Duck House "How To Tips" ~ Part V

The rain is gone for a few days and we have been enjoying two days of fantastic fall weather. Frosty and even a little ice in the early morning hours, but shirt sleeve weather once the sun shines on the Hole In The Wall. I have finally got back to work and spent the past two days continuing on my current project, Duck Hose II. At the closure of the work day today, I am now prepared to go aloft and commence installing the ridge and rafters.

Finished up the siding today and installed the roof beams. The structure continues to remain true to square, well at least within a 1/4 inch tolerance. The main lesson I learned the last two days, "do not reflect on what you have done or currently doing but concentrate on the next step".

I got the two windows framed in, so we should have plenty of light. The larger window will be on the south side with a smaller window to the right of the door. In our "old" Duck House" it was always difficult to tell if the facility was in use, so I thought a front window would eliminate this problem.

Finished up the siding this morning and a very good lesson was learned in this process. When laying on siding, one should cut out the door opening prior to installing the last of sheet of siding. Although, I could have possibly found the door opening from the outside, however, I chose to insure that I did not cut the door where it should not have been cut. With the assistance of a ladder, I was able to access the top of the frame, raise the ladder and lower it into the inside of the building to access the floor. It was then simple to cut out the door and plate between the door frame.
I must admit, it did take a period of time and several practice cuts to determine the right angle for the roof support beams on the deck. Once again, I put my "palm nailer" to good use when "spiking" the timbers to the base and overhang. Although, most will laugh at my "crude skills" but when pricing lumber, I discover that 4" X 4" dimensional lumber is very expensive and perhaps over kill on a project this size. In place, I chose to use two 2" x 4"s and made a laminated beam. Using one quart of Gorilla Glue, I laminated the two beams and then insured the security by driving forty three nails on each side of the beam. They may fall down, they may break but they will never come apart. I love Gorilla Glue!

Side View Of The Duck House From Rear of Cook Tent

So far all things have went well, no bodily injuries but have been having equipment problems. Yesterday, I had to take time off to re-install the pull cord on the generator. Some how it fell off. Today, went to plug in the grinder to sand off a little excess Gorilla Glue that was seeping from the sides of the glue lam. Went to straighten one of the prongs on the plug to plug it in and it broke off. A quick trip to the hardware store for a new plug and 15 minutes to install. The biggest problem was that someone left the damm air hose to the nail gun laying in the same area that I was cutting framing materials, a rubber hose is no match for a circular saw, however, the excessive noise of rushing air will definitely get your attention. Now I know why contractors like to bid a job on "material and time". But, I am having fun!