26.02.2021 Block spacing gauge and veranda demolition!

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Friday 26th 38F, overcast but with sunshine promised. The sun arrived just after 9.30 and then continued on an off all morning.

A problem with variations in block spacing needs immediate attention. It's no use trying to force a huge and heavy frame into the wrong sized shoes. So I am going to make a simple gauge. [Image right.]

Two stumps of 2x4 screwed to a [standard length] cross brace. I will check each "shoe" spacing and then make a clockwise list. Then cut new braces and mark them and add them to the list where I know they will fit. 

The metalwork shoes are at full stretch due to the size of the paired 2x4s. So have no flexibility left unless the brace is the perfect length. When the braces are too long they take the only available space from the next frame. If the brace is too short it won't stretch far enough to reach the shoe. 

The metalwork brackets [shoes] have slots for timber size adjustment but not enough spare capacity for the wrong spacing. The manufacturer's claim is 100mm or 4" capacity. Yet the feet [upright posts] of the frames are only 2x47 = 94mm. Hmm?

Well, that was interesting. The gauge had no problem fitting into the shoes with another 2x4 alongside. It must be the weight and bulk which makes the frames seem as if they wont fit.

I decided to continue with the frames as they were. So I dismantled some of the front of the veranda. To make room for more frames which are much closer to the octagon. 

It took a couple of hours but I finally managed to remove two fascia boards and the safety fence. Access to the joist hanger screws was very poor. I ended up sawing off the last bit of the fascia to be able to free it. The last few screws were impossible to reach.

I will need some fixings on the joists. To apply safety cord to hold the front frames upright. Without the veranda fence there is nowhere to tie off the frames. Except to each other. 

The frame on the right [south east] required removal of the veranda timbers and boards to stand upright. I had to lower the 2x4s down through the carcase, by hanging out of the slit, before I could mark the joists for removal. 

Now I have cut away the joists I can build a full frame and place it up against the building. The last frame on the right needs the cladding to be removed form the octagon to fit onto the existing post.

Now I can see where the frame cross braces can be moved upwards in the frames. So that they can be screwed to the undersides of the floor joists. This will help to stiffen the new structure. The forward projecting, veranda joists still need to be cut off flush with the fronts of the frames. These joists will support the perimeter of the enlarged, observatory floor. So cannot be simply cut back without thought.

This is still very much a mock-up as I try each [minimalist] frame in place over the blocks and steelwork. To see how they all fit together and around the original [octagonal] building. I am checking uprightness of the posts with my long builder's level as I go along. No point in screwing anything together yet. I am using G-cramps and cord at this early stage. Just to keep things safe. 

Perhaps I ought to make up some more frames tomorrow. I keep re-using the same ones. By moving them along to a new spot. 

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