Framing Complete!

At the end of the last blog entry I was at a point where the main knee wall was complete and I have started framing the end walls.  Most of the framing details where fairly easy to complete although I had never framed and squared a building with a knee wall before.  There were some minor setbacks getting everything squared up but once that was completed, framing moved ahead quickly.  I had originally designed the building for trusses with gusset plates but realized that each truss was going to be more than I could handle on my own so decided on common rafters and a ridge board instead.  In order to place the ridge board I made sure to frame a pocket with enough space so we could lift and drop the ridge board down in place.  This complicated the design since the ridge board would now be part of the air barrier in the building.  Some attention to detail was required using similar methods that were completed during our house construction.  The ridge was supported with a post that sits on concrete pad below. Various pieces of vapour barrier can be seen hanging on the structure in order to provide continuity to the vapour barrier once it is installed at the inside.  Common rafters went up one by one and attached to the ridge board using various strong tie screws and connectors.  The pictures illustrate places where 3m tape has been used.  At the exterior, the tape and acoustical sealant provide anan air barrier at the exterior sheathing.  The 3m tape along the glazing sills will be used to seal the twin wall polycarbonate.  Sheeting the roof was super easy with the earth berm at the north side.  Most sheets could be pushed up the rafters from the ground and then nailed while standing on the roof.  Framing was mostly complete after a couple of weeks.  The weather was fairly cold up until the middle of July making it a real task to want to be outside!