Reassembly of the hexagon and roof frame

 

With the floor done it was now time to begin to reassemble the corner posts that would support the hexagon roof frame. The elevator would come in very handy for this task. Here are the corner post loaded and ready for transport to the top.

OK, The corner posts are attached to the floor rim joist with four GRK screws and then a 2x12 header placed between them at the top. The header is fastened to the posts with 4" wide nail plates and screws. 

Here the nail plates that hold together the posts and headers can be seen. Not visible are the hurricane straps that are wrapped around and over the rafters and fastened to the outside of the header. Also in the picture, between the nail plates is the temporary blocking  at the end of each rafter subassembly section that helps position it. This was key to the assembly process for a roof frame like this. To the right can be seen the upper pulley that was used to bring up each roof subassembly frame. This could not be brought up in the elevator because of their size.

The rigging of a second class, moving pulley, made the task of lifting up each of the roof frame subassembly a snap. Two guide ropes were attached to the bottom corners of the frame and ran through junk brake rotors on the ground. These kept the frame from twisting around as they were raised to the top. Also the extra length of the sling from the pulley to the frame gave me the slack I needed to lift and twist the frame up onto the floor deck. Made the whole thing a one person process.

Things are really starting to take shape now. The first two sections of roof frame are up and in place. The 12 sided center pin where the rafter sections meet at the top is held up by a set of temporary supports.

With the roof rafters in place it was time to sort out and pair up the 12 roof sheathing pieces. This was a puzzle and even though the parts should be the same there was some "uniqueness" to the individual parts that came about in the process of making the six sided form. Anyone that has ever built a Gazebo knows what I am talking about. If you haven't you will the first time you do one.

Pairs of roof sections could be loaded on the elevator and brought to the top. C-clamps were attached to the edges for grip and helped to get the pieces up through the roof frame and in place.

One sixth of the "pie" was on. I would work my way around the roof going up from the inside and screwing down each piece of 1/2" OSB to the rafters.

No doubt about it. With half of the roof covered progress continues and should be having a drink high above Cabin #6 in a week or so. You can see two of the windows for the treehouse leaning against the cabin.

  

 

The Elevator - goes "Up"

So in this phase of the project the solution for getting up into the treehouse will be solved.

Plumb bobs were dropped from the top of the floor to locate exactly where the guide rails for the elevator would need to be dug. Short sections of treated lumber were used for the portion that would be in the ground. Gravel would be used to fill in the holes when finished.

The cross section of the guide rails would be built up like this at the bottom for support strength and stability.

A 2x6 is layed on top of a 2x4 to form the first rail leg. This had to be straight in both X and Y planes.

With the 2x6 and 2x4 "T" assembled for both rails it was time to attach the garage door track. This was made of two pieces arranged so that the rollers on the elevator cage would be trapped inside the track. 

The rails were rotated 90 degrees so the garage door tracks faced each other. Then recycled 1x6 treated deck boards were attached every 24" to tie the two rails together and provide an escape "ladder" should there be a problem with the elevator or hoist. I also gave the wood a coat of finish while it was on the ground.

Rigging for the lift would be another challenge. I decided to harness the top in two places with a cable then attach a sliding snatch block that could move along the harness as the assembly was raised. This would make two lifting points and take some of the stress off the rails during the lift. Not shown but, equally important was a set of come alongs attached to the bottom ends of the rails. These held the rails and prevented them from sliding forward as the assembled rail system was lifted. It did the job and worked very well.

A worm drive winch left over for a bridge raising was used to raise the rail assembly. It was anchored to a section of the 2x8 Oak support structure. The hand crank was replaced with a Milwaukee Hole Hog drill to do the turning. 

The first 45 degrees of lift were the hardest and you could tell by the load on the winch. Two helpers maned guide ropes on the top end just to make sure the rail assembly did not swing for some reason during the lift.

Well as the casual observer would say, "That was easy".

With the elevator cage in place and the hoist attached it was time for a test run. A load of 350 pounds of concrete blocks would do the trick. Note: the platform sticking out in front is a temporary support to hold pieces of the treehouse that will be brought up to the top for assembly.

And there you have it. First load, 350 pounds of concrete blocks raised up 30 feet to the floor of the treehouse. Now I can remove the ladder, finish the floor and begin the re-assembly of the treehouse.