Building the Hip Roof

This morning the crew, now consisting of Kyle, Dave, and Jose, is working on the roof over the front entrance porch and stairwell.  This is the part of the house which will be covered by a hip roof, or as I prefer, the rainfly.  This and the rest of the roof structure has to be finished in the next two days.  The roofing crew will arrive about noon on Thursday and get right to work.

Dave (left) tosses Kyle some lumber.

The rafter sitting at an angle shows the slope of the hip roof.

Dave and Kyle trailered up all the materials needed for roofing.

Floyd, my next door neighbor, was at the Township Board meeting last night.  He reported that the footings for the service porch and screened porch were poured yesterday.  R.J. dug the holes, the Quik-Tubes were placed, and then the forms were filled from a cement truck.  Dave told me that the level of cement in the tubes was determined by laser measurement.  After the roofing is completed, the crew will start building the porch deck.

These tubes, filled with cement, form the footings for the porches.

Kyle and Dave plan to build a temporary staircase for use during construction, but they don't want to put it in until the building can be locked up at night.  (The stair kit will be installed late in the process.)  At this stage the interior of the building is full of hazards to life and limb — stairwell shaft, window openings without windows, door thresholds three feet above grade.  Someone wandering around in the dark could be injured.  Hence the "Keep Out" signs.  The site has several visitors every day.  We don't want anyone hurt.

We're not trying to be unfriendly... just prudent.

The weather continues perfect for this kind of work — clear, cool, mostly sunny or lightly overcast. •••