26.03.2021 Laser guided cross bracing! 😎

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Friday 26th 38-53F bright and breezy.

Today I will fit a lot of cross braces lower down. Ladder access is easier from the ground outside the gravel pad now. There is no longer any need for ladder work lower down. 

The braces need the mitre saw but I now use the jigsaw to produce lengths so they can easily go into the shed.  If I can finish the cross braces I can start on the plywood cladding. 

Thanks to the 360° laser level I was able to mark all the posts for the cross braces. It took two positions for the tripod, at two different heights, but it was unbelievably quick and easy. Normally I'd use a 4' builder's level and fiddle about for hours.

I cut all the remaining 2x4s into 80cm lengths for easy handling. Then mitred them all on the saw inside the shed. This saved me struggling to remove the saw and its bench to set it up outside. It also kept the noise contained. 

Thanks to using 6x150mm screws [1/4x6"] I could fix the braces through the paired upright posts. Thereby reinforcing the pairs as well as firmly holding the braces. I have left the front frames empty to allow easy access to the inside and outside of the existing [octagon] building.

Now [theoretically] I could buy the cladding plywood and make even further progress. I want to examine it first. Before making a decision on whether to use the 9mm or 12mm. 

Some of the old cladding plywood from the octagon will be recycled to save some money. Though that means removing it from the octagon. Which I don't want to do until the bigger dome is safely in place. To keep the rain and vermin out. 

If I fix all new ply and leave the octagon untouched. Then I can't reach the hundreds of screws to remove the old cladding. Without the strength added by the plywood skin I daren't raise the heavy dome. I can't lift the dome until the slit and shutters are completed. Decisions-decisions.

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