This week is a big week for our crew as we’ve been split in two since this past weekend. One crew has been on site assembling the diagonal steel membranes on the trellis and beginning to raise the gable pieces of the large slab structure, while another crew has been in the shop meticulously assembling the precise positions of members one gable at a time in order to drill the holes of the steel connectors.
This has been achieved through a formwork jig “mostly” screwed into our concrete floor to position our columns in the correct locations. Afterwards, we position the collar tie on the columns and make sure it’s perpendicular to the columns. Thirdly, we position the rafters at the points directed by our assembly shop drawings. This process takes much maneuvering and time to get the assembly just right and the timber members to be perfectly flush with each other, sometimes requiring extra work with the power planer to get things just right.
After the assembly is together and our diagonal measurements are precise, we use another set of jigs to set up the steel connectors onto each timber connection point. Once these are precise, we trace the holes of these connectors and drill a 1/2 inch diameter into the timber. We make sure these holes are straight by using a square at both parallel and perpendicular to the drill.
Because our drill bit is not long enough to go through the thick timber pieces, we must flip the entire gable structure and repeat the steps to position the timber and steel precisely at the same spot as our first drill. Once this is done, we trace the holes again and drill down, hoping we hit the same spot as the hole on the other side of the member. Once we finish drilling the holes on each side, we go back and auger each one to make them fully go through at a 1/2″ diameter with no sawdust debris still stuck in them.
Once this is finished, we move all timber members and their corresponding steel connectors into the hallway of the Cigar Factory to be taken on site where they are beginning to be erected by our second crew. This project is progressing quickly and I’m excited to start seeing these gables come together on site!