# entrance roof



## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

i was asked to build a roof over the front entrance awhile ago.

could'nt really think of how to do it and make it look like it has always been there. so i kinda let it go for awhile.

well it soon became time to do something, only because he called me to do something , anything lol

i built the concrete steps about 12 years ago. that was my first block job. its still holding up so i must of done something right.

i was gonna do a truss but didn't like the look it would have acheived.

so then i thought about a beam structure, so i get him onboard and order material.

material comes in a week later and it is crap. so now i lost a week.

so if i wait a week i will get another load?????????? of what i could'nt take the chance again.

so now what to do. back to the drawingboard it is. this is what i came up with



because of the length and the fact i don't have my shop saw set up, i knew my portable saw was no match for the job.

so i made a sled to cut the wood, well a couple different ones for size reasons. its easier to make than modify existing , think about having to make a new piece because you screwed up.



so i made a couple u's,




then i filled in one end with soild wood and cut an ogee into it.

i cut the inside with a bandsaw and the outside with a jig saw, its 6''s wide and felt the bandsaw wasn't the way to go. remember my beams although the material is only 30 bucks the labor to buid is way more . making mistakes costly haha



so this roof is gonna be in a city, however i didn't want to build it in place, people traffic stolen material etc, have to drive hahaha

yea i could have built it in my shop down there, but it's on the 4th floor. i would of had to move tools to the basement, more work and then he would of had to come put in his 2 cents everyday.

this is much easier in the end .



i built 7 beams but felt it was too busy so i removed two,


then i built returns for the diagonal beam ends, 



yea a good carpenter would of mortised them in, but i didn't want to compromise the beam's integrity and the job only pays so much.id rather do more with less haha





you'd think i was sponsored hahaha




so far i have 7 days into it, of course when ya work at home it is longer days than you'd work at work, but i am not driving so were even haha

oh i am fighting winter also haha nothing like waiting till the last minute right.


if i have to guess at a completion date? i would hope by next week i should have it done. but time will tell in the end. thanks for looking


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Nice work.:thumbsup:
Can't wait for the installed pics.


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## Chad (May 10, 2009)

Really nice work, please keep us updated I'm anxious to see the finished product.


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

thanks guys , its been raining here pretty good, but atleast i made the crossbeams. well i made a few but i cut all the wood up to size.

i look forward to it being done also. winters a coming


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## cranbrook2 (Oct 14, 2006)

Looks great so far ! :thumbsup:


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

hey guys,

i was gonna do dark beams and light on the ceiling, any colors come to mind?

i could also sandblast,, or distress as much as i would hate to do it lol

any ideas???????????????


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Hey Hacker*

Based on this photo, The beam is upside down right?
How are you going to keep the rain out? Does it get a cap?
Also cool idea of a bevel ripping guide for the circ saw.....move the saw not the wood concept...easier and lighter! :thumbsup: bill


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

yea theyre upside in that pic,

theyre gonna be decked with t&g 2x6 pine and the a rubber roof slight angle but it will have a 1'ish tall neewall to make it look symetrical? and signage.

yea my shop saw isn't setup, and i am using crappy 2x material,

i knew ripping 12's wasn't gonna happen acccurately by myself on any saw, so i made a sled to put the saw in , well i made a couple for different rips. yea i could of spent the time and made it adjustable,

but if i make a mistake and had to redo a piece, it is more accurate and faster to do it with the same jig nothing changes you hope,

i cut the cross beams to 3' and used my portable saw for that.

you just have to design stuff for what your skills tools and pocket can acyually produce . its a fine line between them all lol


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Could you describe the sled to rip the 45s?
Thanks.


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

the sled is easy to make, i used luan for the base, you get alot more range up and down it if ya use 1/4''

you see how big the piece was right?


put in a couple of stop blocks and run your saw into cutting it as you go with a square, once the saw is where it needs to be in the sled, i cut wood blocks to hold it there, then i cut blocks for the sled to stay on the wood its cutting. train tracks type deal?


you can straight cut or whatever you want to do. not just miter,

you can do it to almost any handheld tool imo?


now the reason is simple, on a tablesaw you come to a piece wher it has a bend, the tablesaw will cut it wrong almost everytime,this way the wood can go twistie and the saw will cut it as straight as the board is. you follow me?

when ya work by yourself you have to come up with ideas to help as you go , i take them for granted but sometimes i hit the nail on the head lol


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

ihackwood said:


> when ya work by yourself you have to come up with ideas to help as you go , i take them for granted but sometimes i hit the nail on the head lol



There's a lot of truth in that. You just have to be smarter than the problem. It looks real good so far. It will make itself a major project as soon as you start installing. Hope you have help. But if you're like me, I go for it one way or another. I just hate depending on other people...if you know what I mean.

