Week Three: bolting down the beams:

Once the beams were leveled, we could proceed with bolting them down to the posts. All connections were treated with wood preservative first.

Our plan was to countersink the bolts and washers on the tops of the beams, but we forgot to look for a spoon drill bit that would be big enough to fit our large washers. Instead, Tys made multiple impressions with our largest spoon drill bit so that the washers would fit.















Tys drills in one of the 10 inch bolts.




















The cordless drill would give up before the bolt was all the way in, so Melissa helped ratchet the bolts in the rest of the way.




















Tys remembered that it requires less force to turn the ratchet as the length of the ratchet handle increases. So, he grabbed one of the adjustable pipe legs of the concrete mixer we borrowed from one of our neighbors and we used that to extend the ratchet handle. This made Melissa's job much easier... She'll just have to find another way to get the bicep workout!