June 7, 2019 – Not a whole lot going on today. I managed to get the living room ceiling tied back into the new structural beam. We placed a temporary 4×4 post under the living room ceiling to hold it up while we installed the new structural beam. With the ceiling tied back in I removed the 4×4. Voila, there you have it, ceiling support in the living room.
Temporary 4×4 post holding up living room ceiling.The living room ceiling support beam meets the new structural beam.Installation of a new joist hanger to tie in the living room ceiling to the new structural beam.Jacking up the living room ceiling to flush it with the bottom of the new structural beam.Living Room ceiling tied into the new support beam. Temporary post is removed.
Before night fall I was able to get some more demolition done at the gable end of the living room. We are getting closer to tearing out the walls.
The gable end is now open and the new structural beam is clearly visible.
Next up is the installation of a new ridge beam to support the new kitchen ceiling.
June 2, 2019 – With good luck and lots of hard work we plan to have the structural beam installed by the end of the day.
We made any early morning run to the Lewistown Lowe’s to pick up the lumber and plywood to construct the beam.
Trip to Lowe’s for the structural beam materials.
Beam Construction
Our structural beam is constructed with three layers of 2×10’s separated by two layers of 1/2 inch plywood. The layers are glued with Loctite PL Urethane based adhesive. After gluing, it is nailed together with 16d nails. The nailing pattern is in three rows with the nails 8 inches on center. The length is 20 feet end to end. It is very heavy!
Constructing the structural beam on the deck framing.Here is the completed structural beam. All 20 feet!
Beam Preparation
After the beam construction we set up some ladders and got ready to lift it into place. The fun part..! All of the necessary openings and holes were previously cut so the only thing that remained was getting it in there.
Roof section over the living room removed for beam placement.Hole cut in roof on the kitchen side to accept the new beam.
Beam Installation
“Beam Master” Troy hoisted the beam up into the roof opening. Apprentice “Beam Master” Ryan managed the anchor point of the come along. “Commander Gyeem Beam” operated the come along. With a lot of effort, some sweat, and some cursing the “Beam Team” managed to pull it into place.
Lifted into the roof opening and balanced on a ladder.Pulled into place with a come along anchored on the opposite wall.The beam in place above the living room.
My thankx to Troy, Megan, Ryan, Angelie and Robrandi, a.k.a. the “Beam Team”, for your help. We wouldn’t have been able to get this thing in place without all of you guys.
The image below shows the 4×4 post we installed to temporarily support the living room ceiling. To the left of the post is “Beam Master” Troy in full regalia!
“Beam Master” Troy Part of the “Beam Team, incognito.
