A Crane at Eagle View

We see Sandhill Cranes at Eagle View, but this particular crane was of the lifting variety.  The framing crew had constructed two double roof assemblies on the ground.  Each roof section consisted of three trusses, each connected to the next truss by 2x8" roof purlins, and 2x6" ceiling joists.  The plan was to lift the pre-constructed assemblies onto the top plates of the Shop walls.

The shot below shows the situation the morning of the planned roof lift.  All the wall blocking is in, the windows and doors framed, some wall sheathing added for wall stiffness, and the walls were plumbed and braced with long 2x4"s.

In the shot below of the west side of the Shop, you can see the three 4'x2' window frames up high.  There will be matching windows on the opposite side and one more matching window on the back wall.  We included these to let more natural light into the Shop.

Morning moon in a west window frame.

Here comes the crane up the driveway right on time, 9:30 AM MST.

The driver/operator picks his spot and sets up the stabilizers in short order.  He raises the boom preparing for the first lift.

The operator swings the hook over the first target.  You can see the rigging straps indicating the significant breeze that morning.

The framing crew quickly secures the lifting straps to the roof assembly that was inside the Shop.

First roof assembly going up!

Fighting the wind to set the first roof section into the proper position.

First roof assembly in place, the crew removes the rigging straps 23ft above the Shop slab!

Without missing a beat, the crew secures the second roof assembly to the lifting straps.

Up goes roof assembly two...

The operator swings the roof assembly toward the front of the Shop, Craig the Foreman pulling the guide line below.

Second roof assembly just about in place at the front of the Shop.

Once the crane was gone, the crew began to make fine position adjustments on the roof assemblies and walls.  Derrick tweaking with a lever from the top and Craig used the ratchet straps inside the Shop to make the final position adjustments before the final fasteners were installed.

Once the two roof assemblies were fastened into place, the crew began to install the 2x8" roof purlins and 2x6" ceiling joists connecting the two sub-assemblies.  That will complete the framing of the roof members.

Gari reviews the progress at the end of the crane day.  There appears to be a few missing ceiling joists in the middle roof bay.

End of crane day shot below.

The following day the roof sheathing and wall sheathing of 7/16" OSB was going up quickly.

The second course of OSB is staged and ready to go up, as Derrick works the final cuts up on the roof.

The long shot below shows that Troy of Valley Excavation has covered over the drain field as the framers have been busy with the Shop.  The small pile of 3" Idaho sand is the cover for the septic tank.  We will leave that uncovered for now, and when we return in the spring and install the sewer lines going to the Shop we will then complete the backfill job at the septic site.

The shot below looking in a front door of the Shop and out the back to the south.  You can see some of  the window rough openings up high in the shot below.

Wall and roof sheathing going on!

We installed a couple No Trespassing signs, one at each driveway.  This shot is looking west from the hard surface road.

Gari policing up the site at the end of the next day.

The crew pretty much finished all sheathing with the exception of the two gable ends.  Awesome crew!

Looking east below.  The haze from the California, Oregon and Washington forest fires continues to make haze in the valley.

A view showing the west and south sides of the Shop.

A shot of the 4'x2' windows below.  The builder had originally specified white, but we found out we could get them in Clay color.  We think that will blend better into the siding color.  We thought these windows were going to be non-operating picture windows, but we see that they are casement windows.  We think that may be a nice feature.

The two personnel doors are 3ft 6-panel steel doors.  These will be installed on the east side (next to the future house) one near the front and the other at near the rear of the Shop.

Last shot on Thursday, last work day for the week.  Next week we expect to see the gable end sheathing completed, personnel doors and 4x2 windows to be installed, and the Shop wrapped with house wrap.  It will be interesting to see how far the guys get.  They are about one week ahead of what we were anticipating today.