Clever lifting of heavy beams... and other stuff.

Sam and Dan have been using trigonometry, geometry, and a host of other tools to come up with the best, most efficient, ways of lifting heavy, unwieldy beams to the roof. the other night when I came home they were working on a beam that will span the width of the balcony in the back. They'd already lifted it partway up, onto a series of 'steps' that they'd nailed into the wall, but they had to get it the rest of the way there.



They tied a heavy-duty strap around it, using an extra board as an anchor:





And they attached the end of the strap to a ratcheting mechanism.



While Dan ratcheted, Sam pushed and lifted...



... and they got one end up to the top of the wall! (you can see the 'steps' they used, in this picture)



Then they put another anchor on the beam- further away, for better leverage- and removed the first anchor...



... and then Dan ratcheted some more, while Sam lifted and pushed:



And they got it to the point where it was up, balanced (somewhat precariously)!



Dan held his end down, to keep it stable, while Sam clambered up on the roof...





... from the roof he could push with his feet on the anchor to get the beam all the way in:





The next day when I got home, Dan was proud of what they'd done so far...



... which included getting a bunch more joists up...



... including the first extra-long joist, that will be part of the cantilevered master bathroom!



Sam and Dan were about to tackle another (another!) huge beam.



After much discussion, they decided to try pulling this one:





And they got it 1/2 way up.



Then they had to figure out what to do next!



Since pulling had worked pretty well, they did that on the other side too...



... but it didn't work as well on this side. So they went back to the ratchet.




Soon, they were almost there...



... and then it was up!



The next day, Sam painted the compressor-room floor with the special epoxy paint that will eventually cover the entire garage floor:



Dale did a bunch more plumbing...



... and the cantilevered beams for the back balcony got put in place (one of them couldn't be finished because the necessary hardware hadn't come in yet, grrrrr.)



Meanwhile, we have a lot of plywood on the roof (which will become flooring, perhaps as soon as today!), as well as a lot of heavy-duty plastic. For a bit there, it looked like it might rain, so we had to protect against the possibility of the insulation getting wet:





All in all, framing is proceeding beautifully. There are some headaches here and there (such as necessary parts not being in on time), as well as the occasional leg or arm ache...



... Sam and Dan are each sporting an impressive array of bruises, gashes and scratches. But I think they're having fun! Sam will miss figuring things out with Dan, who is leaving tomorrow for new adventures. As will I, immensely. Luckily it looks like, before he leaves, he will have achieved his goal of standing on the second floor! Stay tuned for pictures of that...