Fitting the second roof frame

The weather forecast was for rain this afternoon so I was expecting to work most of the day in the garage. In fact there were spells of sunshine (despite quite a lot of cloud) and only a very few spots of rain. Consequently I was able to work outside all day which has enable me to finish the second middle roof frame and fit to the tie bar. 

The two centre roof frames in position

Fitting the first roof frame.

A week of glorious weather has enabled progress to be made and the first roof frame is now fitted.

One of the challenges with building the shed has been the weight of the timber and manoeuvring beams and frames into position. For some time I have been thinking about getting the roof frames up onto the wall plates and whether this is something I could manage on my own. The height of the scaffolding is just clear of the roof apex and because I am using two double pulleys to increase the mechanical advantage the working height is very restricted. 

I calculated that if I attached the pulley to the tie beam (and fixed a loop to the top of the frame to prevent it tipping as it was lifted) I may just be able to get the frame into position.

I finished one of the central roof frames today and, as the inside frames are slightly lighter than the end frames I thought this was a good opportunity to see if I could get the frame up onto the wall plates and positioned on the tenons.

The frame pegged and ropes attached ready to be lifted into position

The frame lifted on to the tenons

The first roof frame in position

I have one end frame to finish off (two short braces to be cut and fitted) and one more central frame to make and the roof will be ready to fit the four purlins.

Finishing the First Roof Frame

The first roof frame is now completed this will be used as a template for the other three frames. The two central frames may not require the additional braces - which will make the construction of those a little quicker.

The first A frame completed

Quite good progress today with two more of the roof trusses cut to length and the top  tenon cut. Hopefully the weather will stay dry for tomorrow.

Starting the roof frames

With wet weather, a week and half holiday and then an injured back (not whilst working on the shed) Progress has been slow. However, September is now here and the weather is glorious so work has at last begun on the roof frames. 

8 tenons cut for the roof frames

So far I have cut the tenons for the base fixing of the frames and cut two mortices on one of the tie bars. The next job was to mark the top of the timbers for length and this was slightly difficult as I was not able to lay the frame out horizontally. I worked around this with the use of pulleys clamps and wall posts. So I am now ready to cut the first two beams to length and cut the joint for the top. This will then be used as a template for the other three frames.

Positioning the A frame to mark the length
of the frame timbers