I might have used a urea formaldehyde or phenol formaldehyde glue instead of TBII. I'm just assuming you used TBII as you got a shot of the bottle.












 





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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

thanks cabinetman,

i'm pretty much a one man band , sick of paying people to watch me work, 

if it was easy everyone would do it right?

yea that glue sucks but small town blues , lucky its exterior period lol

besides i would be afraid to try and say that word hahaha


my neck is killing me from looking down assembling beams, i accounted for a beam to cut up so i wouldn't have to make as many, guess what i made too many of haha it was a friday lol


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

theres alot more work than i thought lol

i am definately measuring more than once ,


today i have to cut the crossbeams, dam youd think i was building a church. or a set of stairs hahaha very time consuming to build imo

hope its worth it in the end?????????







what a mess



todays work so repetitious feels like i have done this a time or two haha


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

That is a nice looking piece of work.

How are you going to get it raised into position?

George


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*How are you going to lift it?*

Brute force meaning lots of guys or a crane? A scaffold or two might work or some hinged legs that raise it when pulled sideways? WE definitely want pix of that...hah...hah....:thumbsup: bill
Looking real nice!
George and I want to know.....


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

it is actually gonna be 50 miles from here when all said and done,

i built the stairs/ handicap ramp in 2000. i actually went to school for block, worked it for a year and went onto carpentry.



this was my first block job and my design it was just stamped by his architects as its a city building.

if you look inside where the waterfall is that was after i started the old man wanted a waterfall.

so i sold him on the idea of using the old stairs to cascade the water down. it worked lol

but i will take down the green awning, and load the new frame on my van. in pieces mind you hahaha its only screwed together for now

think how long it would of taken if i had to do it in place down there,

theres a whole lot of up and down goin on lol plus a 100 miles a day lol

and then i would have to pick everything up at night, i have a shop on the fourth floor, but i would of had to move it to the basement.

this way i'm home no one throwing in theyre two cents,,, i only want his dollars hahaha


my plan is to go there and set my post, onlike a friday afternoon,then on saturday blast the frame up,

and get as much done as i can , then finish it during the week.

we will see how that works out, maybe i willbuild it on the ground down there and have them boom my material and have them lift it all at once lol

thats how i got my garage trusses up myself, it pays to be buddies with the boom truck driver.


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

^^^ That is beautiful. I've never seen a waterfall like that.


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

thanks stream, it came out good,this roof i hope will look like its always been there,

he called yesterday asking about progress, he originally said draw me a pic, so thats what i did and dropped it off after he left.

i never wait for an answer, so i already started it, so when he asked i said you didn't get the pic, yea i got it you didn;t start it, hahahaa

so i got him all worked up over it, i was hoping to put it in this weekend but the more i do here the less i do down there,

i am trying to get down there midweek to do site work and blast this out on next weekend. shock everyone on monday haha


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

I'm guessing your in Syracuse.

I might have to call you so I can put one over my back patio, lol. Good work!


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

good guess and thanks i can't wait to get it done, 

anything i can do to help just ask


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## cranbrook2 (Oct 14, 2006)

That,s going to look really sharp when your done ! :thumbsup:


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

thanks cranbrook,

i still have to figure out a way to heat the roof for snow removal???????? 

ive been with this guy my whole career so he has made me work outside the box , because he doesnt like to spend money ,


and then he wants to heat a roof lmao. it kills me.

i don't think he understands this will take the weight of a car sitting on it ,

oh well, i am doing the beams in gunstock color and natural beams.

then i have to do site work, hopin for some good days to finish this up.

thanks for the comments guys


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

so i set the post yesterday afternoon, nice day to do it. heavy wet 6x6 got to love it.

got home at 8 and it started pouring, always a sign that this job sucks 

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhh


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

so the 6x's were perfect, i cut the stone cap and lifted them 10' in the air to lower them down, i was standing on the column and a baker, i was too the point it was just draining my arms,

theres got to be a better way lol

i put a coat of clear on the beams, dam stain was still gummy so i had to clean it with a thinner to get it off, no wonder myarms are killing me,

then i took down the awning, the boss came out and gave me a hand with that, wow thanks haha

then he says the wall that i told him about years ago had fallen in a little, i laughed i need to get the hell out of that building, its getting old.


i laid out and cut the brick and prepped the two outer beam pockets, basically to see if there were any surprises, looked good, i lucked out landing on mortar joints, naw thats unseen skill hahaha

he's heading out of state tommorow, so when he comes back it should be up, the faster i can get out of there the better. i don't want him adding anymore work than he has .


