Starting to look like something

Yesterday was a wet, rainy, kind of yucky day, perfect for running into town for some materials.  I got three 20 foot long pressure treated 2X6s, which span the entire length of the new equipment shed.  I also picked up 3 pressure treated 4 X 4 posts for center supports.  The trip to town was just about all that got done, though.  Did I mention it was a rainy, kind of yucky day?

Today I made up for lost time, and now this thing is starting to look like something useful. The first task was to get those 2X6's in place, working single handed.  How does that happen?  With some horsepower and hydraulics, of course.

Horsepower and hydraulics hold roof joist in place for fastening

The three center posts were a bit tricky, but I sorted it out.  I put the two on the ends on good stout concrete blocks, and just tacked them into place with scrap lumber to brace them into position temporarily.  For the center post, I grabbed the manual post hole digger and planted it good and deep.  Then I used the tractor to hoist the joist, fastened it into place, and the difficult stuff was done.

Now it's just a matter of nailing rafters into place.  For now I'm just using black spruce poles, the result of a couple of different tree thinning and land clearing projects over the past couple of years.  I'll cover that with a blue tarp and call it good enough for this year, because the budget just won't cover a nice metal roof for the thing yet.  That can come later when the finances are more favorable, or when I find used materials for a cheap price. 

Meanwhile, here's the progress I made today.  By tomorrow I hope to have it covered.  If so, then no later than Friday I'll reconfigure the kennel perimeter fence, install a new truck gate into the kennel, and I can then declare the project....  well, I'm not going to say it yet.

Starting to look like a real shed