It isn’t every day we get the chance to do a job like this.
Sometimes called “popping the top’ this is done frequently as an addition in tight suburban and urban areas where the only direction left to go is up. Here in the Fredericksburg area, we usually have enough room to put an addition on the side or rear of a home, but on this small lot in a fairly dense subdivision, the owners have one direction to go – up!
And Battlefield is up to the job.
Vice President of Construction, Frank Roth, spent the week prior getting everything staged on site and planning the execution around the weather, materials and everyone’s schedule. Roof trusses, floor joists, lumber, dumpster were staged. Floor protection, dust protection and temporary support for the existing home ceiling were completed, as well as building the stairway to the next level ahead of opening the home.
The goal is to open the house, add the second floor and close it back up in no more than 2 or 3 days, keep everyone safe and do a good job.
Framing crew, crane operator and all hands on deck. The stage is set:
Up in the dark attic, our crew began cutting and preparing to remove the first piece of the roof:
Holes in the roof allow the straps to drop through to timbers that will lift the roof sections:
And for some initial action – a little anxious, making sure it all works; our framer makes sure it is quiet and everyone is thinking:
Away we go:
The first section is gone, and we get a little daylight and begin to get floor trusses in place to support the ceiling as we remove the sections of roof:
A little more action, on the ground, men receive the sections, cut them with a carbide tooth chainsaw and deposit them by tractor into the dumpster:
End of Day 1.