Report by Rick Hines.
Crew:
Rick Hines | Mike Kovacs |
Cliff Gill and daughter | Jeff Bowman |
John McGuire | Nathan and Sam Taylor |
Dennis Murphy | Marty Griffin |
Bill Gee | Shawn Kober |
With an excellent crew we were able to get the trusses and battens up and sheet metal roofing on in one day!
On prior work days we:
· Surveyed the location for the shelter house.
· Drilled eight 3-foot deep holes for the posts and spread a gravel base.
· Plumbed and crossed braced the posts and attached a horizontal beam at the top, and set form boards for the concrete pad.
· Placed rebar and poured and finished the pad.
Originally, I planned to work the weekend, but due to a rainy forecast for Sunday we decided to work just on Saturday. John McGuire, Dennis Murphy, and I left my house early to arrive at the silo at about 7:30 AM. As the rest of the crew rolled in I put them to work, pulling nails and positioning trusses, 2x6s, and sheet metal roofing near the concrete pad.
We hoisted one of the trusses onto the horizontal beams with it hanging upside down. Next, we attached short temporary vertical stabilizers to the horizontal beam to balance the trusses after we rotated it into position. We attached a rope to the top of the truss, so that as we rotated it into position a person on each side could hold the rope to hold the truss in position while others screwed it to the temporary vertical stabilizer boards. We repeated this process six times to get all seven trusses in position. After centering the trusses and double checking their position we screwed them to the horizontal beams. Next, we attached the horizontal battens to the trusses. Some of the trusses were a little warped so we had to bend them into the correct position before fixing their position with the battens and cross bracing. The 2×6 battens were installed 18” on center. The battens extended 20” on both gabled ends.
While the battens were going up others removed the form boards from the pad and old cross bracing between the posts. We drilled holes and placed ½ inch bolts through the horizontal beams and posts to secure them against high winds. Additionally, we installed hurricane strapping over the trusses and down to the posts. We started cutting the sheet metal roof to length.
When the battens were complete on one half, we started installing the roofing. By the time that half was done the battens were up on the last side and the roof crew, Marty and Mike switched sides. As the last few sheets of roofing went up the crew started helping me load tools and ladders back into my truck. Everyone (except Shawn) posed for a photo, and by 6:00 PM we were headed to Camdenton for a Mexican dinner.
Thanks to an excellent hardworking crew we were able to finish the roof in one day which I thought would take at least two.
There is still a lot more to do on future trips.
· Install drip flashing and ridge cap on roof.
· Install electrical
o Breaker panel in shelter
o Lights and outlets
o Trailer power outlet on post near shelter
· Cover gabled ends with oak board and bats
· Wall in part of three walls for a wind break.
· Add a large open fire box and flu on one wall.
· Build a lean-to shed on the south for lawn mower storage.
If anyone can help with building material for any of the above projects, please let me know.
Also, if you would like to lead one or more of the above projects, your help would be welcome.
Rick Hines



