New Pole Barn Started

[civilian]

Monday we put on the fascia boards, added extra bracing to the walls and pre-drilled all of the metal roof panels. Today we put on the metal roof. Had 4 people on the roof and 3 people on the ground delivering roof panels. Used a rope and c-clamps to pull the panels up the roof into position. We had 3 platforms to work from - 12' shelving at the low end, a kicker platform a mid level and a kicker platform at the peak. Allowed us to work safely and not climbing on the outside of the roof.

Here's the crew. The roof crew worked hard all day. The ground crew had some time to relax! The ground crew had over 200 years experience between the 3 of them! The roof crew was 3 pastor's and me! I think we had the good Lord on our side today!

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Roof is on.

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The ground crew had over 200 years experience between the 3 of them! WOW. That is 2 at 70 years experience, and the third at 60 years. Each with say 15 years before starting roofing work? Jon

 

[BoylermanCT]

That was life experience! Not sure anyone tracks experience of handing roof panels up to roofers!

Had a setback today. Was on the roof putting on the ridge cap. Got it on in 30 minutes and as my brother-in-law was climbing down the 24’ ladder it collapsed and he fell 12’ to the ground. It left me hanging off the edge of the roof but I was able to climb back on with only a few metal cuts on my arms. My BIL went to the hospital to be checked out. No internal injuries and no broken bones but a slight concussion. Very grateful no one was seriously hurt.

 

[s219]

That was life experience! Not sure anyone tracks experience of handing roof panels up to roofers!

Had a setback today. Was on the roof putting on the ridge cap. Got it on in 30 minutes and as my brother-in-law was climbing down the 24’ ladder it collapsed and he fell 12’ to the ground. It left me hanging off the edge of the roof but I was able to climb back on with only a few metal cuts on my arms. My BIL went to the hospital to be checked out. No internal injuries and no broken bones but a slight concussion. Very grateful no one was seriously hurt. View attachment 670751View attachment 670760View attachment 670750

Wow, sorry to hear that but glad it wasn't worse. I have had too many ladder accidents.

That is an odd place for a ladder to fail, so it makes me think there was prior damage in that spot. Maybe a ding or dent or something that led to the failure?

 

[BoylermanCT]

After the accident, we looked at the ladder, and upper section of the ladder fits inside the lower section of the ladder, with the edges of the beams riding inside each other and they get locked in by the rungs. The lower section was not longer square, with one edge wider than the other, and that meant the upper section was not locked into the lower section. So it appears the 2 sections partially separated when my brother-in-law got to the mid-point of the ladder. Then it twisted and one side sheared in half. It was a class 2 ladder and well over 20 years old. I won't be buying one of those again. My father-in-law brought over his class 1A ladder, and it is built completely differently with actual metal brackets holding the 2 pieces of the ladder together. His has a 250 lb limit vs mine at 225, but the difference is night and day in strength and design.

 

[civilian]

After the accident, we looked at the ladder, and upper section of the ladder fits inside the lower section of the ladder, with the edges of the beams riding inside each other and they get locked in by the rungs. The lower section was not longer square, with one edge wider than the other, and that meant the upper section was not locked into the lower section. So it appears the 2 sections partially separated when my brother-in-law got to the mid-point of the ladder. Then it twisted and one side sheared in half. It was a class 2 ladder and well over 20 years old. I won't be buying one of those again. My father-in-law brought over his class 1A ladder, and it is built completely differently with actual metal brackets holding the 2 pieces of the ladder together. His has a 250 lb limit vs mine at 225, but the difference is night and day in strength and design.

I always buy the 300 pound ladders. Not that I weigh that much. But with fully dressed in winter gear, boots and carrying something up a ladder, I figure I am over a 250 pound ladder. Glad no broken bones. Stay safe. Jon

 

[mred2]

All of my newer ladders are rated for 300 lbs. But I still have some old ones. My wife doesn't want me on a ladder anymore and I got a bucket lift. A genie z34/22. Real old but good enough for the farm. I think it will be $5,000 well spent.

 

[MickeyDBC]

I hope your brother in law is doing well and glad you didn't go down with him. I hate ladder work. If the ladder is good and strong enough it is too heavy to move around easily, and a light ladder will do crap like this. For my project I scrounged up two older scissor lifts and despite changing batteries in one and putting tires on the other I am still just a little over 4K into the pair. When I am finished I will sell one or both and still be ahead.

 

[BoylermanCT]

My brother-in-law has been resting for 2 days, and the doctor wants him to take it easy for 2 more. And by rest, they mean rest. No TV, no computers, no books no nothing! Work on the barn has paused for a few days. Next week we will be prepping the ground inside the barn for concrete which hopefully will be poured in a week or so.

 

[ovrszd]

Sorry to hear of the injury. Lookimg forward to seeing him back to fit condition.

 

[BoylermanCT]

Work on the barn is continuing. My brother-in-law is healing up well from the ladder fall, and my torn tendon will take many weeks to heal, so I have to take it easy with my left hand. Unfortunately I am left handed, but will adapt.

We dug a 48" deep trench in the floor to bury 3/4" pex tubing for a future water line, 1" conduit for a future electric line and installed 3 floor drains and a drain for a sink. We backfilled everything and then leveled the barn floor with 4-5" of dead sand and compacted it with the tractor and then a vibrating compactor.

Met with the concrete contractor today. He liked everything he saw, but said we need to bring in some more sand to bring up the low spots of the floor about an inch. Then we need to build the forms for the aprons in front of the 2 doors and the people door. So that is our task for this week, and he will come pour the concrete next week.

I asked about mesh / rebar, and specifically how he keeps the mesh from sinking to the bottom of the concrete. He said he does not use traditional wire mesh. The concrete supplier he uses has a way to dump in thousands of wire hooks into the concrete and those hooks create a spider web of metal mesh all throughout the concrete. I asked how you keep the hooks from poking up at the surface, and he has a special screeder which pushes any at the top down a bit so you get a clean top surface of the pad. He showed me one of the hooks, and it was the thickness of a 2" finish nail. He will finish to a smooth finish, but not polished like a garage. He will slope the floor 1/2" down around the drains so water naturally flows to them, in a 24" radius around each drain. Looking forward to getting the concrete done so we can get the metal walls up. Also looking forward to not having to do all the work for once, and watching a pro do it the right way the first time!