Adding more support.

1/9/19:

Summary: Today I found that the top of the frame I installed yesterday needed a bit more support, because that is where the pocket door is going to hang. So, my activities this morning primarily consisted of building, inserting, and fastening that support.

Full description: I started off this morning by going into Jacobhouse and observing the wallframe I fastened in place yesterday. I knew I needed to level out the top RO (rough opening) board, so my main focus was on that. To do so, I ended up attaching on a piece of 2×4 blocking to the left side, using a woodclamp as a lever to tilt the top board into place, and then drilling through the left vertical RO board into the piece of blocking to keep the newly positioned top board in place.

After I saw this, I noted that the right side of the top board was looking a bit weak compared to the side that I had just fortified, so I cut another piece of blocking for it and fastened it together like I did the first. I took the level then, and found to my dismay that the top board of the rough opening was not level. To determine which side was off, I used measure tape to find the distance between the top RO board and the top wall frame board. The findings were perplexing at first, for the distance was almost 4 ½” exactly at both ends. I knew the whole frame was pretty level in every direction, so I commenced to measure the distance between the middle of the top RO board to the top frame board. The culprit was a bow in the wood.

To fix this, I took a 2×4 outside (a warped one, because I knew I would only be using little pieces), and through trial and error found that the my best method for a fix was cutting two 4 ½” long pieces, one 3″ long piece, and one 37 ½” long piece. I chose the length of that last piece on account of it being the length of the non-warped portion of 2×4 I had fetched and because it was almost exactly half the length of my 74″ RO width.

I attached the two 4 ½” pieces to either end of the 37 ½” piece and the 3″ piece to the very middle. I then brought the assembly inside and tapped it into place with a 6-pound hammer.* After ensuring everything was where it needed to be, I used my drill to put woodscrews up and through the top of my 37 ½” support board into the top board for the wall frame. I did four to start. Then, I used woodscrews to fasten the top of the RO to the little pieces of 2×4 (the 3″ piece and the 4 ½” pieces). This pulled the top RO board into place, and when I put a level on it afterward, it showed something that was actually quite close to perfect.**

*My reason for an asterisk at this point, is because around this time I went out to help Padre and Wag chase some heifers across the yard.

**It was around this time that I went out to help Padre and Wag tag a calf and check beef cows.

Additional notes: Today’s weather was once again in the sublime category. I could notice that it was getting a bit cooler – it will be getting cold for a day or so – but in the sun I was able to continue my ‘t-shirt and shorts’ shenanigans.