Saturday, September 08, 2007

After what we went through to build the silo walls, I was convinced that installing the domed roof while working 26 feet off the ground would be nearly impossible. So Glen (our sawmill buddy) agreed to hire out as a crane operator this weekend, to lift the trusses onto the barn and set the silo roof into position. All I needed to do ahead of time was assemble the silo roof on the ground. First, I built another 'ring' using leftover scraps of plywood and OSB, then bolted the sections of steel angle to it to form the base of the roof. I temporarily screwed the base ring assembly on a framework of old barn timbers to get a level work surface. The timbers will give us something to attach the hoist straps to when it is time to lift the roof off the ground. Lisa helped assemble the roof panels and they were bolted into position to form the dome shape. While all of this looks fairly straightforward, I ran into various 'issues' that spread the project across 3 days (and nights!). In the end, I was scrambling to finish before Glen showed up with the crane.

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