did their jobs rather well. I need to cut or pull the nails holding the clips to the bottom plate and then remove them. The bottom of the roof section should be ready to mate with the new walls at that point.

Still lots to do but I'm making pretty good progress. The Missus said the insurance check is on the way that's one less thing to worry about. As long as the money's coming, I think I'm going to buy a new saw. My old Craftsman circular saw is about 35 years old. and has done a lot of cutting over the years. I think I'm going to spring for a worm drive as long as I'm spending my summer as a carpenter. I probably won't have much use for it after this job is done but it'll be here if I need it.

Enjoy the weekend and the holiday.