Steel beam is up

I found this contraption at Hertz Equipment Rentals. It's a material lift. This one is a Genie model SLC-12. It's the smallest they have, but a fair deal at $35 a day. It can hoist 600 pounds up to 12 feet -- more than enough for my beam.

This operation took three guys (two at minimum I figure) -- one cranking the hoist and the others at the ends pushing it into position. The column tops were strapped with specially fitted wood blocks to collar the beam. A couple of 2x4 extenders were tacked from existing tail rafters to the nailer strip on the beam. It's stable for the time being unless there's an earthquake.

Next: getting a good welder to make some pretty welds.

Column welded to base!

In my attempt to blog more often and more on progress than results, yesterday I posted too quickly about not finding a freelance welder. Well it takes only patience. Last night a local guy called, we agreed to time and price, and this afternoon he showed up to do his 15 minutes -- the column is now welded to the base plate! Unfortunately for him, his weld was somewhat ugly, though still passable, so he spent extra time (about an hour total) grinding it down to a smooth concave fillet. I guess that's why he's looking for work. Paid him $75 still. It looks nice because he put in extra effort for pride. I later sprayed primer on it.

Now it's easier to prepare for the hoisting of the long beam. It's much safer without having somebody (like an hourly welder) waiting and watching. Tomorrow my assistant and a neighbor friend of mine will help me get that beam up there in slow motion.

Welding logistics

I was hoping to find a lowball freelance welder to do a tiny side job that would take 15 minutes at most. But the guy who showed up was totally unqualified. Regular mobile welders charge about $75 an hour with a two-hour minimum plus mileage. That's like $180 for 15 minutes -- does not make any sense. So now I have to modify my logistical strategy and have a welder come just once.

I'll have to rent a device to lift the beam, get my assistant available on the same day, have every component prepared in advance, then schedule the welder to come out at the same time.

The challenge is not only figuring a way to hoist the beam up in position, but to do so soon after the base is welded. Once the base is fixed, I can remove the bracing to cut the tail rafter making way for the beam. As shown in the photo, it's directly in line. The beam will be above the wall light, which will be removed, and stay about a half inch from the siding. Then it needs to be braced from getting pushed laterally because that will still be the weak direction.

See previous post.

Brown concrete

The only exposed concrete for this project is the bollard, which isn't really a true bollard. It just looks like one. Whereas an architectural bollard is a safety post to prevent vehicles from hitting a nearby structure (or to prevent vehicles from entering an area), here it's really just a column base.

So in becoming un-bollard-like, I've decided to try a brown colorant in the concrete to make it pretty. Bollards are otherwise bright yellow to attract attention. The steel will be wrapped, maybe with cedar, which is brownish, so hopefully the total assembly will look okay when finished.

Standing column

Concrete has been poured, the steel anchor plate has been embedded, and it's firm enough to work on. It's actually level enough that the column, having come from the shop with nicely square saw-cuts, can stand perfectly plumb. However, just to be safe I'm using a temporary 2x4 clamped to a nearby tail rafter for bracing while waiting for the welder. He'll have a tiny job welding it down, then come back to weld the column tops to the long beam once I have that in place.

But getting the long beam in place will be the biggest challenge of this project. It's a 25-foot, 310-pound I-beam. Hoisting it up there will take some ingenuity -- or brute strength. Then bracing it will be another trick. The columns, as strong as they are being embedded in concrete, can still get pushed over without the rafters tying them to the house.