Ok, Now I'm getting cold.

I feel like I made good progress today, installing the (2) longer floor joists on the end of the stair opening. They were a little cumbersome, being 11-foot pieces of the 16" I-joist, but not too bad, really. I was glad, though, that I had decided to cut them a bit short of what I measured. Even so, they wanted to bind and jam on their way into place. The solution? Hammer time!

The Paslode nailgun is acting up more and more as it gets colder. It really looks like I need to put on a coalescing filter to remove most of the water vapor. That should prevent the gun from essentially freezing solid after 20 or 30 nails. I am using an antifreeze pneumatic lubricant which helps, but it won't stand up to the recent cold snap. This evening before I came into the house, the temp was getting very near those negative numbers.

More Pictures

Although I have been putting some effort into the project, there seems to be little progress. My guess is it's related to the time it takes to wrestle with the larger pieces. At this point, I need to place the short joists on either end of the stair opening, then I can start on the actual subfloor decking. Below are a couple of pictures which prove not only that I am still working on the project now and then, but that winter has decided not to skip Wisconsin after all.

Still Making Progress

Last night the first rimboard went up. In my enthusiasm, I thought "Sure, I can carry this thing up the ladder!" Bad idea. First, I may have to look into a better ladder - the creaking and groaning sounds were rather alarming as I carried the LVL up for placement. Afterwards, I checked the load rating (how's that for thinking ahead?) and determined I had exceeded design spec by about 50 percent. Second, the deadlift and carrying part were not too bad. But, as I started up the ladder, it dawned on me that the final placement would require getting the beam up over my head. Luckily, the stepladder was level enough that the beam would balance on the top while I took a breather. I plan to approach the next rimboard placement differently, since the effort required to lift a 165 lb beam all at once is very close to my limits. It may require some extra time and rigging, but I figure the reduced risk of grisly death is probably worth it.

Once all the rimboard is in place, the next step will be applying the decking - 3/4" T&G plywood. The trusses will be arriving next Monday, but I do not believe I will be quite ready to place them by then. The biggest holdup looks to be the steel hardware required to hang the "open ends" of the I-joists where the stairway opening comes through the floor. I have them on order, but they are scheduled for mid-January delivery. Oh, well, I think I can find something to keep me busy till then.