Wednesday, the 19th, the crane arrived to place the rpsl's (ridge pole support logs) and ridge pole. My dad and Don were so nice to come up and help and with my mom to babysit, I was able to be there all day too.
Jeff had done the best he could to get everything ready, but there were still a few more measurements and cuts to make on the big day. Several of the logs, including the ridge pole had to be moved by the crane before they could be cut to size anyway.
We rented a 40 foot ladder so Jeff would be able to reach the ridge pole once it was placed. Other important tools were the big drill, chainsaw, and sledgehammer. The crane arrived around 8:30 and it was time to get started!
Jeff and my dad decided it was a good idea to notch the tops of the support poles so the ridge pole would sit a little more securely till it was pinned in place.
Pretty amazing to see the crane lift the log vertically, high overhead. Up and over the walls and down into the house.
My dad and I carefully measured and marked and Jeff drilled a hole in the bottom of the pole for it to slide onto the rebar. The first pole was placed without much trouble. We just had to shave down a few of the wall logs with the chainsaw so it would sit flush and level with the wall.
The only problem was the drilling process. The bit Jeff had wasn't long enough to drill through the vertical log and the wall log. So, I ran out to the hardware store to get the right drill bit and extension. To make a long story short I had to go three times before we got it worked out. Once we finally had this system working, I helped Don bolt the poles to the walls.
After the front and back support poles were bolted in place, it was time to place the girder, (the log that sits horizontally across the house to support the loft floor). Jeff had cut notches in the wall logs for it to sit, but it was tough to guarantee that it would be perfectly level. There is the log overhead.
They tied a line on each end so guys on the ground could pull it in position. It had gotten caught on the wall and scaffolding and Don quickly climbed up there to fix it.
There is the girder fitting snugly in place in the notches.
Now to see if it was level... Jeff climbed up with the level, and amazingly it was perfectly level! Not that anyone doubted Jeff's measurements...
Now comes the big log. The ridge pole is massive, quite a bit bigger than the wall logs. It was cut from the property to make the road and really turned out to be perfect, good size and very straight. So, the crane pulled it to a place where Jeff could cut it to length and before we knew it, it was overhead. Again, there was no guarantee it would end up level. With different height concrete posts and and imperfect log, there were several variables that could impact the measurements.
My dad help one line, pulling it to line up with the support log.
Don held the other side. This pic shows how big this log is.
To see it slowly lower into place and sit on the poles was so amazing.
Jeff climbed up the very high 40 foot ladder to check the level. He wore his harness and tied in, but he was still nervous and I was also glad when he was again safely on the ground. But, amazingly again despite the significant room for error, the ridge pole was level!
Wow, this is a really big step forward to have the ridge pole placed. You can now really feel the shape of the house.
I love this pic.
Once we were done celebrating, Jeff had to climb all the way on top to drill and hammer in the rebar. Again, he was tied in, but yikes. He had to do this for each of the three support poles.
We had to call it a day after the ridge pole was set, it was getting late. So the last pole would have to wait till the next day. It was a very successful day though, as the crane also moved most of the logs from the bottom to each side of the house to get ready to stack the final few wall logs.
The middle support pole was placed last so a final measurement could be made to get it to fit tight. There it is about to drop along side the girder and down onto the rebar.
They just bent the rebar over so the pole could be pulled under the ridge pole.
It was just a tad too tight of a fit to slide under the ridge pole, so after trying to pull it over with a come along, it was decided that we should have the crane pull the ridge pole up just a hair so it could slide under. This worked great and it was soon just in place.
Whew, what major progress! This is probably the most difficult part of the process and getting it done before the snow is a big relief. Thanks sooo much to my dad and Don for spending so much time and effort to make the day go smoothly, we couldn't have done it without you guys.
Next, we need to stack the remaining 3 courses of wall logs and then build the loft floor so we have easier access to the roof. We are also now able to make plans for the roof to go up.
Jeff and my dad decided it was a good idea to notch the tops of the support poles so the ridge pole would sit a little more securely till it was pinned in place.
Pretty amazing to see the crane lift the log vertically, high overhead. Up and over the walls and down into the house.
My dad and I carefully measured and marked and Jeff drilled a hole in the bottom of the pole for it to slide onto the rebar. The first pole was placed without much trouble. We just had to shave down a few of the wall logs with the chainsaw so it would sit flush and level with the wall.
The only problem was the drilling process. The bit Jeff had wasn't long enough to drill through the vertical log and the wall log. So, I ran out to the hardware store to get the right drill bit and extension. To make a long story short I had to go three times before we got it worked out. Once we finally had this system working, I helped Don bolt the poles to the walls.
After the front and back support poles were bolted in place, it was time to place the girder, (the log that sits horizontally across the house to support the loft floor). Jeff had cut notches in the wall logs for it to sit, but it was tough to guarantee that it would be perfectly level. There is the log overhead.
They tied a line on each end so guys on the ground could pull it in position. It had gotten caught on the wall and scaffolding and Don quickly climbed up there to fix it.
There is the girder fitting snugly in place in the notches.
Now to see if it was level... Jeff climbed up with the level, and amazingly it was perfectly level! Not that anyone doubted Jeff's measurements...
Now comes the big log. The ridge pole is massive, quite a bit bigger than the wall logs. It was cut from the property to make the road and really turned out to be perfect, good size and very straight. So, the crane pulled it to a place where Jeff could cut it to length and before we knew it, it was overhead. Again, there was no guarantee it would end up level. With different height concrete posts and and imperfect log, there were several variables that could impact the measurements.
My dad help one line, pulling it to line up with the support log.
Don held the other side. This pic shows how big this log is.
To see it slowly lower into place and sit on the poles was so amazing.
Jeff climbed up the very high 40 foot ladder to check the level. He wore his harness and tied in, but he was still nervous and I was also glad when he was again safely on the ground. But, amazingly again despite the significant room for error, the ridge pole was level!
Wow, this is a really big step forward to have the ridge pole placed. You can now really feel the shape of the house.
I love this pic.
Once we were done celebrating, Jeff had to climb all the way on top to drill and hammer in the rebar. Again, he was tied in, but yikes. He had to do this for each of the three support poles.
We had to call it a day after the ridge pole was set, it was getting late. So the last pole would have to wait till the next day. It was a very successful day though, as the crane also moved most of the logs from the bottom to each side of the house to get ready to stack the final few wall logs.
The middle support pole was placed last so a final measurement could be made to get it to fit tight. There it is about to drop along side the girder and down onto the rebar.
They just bent the rebar over so the pole could be pulled under the ridge pole.
It was just a tad too tight of a fit to slide under the ridge pole, so after trying to pull it over with a come along, it was decided that we should have the crane pull the ridge pole up just a hair so it could slide under. This worked great and it was soon just in place.
Whew, what major progress! This is probably the most difficult part of the process and getting it done before the snow is a big relief. Thanks sooo much to my dad and Don for spending so much time and effort to make the day go smoothly, we couldn't have done it without you guys.
Next, we need to stack the remaining 3 courses of wall logs and then build the loft floor so we have easier access to the roof. We are also now able to make plans for the roof to go up.
