Raising The Beam
by Hairy Larry

Posts Set, String Strung, Ready for the Beam

June, 25 2001, J.T. White delivered our custom ordered 22 foot long 2x12s, and we're ready to make and install the beam. I spent the morning sweeping, nailing, and tieing up loose ends. Dennis Mathes and Sonny Ackerman showed up at 1:00 pm. Time to go to work.

We spent the first two hours measuring, hammering, glueing, sawing, and drilling. The beam is 32 feet long laminated with 2 2x12s and 3/4 inch plywood in the middle. Allen B.A. Adams and Shawn Hotop showed up with the backhoe and helped us carry the beam around back.

We lifted the beam onto the bucket of the backhoe and then B.A. lifted it into place. That's Shawn standing in the bucket. Sonny and Dennis are standing on the guardrail muscling on their end of beam.

Once the beam was on the posts we turned it up on end. We lost one angle brace trying to get it in position. That's Dennis hammering it back in. You can see B.A. supervising.

Dennis and Shawn drilled our guide holes. Then we had to lift the beam back up to get the holes all the way through the posts. No, I'm not really holding up the end of the beam. B.A. lifted it with the backhoe. I'm just holding it steady while Dennis drills.

We finished drilling the holes and B.A. carefully set the beam back on the posts. Ready with the carriage bolts, washers, and nuts we hammered the bolts through the holes and tightened the beam in place. It was four hours of labor for a crew of hard working musicians but now we're ready for the trusses and the roof.

Tightening The Bolts, Ready for the Trusses and the Roof

Photos by Vivian Heyl