Metalwork

The steel beam shown in the prior post (30 foot I-beam) is going into the kitchen/dining room space to avoid ceiling sag.  It will run the length of the kitchen/dining room space and rest on a steel post at either end.  (max deflection of 1/2" over 30 feet)

 

The beam was drilled and 2 wood beams added to either side, and then ceiling joists hung to those beams, as shown above.  When standing in the 2nd floor addition, the next photo shows the installed beam from above.

And finally here's the view from the inside after installation.

Also during this time we are working on waterproofing the roof.  Our builder is known for mitigating water issues and these giant crickets on the rooftop correct a problem with the original roof design.  

Next up - the 2nd floor addition is almost completed and we've started window and door installation.

Trusses

After removing the garage roof, we needed to install engineered trusses to support the 2nd story addition.   The design of the trusses is done by an engineer and truss construction is basic using only 2x4's.  But the installation is backbreaking as they were all manually lifted onto the roof, including one that was a double truss lag-bolted together.  It took 5 of us to carry it and Pappy tripped and it fell on his shin but luckily no broken bones.  Anyway, the after picture looks better than the during...

After getting the trusses installed we added 3/4" tongue and groove plywood subflooring.

While not really  needed, I went ahead and added waterproofing sealant to the subfloor.  Three gallons of Olympic via a hand sprayer.

The past few weeks have been very hectic because we were given 30 days' notice in our rental (while I was mule deer hunting in Wyoming).  We had to find a new rental, move everything, and continue with construction.  So in this next pic you can see the top of our rental Pod in the background.  We moved into a condo downtown last week (just in time for ACL) but stored some of our bulky things at the new house in the Pod.  But back to construction...in the pic below, the staircase to the upstairs will enter in the center at the shingled roof.  There will be a bedroom on the left and right of the center line, and the projection at the far end of the roof will be the shared jack and jill bathroom.  Theo wants the right hand (backyard) bedroom.

Finally, here's a pic of the fun to come on Monday.  Due to the newly designed open floorplan, we have to install a 30' steel ibeam in the ceiling...

More Demolition

Our house will be growing outward and up with two new bedrooms and a bath over the existing garage.  But first the existing roof must come off and trusses installed.  The best part of this project is that the relentless Texas heat has broken.  We spent the first 6 weeks in 100+ temps but over the past week we are in the 50's at night and reasonable (80's) temps during the day.

Skip is working on the removal.  A circular saw was used to cut directly through the shingles, felt paper, and roof decking in section.  Using a sledgehammer, pry bar, and cat-like balance these were forcibly removed.

Amazingly it took only 2 hours for four of us to take the roof off and put it in the construction dumpster.  A lot of waste but we did save the rafters and beams to reuse.  James and Oscar are continuing the demolition here, after the roof was removed.

And the clean garage...