I was able to get the first sets of rafters cut and hung today onto the posts. It was a painstaking process using my junky battery operated drill to bore the holes until my neighbor came to the rescue with a giant drill which made light work of the holes. Once I was able to use his drill the real work came down to getting the holes to line up correctly on the last set of rafters since the rafter that would be closest to the house could not be tacked into place to drill because a screwdriver could not fit between it and the house. I needed to push the bolts through first and then drill the holes precisely where they belonged in order to slip that rafter onto the bolts. That didn’t so easy and there was a lot of trial and error but I eventually got it.
So this is what I ended with today.
Tomorrow I’m hoping to finish off the rafters. After some hemming and hawing about how to hang them I think I’ve decided to use a type of joist hanger called a Hurricane Hanger which will keep me from having to notch and screw each rafter. I found them at Home Depot tonight after sorting through a pile of metal thingys near the lumber. I have high hopes for these. I’ll post a picture tomorrow so you can see what I mean.
It’s looking good! That will really make that patio “pop” when it’s done.