Trusses, sheathing, underlay and more.

It has been three weeks since the last post. Not for want of something to write about, but a busy time of work, COVID, curling, rain and more. Much has been done, and much yet to do. My main hope is to get the house sealed — roof, windows, doors and electricity — before the bad weather sets in. The last three weeks have been mixed: from sublime fall days to early winter cold and gloom, as well as some significant rainfall. Currently, luck has it that the upcoming week is splendid and the next not too bad for the end of October. Things just might work out.

Once the walls were complete, the roof started, first with the trusses. Dave came in to operate the crane, lifting the trusses into place, starting from the east side all the way to the garage end in the west. Joe and James lined them up on the marks Dennis and Joe has inscribed on the top of the walls. They also had to be certain that the truss ends were equal on each side of the house. Once done, Joe and James nailed them in. As each truss was added, Dennis set up a 2 x 8 across the middle to tack them at precisely 24 inches apart centre to centre. Rather hair raising to see Dennis walking on a narrow board through webs of wood, nine and half feet above the floor. Didn’t bother him at all. I found it even crazier when both Dennis and Joe were up in the truss ends that will be the roof of the porch behind the garage as they dangled at least fifteen feet over rocky ground. I have limits they don’t even blink at.

Once the trusses were up, it was time to put up the sheathing and the underlay, readying the roof for the steel. 95 4×8 sheets of half inch plywood cover the roof span, almost 3000 sq. ft. The look of the house has shifted. It has led a number of people to perceive it as a big house. So much so that Joe, who now knows the building well, refers to it as “the big little house”. The sheathing was done over a few days given an intervening rain day. With half of it on, I expected there would be some dry spots on the floor after the rain. Not so. Many puddles were left after a bad night of precipitation. It was only after the sheathing was completed and the underlay added, that the house became dry for good.

Two types of underlay were used. Heavy duty ice and water guard were added to the first 6 feet from the eaves on both sides of the roof. On the south east face, this was increased to 13.5 feet as this will be the area for the planned solar panels. This is the peel and stick membrane that seals off any fastener penetrating the sheathing. The rest of the roof has a thinner underlay that is waterproof and breathable. It will serve to remove the condensation that accumulates under the steel. James and Nikki scampered over the roof laying and stapling it down. Once up, the house became “waterproof” and this felt great. It also permitted the work on inside. We started putting up the vapour barrier and strapping to eventually receive the insulation and drywall.

At the end of the week, Lena and I took a trip out to the house so she could see the latest developments. Lovely fall day and we had our first backyard lunch. Looking forward for more to come.

Roof time, and the steel was delivered on the Wednesday with the installation scheduled for Friday. Friday was also the day of Lena’s cataract surgery and important things take precedence. Things went thoroughly well with the operation and Lena is very pleased. Things went well with the roof as well as I was informed. Or half of it, at least. It took the morning. The scaffolding used for the roof then had to be moved and installed in the back — a storey higher. Once done, the fascia boards and roof edges were attached to the ends of trusses. While over the back of the garage, the fellows noticed that the free hanging trusses were sagging a bit and this has to be addressed prior to the roof install. This is Monday’s work, and the steel will go up later in the week.

The week also saw the electrician’s come in and set up the meter box as well as the electrical panel in the basement. Dave is expected on Monday to dig the trench for the electrical service. With any luck, electrical service might happen in a few weeks. The next few weeks are critical for weather change and the upcoming elements: roof, electricity, windows and doors.