8/18-20/12 (Saturday-Monday) I realized that my original plan to install the ceilings over the gable walls in sections will not work. I had planned to erect scaffolding that would allow me to separately install the four sections between the purlins on each gable wall. But then it dawned on me that if I tore out the old rodent-infested insulation in one section, replaced the insulation with new clean insulation, and then installed the ceiling boards, by the time I moved the scaffolding to the next sections, the packrats would be right into the new insulation messing it up and now it would be inaccessible because of the ceiling boards.

Instead I need to erect scaffolding all the way across the entire gable wall. That way I can remove all the bad insulation at once and hopefully keep the rodents out while I install the new insulation and the ceilings.

I designed a new scaffold system for the gables that will hang from the anchor hooks and be fastened to the PSLs and RPSL, at least on the Grid 1 gable. I bought the material, and fabricated many of the parts at home so that it wouldn't take work time away from my time at Camp Serendipity.

8/21-23/12 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

On the way, I stopped in and visited with Uncle Charles. I arrived at Camp Serendipity at 2:00. After lunch and a nap, I dismantled the three tier scaffold tower completely. I stacked the frames and braces on the upper roadway and I stacked the planks on the porch.

Then I tied up Rosy, the rose bush, and drove the truck up alongside the porch deck. I had quite a bit of stuff with me to unload. There were a bunch of 4x4s and steel strap hangers I had made for the new scaffolding. There were two pictures that we had framed and we wanted to hang in the cabin. And there were other tools and odds and ends.

After unloading the truck, I loaded up a bunch of firewood we will use in a camping trip this coming weekend. Then I backed the truck back down, parked it, and installed the electronic rodent repeller under the hood as I always do. Then I dismantled the scaffold tower on the porch and stacked the parts as before. And then I quit for the day, had my shower and dinner and finally hung the two pictures on the walls. I hung a nice needlepoint Ellen had made in the bathroom, and I hung an oil landscape I had painted in the living room. They look pretty good if I say so myself.

On Wednesday I started out by watering all the giant sequoia trees. Then I went to work fabricating the last parts for my new scaffolding. I made 7 S-hooks from two different lengths of #3 rebar by bending a hook on each end. That made 14 bends, each one requiring two passes using the rebar cutter/bender Dr. Dick had given to me.

Next, I fastened one of the steel strap hangers I had made on each end of the seven 5-foot 4x4s using three joist hanger nails in each hanger. That was the end of the fabrication, so now I set about installing the scaffolding.

By standing on the cliff, I could reach up and hook two of the rebar S-hooks to two anchor hooks, one at Grid E1 and one at Grid D1. The rest would require a ladder.

About this time, Bert showed up so I stopped work to give him his hugs and biscuits. I am a little concerned about Ernie. This is the second time Bert has shown up alone.

I went back to work and as a proof of concept, I hung one 4x4 from one of the S-hooks and using a ladder, raised the other end of the 4x4 up against the cabin wall so the 4x4 was horizontal and fairly level. Then I drilled a hole in the wall log and screwed in a 3/8"x6" lag screw. I left it sticking out two inches so that I could slip the hanger on the end of the 4x4 over it. Then I snugged up the lag screw and the 5/16" bolt going through the hanger and over the lag screw. This joint provided the support for the 4x4 on that end. The S-hook holds up the other end.

It worked exactly as planned so I proceeded on to install the second 4x4 on the second S-hook and lag screwed it to the Grid D1 PSL. This required a ladder running from the cliff to the cabin wall.

Now that I had two 4x4s installed, I raised one plank and set it on top of the two 4x4s. This was the start of the scaffold deck.

After looking at what I had done so far, I decided to change my plans and support the inner end of the 4x4s from S-hooks just as the outer ones were. I could use the inner anchor hooks. I discovered that I had enough #3 rebar to make the extra S-hooks so I went back down to Dr. Dick's cutter/bender and made some more S-hooks.

But when I tried to install one, I realized that the scaffolding would be too unstable and that to make it work up against the PSLs, I should have made C-hooks instead of S-hooks. I decided to change my plans back again and stick with the lag screw method. I installed two more 4x4s before I quit for lunch and a nap.

Then I went back to work and installed the last three 4x4s for a total of seven. To provide lateral support for the first 4x4, I screwed a length of Simpson steel strap to the 4x4 and also to the projecting wall log that was right next to it. The rest of the 4x4s will also need lateral bracing of some sort but I couldn't use the wall log trick on any of them except for the last one at Grid A1. I didn't know exactly how I was going to brace the rest of them.

With all the 4x4s in place, even though they weren't braced, I placed almost all of my planks on top of them. Most of my planks are 8-footers, and they are too short to make the first, and the last, of the four spans. I have three longer planks which I used on the first span and then set all of the 8-footers on the second span. From this I could get an idea of how to deck the entire scaffold over. The plan is to use the four or five 10-foot 4x4s I have on the fourth span and then use pieces of plywood or OSB on top of the 4x4s.

I quit work at 4:30 feeling pretty good about my scaffolding plan. The extra time was to get ready to go to the neighbors for dinner but I was super tired so it was probably safer for me to quit that early rather than risk an accident.

After a nice shower and some relaxing, I drove over to Byron and Barb's place and had a sumptuous dinner with them and Walt VanAtta. We had a delightful time along with a great meal. I got back to Camp Serendipity by about 9:30.

On Thursday morning, I stabilized the second 4x4 by screwing a plank to it and to the first 4x4, which was already stabilized. Then I stabilized the third 4x4 using a couple of cross braces. This isn't too effective, so I will have to bolster it somehow later.

Next, I brought up a piece of plywood and used it to to cover part of the three planks on the first scaffold section as a proof of concept. It worked exceptionally well so it convinced me that using that method on the 4x4s on the fourth span will work great. I am now confident and happy with my scaffold plan. The rodents on that side have only a week left now before they get evicted. I left for home at 1:00.