Rafter work continues

Yesterday I finished cutting all of the interior rafters for the "West Wing". Using the calculator and grade 10 trig I figured out all of the lengths and then transcribed them onto the 2x10 lumber with my new favorite hand tool, the Swanson Speed square. If you ever need to build rafters, you will want this tool.

On the side of the new construction where the front door will be I'll be creating a 9 foot overhang. The rafters for this section of roof will be of 2x6's since they'll be outside and won't need any insulation. They'll have to sit on a post and beam kind of framing arrangement which will be the next job after I fasten the freshly cut rafters from today.

Speaking of grade 10 trig, the picture to the right is all my calculations, stud lengths, top plate and sill lengths for the new addition. Every now and then I'm really happy I had great math teachers for those few years. Trig and algebra are 2 aspects of math that I find myself using over and over.

The image to the left is the floor plan of the new addition. The existing house isn't shown but attaches at the bottom of the floor plan. The alcove marked "fridge" is open to the main house so that the fridge will be inset into the wall and only the door will be seen.

Here's a quick artist's rendering of what the final place may look like when its all done. The wavy lines in front of the addition will be beach logs to hold up the overhang. I haven't shown the deck which will span the whole addition and a bit of the main house.

It's pouring rain right now but will supposedly ease soon. Under a tarp, I'm going to cut some more laminate flooring for the loft until the weather breaks enough to dig out the nice saw. At that point I'll go back to fastening the rafters.