Only in Texas, Don and Harv doing

[txdon]

Harvey, is this the right way the rafters will install on the ridge pole with the connectors?

 

[Bird]

Don, looks like you're about ready to go to work with a heavy duty screw gun.

 

[txdon]

Yep Bird, I am ready to get'er'done.

Harvey, I made this mock-up of the way I figured to cut the connectors on the pole side of the doorway. I just cut one set and will wait for your advise before I cut all six.

I cut a couple of inches off the "L" connector and cut a 1/2" off the "thru" connector. I also notched the "thru" connector. See attachments.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Yep Bird, I am ready to get'er'done.

Harvey, I made this mock-up of the way I figured to cut the connectors on the pole side of the doorway. I just cut one set and will wait for your advise before I cut all six.

I cut a couple of inches off the "L" connector and cut a 1/2" off the "thru" connector. I also notched the "thru" connector. See attachments.

That looks good Don.

Remember when you lay out your door to allow some spacing for shimming the pre-hung door frame when you're plumbing it up.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Harvey, is this the right way the rafters will install on the ridge pole with the connectors?

No.

Ideally the two rafters will only be out of line by the thickness of the twelve gauge bracket thickness.

The two short legs of the brackets face the same direction.

On the horse barn I had to modify the brackets with a grinder a little bit because the there was so little pitch in the roof. (eighteen inches/twelve feet)

 

[txdon]

Thanks Harvey, that's what I was thinking!

 

[DavidPerry]

Harv, Are you at a production level with these connectors? I think I have a pole structure that would work great with these.
Thanks
--David Perry

 

[txdon]

I have not died of heat exhaustion. However, I have found it incredibly hard to think when the temperature goes above 100. Yesterday I got an outdoor mist fan from Wall-mart that lowers the temperature down to 79 F when you stand in front of it. I'm moving slowly on the framing and am just about through with what I consider the hardest wall, the inside wall, because it has two framed doorways. I made it more difficult than it needed to be by putting the doors too close to the poles. I had to make Harveys brackets shorter to get the frame close to the pole so the threshold would fit the slab protrusion. This would not have been a problem if I would have put the doorway at least 8 inches from the pole. I also had to "stretch" two connectors because I put my cement bolts just a tad too far from the doorway. Next time I'll know better, I guess I'm getting experienced.

While Harvey's choice of saws for cutting the purlins was the chop-saw I prefer the portaband saw on a stand. (This saw was also great for cutting the poles.) The cut is clean, fast, less noisy, and there are no sparks. The clamp down chain holds the purlin secure while it is being cut.

Harvey the screws work great. When the 2500 RPM drill is half throttle they work even better!

The 12'X9' storage area walls will have to be bug proof. I am planing no interior walls at this time but will build it so I can add it later if I decide to. Harvey's connectors offer several ways to attach purlins to metal and to metal poles. I have decided to treat the storage area as a separate building which will be attached to the carport. To accomplish this I will use his "L" connectors on the outside skin of the storage area where there is a connector behind the skin to attach the connectors and purlins. The purlin will then be connected to the "pass through" connector on the next pole of the carport. I know this is hard to visualize and I will take pictures and explain it again when I get to that point. I'm trying to think several steps ahead. Today I realized just how slow the heat is making me when I caught myself trying to plug two electrical males together.

Here are a few pictures I took today. If you can see where I need to put three more 3' horizontal purlins on the inside wall you are good and must be in a cool place.

I'm going to take a break and do something a bit different next week. Karen thinks that posting that "something different" will probably have to be posted under the SAFETY forum ---- she might be right. It might be risky but at least I'm not jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.

 

[txdon]

Harvey, when we were at Scott's, attaching connectors to the poles, Jinman was there to hold the connectors. I noticed in one of your pictures you used a vice-grip tool you made to hold the connectors while you attached them to the poles.

I decided to make a slip-on attachment to my vise-grips that would securely hold the connector's tab to the pole and be out of the way of the drill and screws. They would have to be adjusted easy to level and square the connectors. If that did not work I was going to weld-up on my new vice-grips but they work great.

I guess The connectors carry some of your LUCK with them!

Here are a couple of pictures of the vice-grip slip-ons.

 

[MF1455v]

Don, those look great. I think you should call them "Jimfingers".

Your having more fun than you carport is going to be able to store. Keep the pictures coming. I'm enjoying your progress.

James