Rafters are up!

The month has again been consumed with waiting for storms to pass and shoveling out again. Aside from a week down in Orange County to take a break from the snow and cope with cabin fever, Jeff was still at the property every weekend doing what he could to move forward. He started the framing for the main floor, but it was slow progress in between snow. But, finally we got a break in the weather long enough to get back at it. We had planned on putting off the roof for now, but Jeff's dad had worked with some guys on a project that he thought could put the rafters up. They lived out in Vegas but were willing to drive up here. They had looked at pictures and discussed the job with Jeff's dad. We were hopeful, but just a little worried that they too would find the job too difficult. But, the 4 guys agreed that they would come out and only get paid if the job was completed so we had nothing to lose. After a little of a slow start figuring out the best system for pulling these big 250 lb rafters up to the ridge pole, they did a great job. They used a combination of an electric hoist and a manual chain hoist to pull the rafters in place. They had optimistically thought they could finish in a day, but it took almost two. We had agreed on a flat fee so it didn't matter too much to us, we got them a hotel room for a night and just thrilled that the job was going to be completed. So, now weather permitting there is lots to do to continue working on the roof as well as floor. UPDATE March 8th - Jeff and a few helpers finished the rafter job by sliding each pair of rafters to their proper position. Only a little bit of notching was required and the job went pretty smoothly. With the rafters out of the way we are currently working on building the main floor.