Building a Barn: Building the Rafters

I have decided that I really hate rafters. I hate them. Why do we need to put a roof on the barn anyway? Stupid question, I know. But building the rafters was annoying enough that I wandered off to the creek for a good portion of the afternoon. Good thing my kids can build rafters without too much supervision.

In hindsight, it wasn't really that bad. The pieces in the shed kit came pre-cut. We just really had to screw the rafters together. Except it wasn't that easy. First, you have to put the rafters together. Here's where you just hope and pray that your walls are straight and true, because if they're not, if they're leaning at all, the rafters are just not going to fit. An inch matters.

So we put the first rafter together. Then we realized I had done it backwards and we had to take it apart again. I was already irritated so off I went to the creek. By the time I got back, Tristan and Rowan, all of 14 and 12 years old, had put together all 6 rafters. And they'd done it correctly. They're really better at this whole thing than I am. 6 rafters assembled and all I'd done was walk to the creek and back. So I felt bad about that and made them their favorite lunch. Tacos. I made tacos, we ate a late lunch, and then we had to get the rafters up onto the barn.

This was going to suck. I am not very strong. Rowan, my younger son, is pretty short and also not strong. So how exactly were we going to get those rafters up there? Tristan. Tristan was how we were going to get those rafters up there. All of 14 years old, but he's stronger than most adult men I know. Tristan directed us and his method was simple. He set up two ladders, one for me, one for Rowan. We would be outside the barn across from each other. Tristan would lift the rafter into place, we would hold it, he would get his drill and screw it down.

Placing them worried me. What if they weren't exactly where they needed to be? But Tristan anticipated that problem. He got out his tape measure and marked exactly where each rafter would go. No more stalling, I guess. Rowan and I took up our positions. Tristan lifted the first rafter with ease. The side walls are 6 feet high, but somehow he managed to get that rafter up there. We held it in place, he screwed it in, and that was that. The first rafter was in place.

Five left. I really couldn't believe that Tristan just hoisted them up there. I really couldn't. But he did. All rafters were suddenly in place. It helped that the wind wasn't blowing. We briefly discussed putting the plywood up on the roof just in case the wind picked up, but frankly, I was tired. I know, I hadn't done much of anything. Held a few rafters in place. But...well, the forecast didn't say anything about wind.

The plywood could wait for the next day. Right at that moment we had to round up the chickens and figure out where the dog had wandered off to.