Oh my gosh. You guys. Steven and Dad worked on the garage in the cold on Tuesday and Wednesday (we took Monday off because it snowed five inches). The high Tuesday was around 12°, and on Wednesday it got in to the 20s… maybe? But it was so windy. Y-U-C-K. They are HARD CORE. I had to work Tuesday and Wednesday, but took Thursday and Friday off to work on the garage.
Here’s what the guys got done early in the week:
Tuesday – straightened front/west soffit ladders, Menards return and pickup (we had some big things to pick up, and it helped that Dad had his truck here!)
Wednesday – straightened and rebuilt (in place, eek!) back/east soffit ladders, installed some sub fascia, got ready to get tops of trusses spaced out correctly
A lot of the work this week was rework and adjusting, since this is our first time doing this, and we make mistakes we discover later and need to fix. We’ve spent a lot of time adjusting the trusses. That is what they started Thursday with – Dad and Steven shimmed up a few that were low in the southwest corner. They also finished the sub fascia in that corner.
When I came out after my Thursday morning work meetings, they were installing longer stabilizing boards for the top of the trusses. Previously, we had short boards that just spanned two trusses. They replaced them with longer 12′ foot boards marked with lines for every truss (24 inches on center) to be more consistent (and to ensure the trusses are in the right spot – they’re so flexible).
I helped take out the shorter boards on the north side and install the long ones.
After lunch, Dad and I worked on making sure the trusses were plumb. We adjusted the north side by attaching a ratchet strap to one truss, then pulling on it. They’re all connected with those long boards, so that worked. The south side was actually okay!
Arrow pointing to ratchet strap
Steven was working on installing the sub fascia on the back/east ends, and we helped him finish that when we were done.
And… that is everything we did Thursday. Gosh, it’s a lot of work trying to make this thing plumb and square!
On Friday we installed the painted fascia boards. We wanted those up before we started putting OSB sheets on the roof, because the fascia board would give them something to rest up against.
The black board is the fascia
We mocked up a jig to sit between the trusses and push the fascia against to make sure it was in the right spot to install. It took a while to make the jig, because we had to decide exactly how that build-out was gonna work.
Fascia jig
We started installing the fascia boards in the southeast corner – our most hidden corner – so we could learn as we went. And we did. Sigh. Some of the boards were warped and the bottoms looked like smileys. Friendly, but not what you want for the bottom of your fascia.
We ended up taking some boards off after installing, cutting some parts out, reinstalling, etc. Things often take longer than you think (especially when moving ladders around is involved – that takes up a lot of our time, especially since we have to use boards to level them out on the bottom). But something exciting happened Friday afternoon while we were working on the fascia install – the sun came out! For the first time all week! It felt great!
We finally got most of the fascia up toward the end of the day (except one corner we left open to figure out with the roof sheathing), then got to play with a toy we rented…
… more on that in the next post though!
Your posts about this garage project has given me a new respect for everyone who works in construction! It’s crazy how much has gone into this!!
Also, I can’t imagine working in 20 degrees, much less when the high is TWELVE. Hardcore is right!
Yeah, me too. I can’t imagine doing this crap every day all week. I’d be exhausted! Props to them!
Gah. I was so worried about them, but they said they would warm up and just their hands would be cold!
Man, high fives to your dad and Steven for working on the garage last week. I guess with your dad in town, it made sense to power through, but it was SO cold last week! I was in full-on winter mode at the beginning of last week and cannot imagine spending all day outside. Oof! Good for them!
Yeah, that was the only reason to keep going outside – to not waste valuable “Dad” time! Ugh, what bad timing. Of course, this week is much better. Sigh.
All I can think is how strong all y’all’s arms must be from lifting so much over your heads!
They def are!
(Actually, Steven’s shoulder was bugging him before we started and it’s gotten so bad he went to an orthopedic specialist today. The doctor told him it will get better when he’s done with this. Poor guy!)
Oof, I feel bad for Steven.