Paul cuts one of the end posts to length. Note the penciled saddle notch. |
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We first made a true cut near the end to produce a fairly flat base. |
Moving both posts closer to the house to work on cutting out the saddle notches. |
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We started cutting the saddle notches by making a rough "V" notch with the chainsaw to the depth of about 5 inches. |
Paul makes the first cut for the "V" notch. |
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Turning the log over, Paul makes the other cut. |
Doing some shaping to round out the notch a bit. |
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The rough shape of the saddle notch before fine-tuning the curve. |
We found that with a little practice and patience, the angle grinder with the chainsaw wheel gave us the best results for detailed cuts and shaping the curve. |
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This time we used a come-along strapped to the top of the wall to lift the post. |
Lifting the post up and over the rebar pin in the pier. |
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Lining up the pin with the pre-drilled hole before lowering the post down onto the pier. |
The post is now set on the pier with sill sealer as a barrier between the concrete and wood. |
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Drilling the hole for the rebar pin in the second post. Jeff pulls the auger bit back while John holds the post. |
Paul and John carry this one in. They make it look easy. |
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Setting the post near its pier. |
Rigging a ratchet strap around the post so they can stand it next to the pier. |
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Getting ready to lift. |
Lowering the post onto the pier. |
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John makes sure Jeff has the rotary hammer level before drilling the hole in the wall for the anchor. |
Drilling the anchor hole. |
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Lifting the second girder up to the top of the wall. |
Carrying the girder over the wall. |
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We had a little more trouble getting this girder into position because of the limited reach of the arm, but we finally got it set. |
A little difficult to see, but along the top of this girder is a pink string line. We had to see how much sag was in the log and how much we'd have to prop up the center. |
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At the end of the day, both floor girders were in place and resting on their end posts in saddle notches. |