So, as the mizzle switched to drizzle to rain, I continued my quest to attach all the cedar to the house. I ran around and used the pinpunch to get the nails I’d not bothered to put in all the way in (some on the south side, some on the front), and I reached the very top of the two runs of 2′ either side of the door*. Now we need the bit that goes across the top of the door, which I need Kathryn present for. I can do one of them, but the rest of them require me to be properly up on the ladder. Which we’ve agreed is a two person activity (as in, we need a second person at the house).
Still, it adds some form to the building.
When Kathryn arrived we switched back to drywall. After the heady heights of yesterday’s rapid** installation, todays went somewhat slower. We didn’t get it quite as well balanced on the lift (although it looked okay at ground level, as it went up things started to go a bit skew-whiff), and getting it to align was a struggle. Also, it turned out that we had cut it very slightly too large. It was actually perfect except for one stud which was out of line enough that it jussssst fouled at the top (not ours, for once). Eventually we got it installed, but it was fiddly.
Then we had to cut the bits of wood that make up for the uneven framing of the walls… (it’s really that the two layers of the angled top-plate aren’t quite aligned where they meet the slope of the ceiling). That took a while because they each need to be made for their specific spot. Then glued and screwed to the trusses (because we want them to move with the trusses, not the wall). Then we attached the x-crack which went up okay… And then it was time to head home. Frustrating, as we’d both hoped to get that bit of drywall up.
However, during that process our drywall lift started making some…worse noises than it has made. And the winding mechanism is now, I think, at a worse angle than it was. And it looks like the bolt that holds that mechanism on may be pulling through the metalwork where it’s held on.
Did I mention it’s a piece of crap?
It’s actually “rated” for a 150lb piece of drywall, and the sheets we’re lifting are just over 100lb, so it should be fine. Buuuut… it looks like someone was learning to weld using the cheapest, thinnest metal they could find when they made it:
We’ll see what Arksen have to say – it’s warrantied for one year, so hopefully they’ll ship a replacement.
* It’s actually 1′ 11¾” because…err, because. I think because we concluded it was a better size for the green sheets (which we still haven’t quite put up). Also, it means you can definitely get 6 out of our not quite 12′ strips. Some are 12′, some are 12’¼”, some are 11′ 11¾”.
** By our standards
