We had a great day Saturday. With a crew of about 13, we got the ceiling joists up. This was a big job, as there is a joist every 16 inches from the back to the front of the house. The joists meet in the middle of the house and help to square the house up. The joist and rafter markings were done last weekend, so the installation of the joists was the first order of business for today’s workday.
The Thursday crew was able to finish cutting the openings in the joists for the attic stairs, the water heater and the air conditioner unit. They also started work on the strongbacks. The strongbacks are beams that run from the back to the front of the house on top of the joists.
Work this weekend will be to get started on the rafters. The weather looks a little dodgy, but the forecast at the moment shows the morning being okay with the possibility of a scattered thunderstorm, but rain becoming more widespread in the afternoon. So… we’re planning to work in the morning and cut out around 12:00 or 1:00. Hope to see you there!!
NOTE: There were photos taken last week, but they’re still in the camera. We’ll get them out over the weekend and post them next week.
Categories: Build · Construction · Events · Habitat · Habitat for Humanity · Texas · Texas City · Volunteers
Tagged: building, Construction, Habitat, Habitat for Humanity, homes, Texas, Texas City
Our exceptional Thursday crew was able to work despite nasty weather conditions and completed installation of the top plates. Thanks to Patti and Jim for bringing a few extra hands on Thursday!! Saturday’s weather was probably one of our nicest workdays so far. Early in the morning one might have needed a windbreaker, but by about 10:00 a.m. it was t-shirt weather with sunshine, temps in the low to mid-70s and a nice breeze.
The lot is finally starting to dry out some so we’re not up to our knees in mud anymore. Hip-hip-hooray!! Our Saturday crew numbered 22 at its peak and boy, were we able to get some work done!! First, we finished sheathing the house. This was a big job and thankfully we had lots of hands to help out. After the sheathing was done, the hurricane straps needed to be nailed to the top plates. We had several volunteers tackle that job and get it done. We had a special crew working on framing up the front porch. This was another big job, and we again had plenty of hands to get where we needed to be.
We also had some great volunteers who climbed up on ladders to mark where the roof joists and rafters will be installed. The joists are marked on 16-inch centers with the rafters marked directly next to them.
Thursday and Saturday will be taken up with beam assembly, ensuring that we have an attic stairwell and an air return, along with installation of the joists, rafters and strongbacks. Bob most graciously wrote up some notes on installation of the joists, rafters and strongbacks that will be very useful. We’re looking forward to another productive week!!
Categories: Build · Construction · Events · Habitat · Habitat for Humanity · Texas · Texas City
Tagged: beams, Build, Construction, front porch, Habitat, Habitat for Humanity, homes, hurricane straps, joists, rafters, sheathing, strongbacks, Texas, Texas City, top plates
