Building the Octagon Pt.28. Veranda woes.

*

While pondering endless ideas in my head, like a spinning plate juggler, I have been pressing on with the construction of the veranda. It seems easy enough: Cut two miters and fix a 2x8 on top of the 2x6 joists to match the adjoining 2x8 rim joists. The problem is that there are no fixed dimensions. The 2x8 rests against a 2x6 joist somewhere in the middle. That joist is not even upright because of the twist in many of the timbers. That same joist pushes the 2x8 away from its direct path between the two 2x8s rim joists. A hair's breadth too much here and the 2x8 rim joists miters won't ever meet. Meanwhile the piece is rocking like a seesaw on the very tip of the beam.

So I scrape away at the middle joist as I try to bring the miters together to perfection. Gaping rim joints are completely unacceptable. They are the most exposed parts of the entire construction and will completely dominate the foreground. Lifting and lowering the 1.8m long 2"x8" at arms length, as I sit perilously close to the edge of the veranda, is very hard work!

It goes on for hours. Up and down the ladders. Trim another hair's breadth on the miter saw in the shed. Back out again. Push the timber back up the ladder and let it lie on the joists. Re-climb another ladder to reach the site of the ongoing saga. 

Lift and lower the piece back into place at arm's length, again and again and again. This is only the third veranda rim joist! Once that joint is perfect then I have to start on the far end of the 4th. It too hangs over a drop with very poor ladder access. The slightest misalignment throws the meeting angle of the adjoining miters out. So the piece has to be the correct height, level and perfectly aligned. All the while the middle joist is pushing the piece out over the precipice.

There is no "Chippy's Mate" to help, willing or otherwise. Fortunately I saw the opportunity to clamp temporary support plates under the "wannabe" miter joints. Otherwise I simply couldn't hold the unsupported, 2x8 for very long, out there in mid air. The superb Bessey bar clamps have proved to be the exception to the rule that all bar clamps are complete and utter crap. I suppose they ought to be at four times the price of the complete and utter crap which I already owned.

Both of my hands feel as if they are sprained from the constant lifting. My back and chest are constantly in pain. My legs ache from repeatedly climbing ladders. My regular morning walks help to untie the knotted muscles but I must have been pretty fit to start with. I have to be constantly vigilant and attentive to potential falls. No ladder is climbed without it being set up properly and then tied off to something solid. The next fall could very well be my last. I have been remarkably lucky to survive this long without life-changing injuries.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

*