This weekend, I hauled my final two loads of steel. I know my Jeep is glad of that with hauling 890 pounds on the roof. It included the last two 6" i-beams for reinforcing the ceiling and the final six 4" i-beams for reinforcing the walls.
I got the final six i-beams welded in place to finish reinforcing the two walls that will be underground.
After getting the wall supports finished, I began on the ceiling supports. Due to problems I ran into with the back support, it took up much of my time. After I got it welded in place, I got started putting the center support in place, which entailed not only hoisting it up, but also cutting it down to size so that it would fit in place.
To get it hoisted up, I used a hoist in the center and then attached one strap on each end of the beam to support the ends.
I got the final six i-beams welded in place to finish reinforcing the two walls that will be underground.
After getting the wall supports finished, I began on the ceiling supports. Due to problems I ran into with the back support, it took up much of my time. After I got it welded in place, I got started putting the center support in place, which entailed not only hoisting it up, but also cutting it down to size so that it would fit in place.
To get it hoisted up, I used a hoist in the center and then attached one strap on each end of the beam to support the ends.
As I slowly hoisted it up, I had to readjust the straps on each end, which is what took so long.
The hoist could only pull it up so far. I finally had to remove the hoist and replace it with a third strap. To slowly adjust the straps on the ends, I had to hold the beam with my shoulder while I released the strap to be able to pull it up further. Yes, my shoulders are sore today! Here is a final picture of the beam in place. I put the house jacks underneath it to push it the last few inches. I did not have enough time yesterday evening to weld it, so that will be done next weekend.
Another thing I did this weekend was to mark the trees that must be cut down to make room for the solar panels. This is a picture of the trees I marked with the ribbon around them. Luckily, a neighbor saw the marked trees and asked why they were marked. He is going to cut them down for me and take all of the wood for firewood. There will be no cost to me for that.
Another thing I did was to clear the concrete path around the container so that we can implement the concrete blocks for the drainage and sewage pipes. I also put the final seal of foam at the base of the containers.
The other thing I did was to make the current four solar panels permanent so that I no longer have to haul the deep cycle battery back with me. They are now mounted on the roof. When the trees are taken down, I am going to move the panels to their final resting place.
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