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Hey Hacker*

Smatter? your camera broke? We want pictures!!:yes:
Post? awning? brick pockets? :blink: bill


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

i figured that would bore you hahaha 

i'm not use to taking pics during the build, 1/2 the time i forget to snap what was there lol

i get too into it wanting to finish, then its like oh dam


i got you , i'll get ya caught up with what ive done thus far, thus is a word right hahaha


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Your project is certainly NOT boring. It fascinates me. Before you pack up and move out, PLEASE show us some pics.


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

thanks gene , trust me the first one you do is cool, then ya turn into a machine and start mass production then its boring haha.

then add into it the frustration of trying to do it by yourself, i think my body and mind are starting to rebell. 

so i spent the morning in the shop, another coat of spar to wake ya up, i had to let the quality control guy go. his standards were way to high, and then he only wanted to be there part time so lets get her done .

went to the city at 3pm, had to finish 4 holes? and notch timber and set the 2x, then outta dodge by 6pm










so imagine me lifting this over my head to get it over the post to slide down only to get caught up by the m/c cable hell yeah i was sweating,not once but twice haha i did the hard one first,however the second one your kinda out there no tree to fall into put a foot on lol




























i didn't over cut the brick just the mortar joint,i was using the osha approved safety squint, the reason i located it here is, there is a course that ties the two together,think brick veneer it isn't its all brick real thick though. i didn't want to cut into that so i moved up to make it work. i think it is high myself but i don't know whats behind the green crap and really don't want to if ya know what i mean.





































you can see what i was standing on , now using a circular saw cut the notches, for eyes full of sawdust yea theres a steady wind whenever i work it doesn't matter. but it came out decent,
















































the stair post was the exact height it needed to be always when no one is around, hahaha i was off a little on the other one though but it was low so i didn't have to cut it hahaha

this concludes build day whatever number it is , and as always thanks for the comments


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## jlhaslip (Jan 16, 2010)

Curious about how the beam ends will be fastened into those cut out holes???


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Absolutely fascinating. Thanks for taking the time to get those photos. I really enjoy your posts. Keep 'em coming.


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

jlhaslip said:


> Curious about how the beam ends will be fastened into those cut out holes???


 
me too??????????????????????


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Hacker, you're a wild and crazy guy!*

But man you get things done OK :thumbsup: and by yourself. Way to go! I can't believe you cut those notches up there with a Skil saw standing on ...what? Those beam pockets look good, but they don't want any steel plate underneath? That would mean "brick work" I guess. too much trouble? What will tie the beams back into the building? I know too many questions! This is a great thread you started. :yes: 
I've done a few things similar myself...like two 660 lb steel I beams 8" x10" x 20ft long raised up an Oak tree to the second story window and into the house. Five guys, 2 block and tackles and one guy sweating and swearing.....that would be me. ha...ha.
Keep up the pictures! Can't wait to see the crane lifting the 
rest of the unit into place.   bill

BTW you got a laser level or just bubbles?


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

crane????????? whose jobsite you looking at????????? i'm the crane.

no steel i will use a steel expanding bolt into the brick, and it is set into it 4'' so thats as good as it gets for me, besides you can't see it from my house.

no i bought a laser back when they became kinda affordable, its a beam only so it's useless outside. i used a 6' steel stud level if its crooked please tilt your head till it looks right.it works hahaha

i have to see how much of this contraption i can fit onto /into drag behind my van for its maiden voyage. why did i get up so early 3am wtf.

game on wish me luck hahahaha


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Boom truck = crane?*

Quote from post no. 16
:..."my plan is to go there and set my post, onlike a friday afternoon,then on saturday blast the frame up,
and get as much done as i can , then finish it during the week.
we will see how that works out, maybe i willbuild it on the ground down there and have them boom my material and have them lift it all at once lol 
thats how i got my garage trusses up myself, it pays to be buddies with the boom truck driver."

Quote from post no. 33, above
"crane????????? whose jobsite you looking at????????? i'm the crane."

