Week 8: Trusses and Vicwest Tin Roof

Roof Trusses

Last week Monday we got started putting up the trusses. We rented a crane for the day to get the trusses up there. It also ended up being kind of cold for the middle of June, and very windy! The trusses were flying around like kites. The guys spent a good amount of time bracing and strapping the trusses once they were up there, because if the wind knocked them all over if they weren’t properly secured it would have been a disaster.

It was a very long day. We all put in at least 12 hours at the house; by 8:00 pm all the house trusses were in place, the garage trusses were at least up there, and some strapping was done. See the trees in the pictures?  It was incredibly windy all day long!

On Wednesday night I helped Tony install some of the house strapping. I have a fear of heights, so I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it, and I was definitely not quick, but it felt good to be up there and help a bit.

I love all the trees on the property, but the view is even better from the top of the roof!

By Friday all the strapping on the house was finished, the trusses for the front peak were done, and the fascia board was all installed.

Vicwest Tin Roof

On Saturday we had a bunch of friends help install the tin roof. We ordered black Vicwest tin from H & I Country Supply in Brinston, ON. We decided to go with tin instead of shingles because we didn’t want to ever have to redo the roof. Shingles don’t seem to last as long as they are supposed to, but this tin will hopefully last the rest of our lifetime. The cost for tin may be a little more than shingles, but this was another upgrade that we thought was important.

The weather this week went from one extreme to the other! Monday was cool and windy, and by Saturday we were in the middle of a heat wave. The tin was so hot that some of the guys said they could feel their hands burning through their gloves. By the end of the day on Saturday they had just about all of the tin on the back of the house done…

.. and about half of the front of the house.

Here is how it looks from the inside of the house.

There are a few things to finish yet before the tin on the garage is installed. The ladders on the end gable needs to be installed. Here’s a little tidbit of info that I didn’t know before building this house: the end gables are made slightly smaller than the roof trusses. The ladders are installed on top of the gables so that they are flush with the top of the other trusses, and provide the overhang above the gable.  They can only overhang on the outside as much as they are supported on the inside.

The fascia board and all the strapping on the garage also needs to be finished.

Today was another VERY hot day, so we took it a little easy after the busy week last week, but back into the swing of things tomorrow.

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