4.02.2021

windy days ~ build-an-arena

Day four, five and six of our arena build flew by, despite the crazy winds. Plans were cancelled to put the trusses up on Monday. It just wasn't safe. The builders did what they could on the ground. They added paneling to the east side of the building where it is more protected from winds and got ready to frame up other areas.


end of day four

The crew hit the ground running on Tuesday, and started swinging trusses and hammers. Lots and lots of pounding. It echoed across our valley. When I got back from walking the dogs I joined them. The only decent place to shoot from was on the actual job site, next to the pile of trusses waiting for their turn to be set.



moving a truss (33 seconds)



getting ready to place the truss



lifting the truss in place (11 seconds)

After watching our house and barn trusses set high in the sky with a big 'ol crane, the sky track method wasn't very exciting. The sky track inching along with the swaying arm extended, while balancing a wide truss made me kinda nervous.




everyone was working fast


when climbing jungle gyms as a kid comes in handy


friends in high places


ready or not, here comes another one


taking a truss for a walk
(see guy walking with strap attached to truss)


a balancing act



the guys were up and down and all around

I watched a couple trusses go up, and went back to doing chores. By late morning, the wind had picked back up. It put an end to progress, before half the trusses were up. 



view from our deck


view from lower pasture



8 trusses later


end of day five


a cloudy view


an hour later, a clearer view

Day six was game on, no doubt making up for lost time. The builders worked hard. A couple of the younger guys kept things light by singing off/on most of the time. It was pretty comical.


the last truss being set



view towards the barn


view away from the barn


all the side windows are installed


trusses up and secured
(23 seconds, keep your hats on I spun kinda fast)


end of day six



5 comments:

Val Ewing said...

I was wondering about the winds and how they would effect the trusses. Boy that part sure went up fast.
It is interesting to see how the arena progresses from your point of view.
It looks Huge!
Love the sky in these photos too. Of course the one shot looking straight up makes me dizzy!
Looks like things are moving right along.

aurora said...

It did go fast, altho most work days last week were half days. When the five man crew works (they had a couple extra hands at times) they work hard. I didn't mean to make anyone dizzy while looking up, looking down and all around!! The many sticks do play with ones eyes. My video's definitely spin too fast, except for the putzy sky track longer video. All I could think of was, got a snickers bar lol!!

Linda said...

It’s a miracle!! 👏👏👏 Great photos!!! It looks massive!! They’re doing such a nice job with everything. It’s beautiful.

Grey Horse Matters said...

Once the trusses are up it goes fast. It will be closed in pretty fast. You guys did a great job planning and building. You're going to love riding in there and working with the horses. Must have been interesting with the wind whistling through and around those trusses. Love it!

Shirley said...

Woo-hoo!
I'm so excited for you guys!
Enjoy the process, it will soon be a memory.