I thought you were gonna assemble this on the ground then have a boom truck lift it into place. ..I musta not got that part right. I'm thinkin' your arms are gonna be drained by the time you get all those pieces lifted into place with no helper (gorilla). :blink: bill


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

no they closed for inventory, yea i was a little pissed to see that, and it was looking1/2 way decent so i decided to get her done,

early am it was drizzling and seeing as i couldn't get my decking deliverd, i would typar the rawwood and still get her done, just to protect it till i got it covered.

i loaded up at 11 am,
























































so i arrived at the city limits to rain, didn't care but my body was in hurt mode from the loading,

then of course the wind was whipping and i had a guy help unload, no lets call it spot me as i carried the weight he simply pushed it into everything in the way, as he said watch it.

it was when he said thats heavy, when i aborted trying to work with him, i have a 6th sense, make that a sick sense,

i have to hold it out from my body to hit the pocket, which should'nt be a problem until you get a person on the other end, then crap happens.been there done that.

weather permitting i will take my oldest daughter with me,i have to see if my drywall lift will go more than 10 feet, i haven't used it in years so i forgot lol

oh and AAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

success, 

well i was gonna have my kid help, however there is no love in the world that will keep a girl away from a mall, not even dad love, so i went in at noon and got all the beams up, 

i can tell ya scary is the best word to use, i used my drywall lift, i don't know how much those weigh,feels like 2 tons a piece. lift just a swaying at 10' tall, no one to guide it , wtf i'm under it cranking up.

and if ya ever hung rafters before you realize you run out of manuever room, thats always fun but she is underway phewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Great!*

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: smooth :boat: from here on in! bill

I don't suppose you took any "after" photos? Too wiped out!


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

yea lets hope so thanks,

it took an hour and 16 minutes for the first one, but there wasalot of sweating goin on , then i got my rythym, i'll put ther cross beams in today, fingers are crossed.


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Lookin good!
Taking Sunday off?


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

no i went down there and it started to hail, so i said screw it and drove thru the southern part of the state for a little while sightseeing.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Hail to the Chief!*

Chief Hacker! Oh Well, you need a break any how!  bill
Did your kid take the photos or was she at the mall the whole time...heh...heh...


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

naw i lost her to halloween,hell i lost them all except the youngest she had to work at mickey d's.

i forgot about halloween, it wasn't bad when my kids were little the suits were harmless, now theyre x rated lol

things change when theyre young ladies though, i am afraid to go to a bar anymore for fear of running into my kids lol


no this one is all me now, i got over the hump when i got the beams on ,

now its just work and weather, he usually don't say its good or anything, but maybe because he sees it as i build it, kinda takes the shock value away from it, to me anyway
.

i still am thinking of the top i want to put on it,

i was thinking green metal roofing as siding with black accents?????????

then i thought the same thing but all black,

then i thought a 2x12 with a black crown and wood cap and then metal cap to weather tight it???

its like 40 here so my plans change every minute, really hahaha

i was hoping for the boom lift friday, so now that i am behind maybe tommorrow, i need my deck but i need it on the roof not on the ground, kind of a catch 22

you would think thieves were lazy till ya seen them take your project hahaha

i should be good to go after today, i hope


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*That's Funny!*

:drink:
Quote: 
things change when theyre young ladies though, i am afraid to go to a bar anymore for fear of running into my kids lol

I'll bet that doesn't stop you tho....:no: bill


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

i'm serious it aint worth it, i'm getting to old to defend my girls honor lol

my ass is officially kicked, hurtin good


i got all the beams up now, looks good and tight.

i can't beleive people would ask what are ya building? 


he asked how i got it up there, and said looks good as he walked by, then when the beams went up he said it's looking nice.

oh it was snowing lightly too hahaha and fought me to the end lol

and so far i broke a hammer stapler, and then tonight i was using my electric stapler just to watch that smash to the ground, yea i had the cord tied off to the beam, doesn't matter if it is still long enough to hit the floor. can you say pissed,


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Murphy's law!*

There are 2 Laws to prepare for: MURPHY'S and GRAVITY. One is usually followed by the other.....
Quote:
and so far i broke a hammer stapler, and then tonight i was using my electric stapler just to watch that smash to the ground, yea *i had the cord tied off to the beam, doesn't matter if it is still long enough to hit the floor. can you say pissed,*

:laughing::laughing: Sorry, but that's also funny! You're my kinda guy Hacker, I like your style! I'll buy you a cold one anytime. I used to get my own ass kicked on a daily basis by own self as well. Wait 'til you get to be my age (68) and then you can really feel your aches and pains.  bill
Moving some tools 500lbs + up to the shop. Made a lift box to sit on top of forks to gain addition lifting height. Later on moved the same tools back down to the other shop....DUH. Tractor up, chainfall down. Gravity worked for down!
Heavy I beam 1500 lbs and tractor to lift it. Heavy stuff just follows me around....


