At long last, the steel framework for the building is erected, and, as you can see, a few of the roof trusses are in place. The siding arrives on Monday, the 23rd, and we expect that the building will be completed that week. (Well, OK, there's no floor inside the building yet, and no stairs to get down into the stairwell, but we'll get to it ...)
Note the dark, threatening skies (again) - while it provides welcome shade from the brutal summer sun, it also keeps us alert for lightning. Working on a 10-foot-tall steel framework with lightning in the area is something we're all rather reluctant to do.
To the right, you can see the boom truck that we used to erect the steel and the trusses. (If you thought I was hoisting 700-pound 6x6 steel box beams by hand, thank you! But I must regrettably report that you are mistaken.)
All of this steel is firmly welded together to form a solid structure to withstand the occasional 100 mph winds that can come through this valley; that can put a tremendous amount of pressure on the building siding. And, since there are of necessity no cross-members inside the building, the walls must withstand that pressure on their own. Hence the massive size of the steel members making up the frame.
The siding is nearly completely installed in this July 25, 2001, image, so the building is essentially complete! (Well, OK, there's no floor inside the building yet, but we'll get to it ...)
Putting up all of this reflective white siding in the sun, summer heat, and elevated humidity of the monsoon season was a tough job. I am at once relieved and embarrassed to report that I was not one of the guys up on the roof, where the job was really brutal.
We're also having some difficulty with the eave trim catching against the side panels when the roof rolls. The metal is just not stiff enough to hold its shape. We'll probably have to back it with something stiff, smooth, and joint-free to allow it to slip along the siding.
After a promising beginning, the roof is turning out to be quite difficult to roll. This is bad news, because it means I can't move it by hand and it will be difficult to engineer a strong-enough motorized drive mechanism. We'll have to do some work on this - the roof cannot remain this difficult to move.
Next up: It is finished
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Terry R. Friedrichsen
terry@venus.sunquest.com