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

very nice tractor, thats why you made it to 68 lol me i have no chance hahaha


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*The tractor ain't that old!*



ihackwood said:


> very nice tractor, thats why you made it to 68 lol me i have no chance hahaha


It's about 8 yrs old and that means heavy stuff got moved by hand before that using levers, rollers, wedges, pry bars, chair falls...oh yeah and a strong back.  
Go gonna finish this today if it doesn't snow?
Roof ideas? Tongue and groove from the bottom with a membrane on top? A transparent cover would keep it from being too dark underneath. Fiberglass panels?
Hey just thought of Kudzus skin membrane on his Kayaks. Check it out. You can't believe it! Watch the video here: http://www.kudzucraft.com/
Also that shrink wrap stuff they use to cover boats? I donno how strong it is tho. :blink: bill


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

woodnthings said:


> Moving some tools 500lbs + up to the shop. Made a lift box to sit on top of forks to gain addition lifting height. Later on moved the same tools back down to the other shop....DUH. Tractor up, chainfall down. Gravity worked for down!
> Heavy I beam 1500 lbs and tractor to lift it. Heavy stuff just follows me around....



I'd be real impressed if you didn't have "JD" as a helper. Remember the pyramids?:laughing:









 





.
.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

woodnthings said:


> There are 2 Laws to prepare for: MURPHY'S and GRAVITY. One is usually followed by the other.....
> Quote:
> and so far i broke a hammer stapler, and then tonight i was using my electric stapler just to watch that smash to the ground, yea *i had the cord tied off to the beam, doesn't matter if it is still long enough to hit the floor. can you say pissed,*
> 
> ...


Oh to have had something like that to work with when I was working. 
Very nice!!!


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

100 bucks, thats what my new staplers cost hahaha, oh i forgot to mention i dropped a beam yesterday as i was installing it, it landed on the right corner to land on as it gonna be covered with trim anyway phewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

so while waiting on the truck i seamed up my rubber, truck came at 10 30,

kind of an uneasy feeling putting all that weight on it, ball shriveling actually, hahahaha

of course i would be short 2 boards, they only cover 10'' not 12'' pisses me off but ya can't blame him.oh wait yes i can hahaha


this is what i did yesterday,







heres todays work on the deck,theres some weight up there,



when i was at this point,,,, he actually came out and said WOW, you haven't lost your touch, i said surprising seeing as i don't do it anymore. one crappy job after another lately,




i'll even post up my hack work, heres what happened, this is extremely tight, i used clamps to get it together, thats all fine and dandy when your on the ground, 10' in the air is a different story, as i glued it together it took longer than anticipated and i could'nt get them as tight as i wanted, i tried like hell but it wasn't happening,



**** what do i do now its not like i have another one made up, all its doing is carrying the end of the 2x and will be trimmed so good enough hahaha,





i would of been done if i had the boards i need, now i have to do something else before i finish the roof part,


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

after thinking about it,i think a design change is in order, and the tree is coming down, sure after i fight the dam thing got to love it


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## ihackwood (Sep 5, 2009)

so the weather was nice for a few days, so i was able to button up the roof, thanks to the powers that be hahaha i am right on the edge and my back is against the wall,


i am waiting on my black cap and that should be good to go up there,

i figured sooner or later i would hear him say something to slow me down,

hey when its raining you could stain the ceiling, i was like yea this weekend i made all of the fascia and i still have to make the beams yet, so it's not like nothing is goin on, who else works weekends too hahaha,

i am glad this is coming out alright because i am gonna shock him soon lol.

there is alot of work in this that is for sure, i am so glad i made it at home, i have to trim it out yet and do the beams underneath, and install the lights, theyre special lol and did i say cheap hahaha






procision at its finest hahaha, you try mitering 16'goods hahaha
now the reason why i did what i did was material comes in 16' lengths remember at first i was gonna use roofing metal, well if ya miter a 16' its not gonna work, then add the sides and ya get over 16', well i finished out at 16'3/8s arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

i found one that was exactly that hahaha so when i came home friday night this popped into my head, not fast enough to get the extra material though hahaha,


it is getting there though slowly but surely, and working by yourself is getting old lol

thread closed due to lack of interest


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