Solar Power: Day 7

I hate surprises most of the time, and over the weekend, I had a VERY unpleasant surprise. This project is most certainly not dead, far from it, but it is in danger. I got a call on Saturday from the solar engineer assigned to my project who informed me that if the solar work isn’t completed by the end of this Friday, the loan company is going to default on the loan. NOT. COOL. If I had been made aware of this back in, say, July, I feel like I could have brought this to the attention of my pergola project manager and hopefully sped things along. I know this is technically the fine print that escapes everyone’s attention, including mine, but as Michael Gross said in Tremors 2: “I feel I was denied … critical … NEED-TO-KNOW … INFORMATION!” This wasn’t the only surprise, but it was the worst one yet.

The second surprise was from my pergola project manager. Because the addition of a center 4x12 beam to better support the 2x6’s was a late addition to the project, the expected delivery date for the beam is about a month from now. But after conferring with the lead worker on this project (whom originally suggested the center beam for better span support) he concluded that for now the 2x6’s should be fine without center support and then they can add the 4x12 beam when it’s ready.

Technically the final surprise is that the electricians from the solar crew didn’t show up today. I didn’t receive any notice but because today was an even split between my day job and helping to mill some lumber for the angled support braces, I didn’t get a chance to reach out to my solar engineer or project manager to see if they got delayed, or if they are just coming on Wednesday when they install the roof on the pergola. This doesn’t worry me at all though.

Now that my rant about surprises is out of the way, time to get into today’s progress.

The plan is to get the 2x6’s at least ready to install if not actually installed. Just like with the 4x12 notching, this was accomplished with a circular saw and Jim Carrey AKA the Milwaukee multi-tool. I also noticed the occasional follow-up with a jigsaw. In addition to the 2x6’s the hope was to get started on the corner braces.

The notches in the center of the 2x6’s are for when it mates with the center 4x12 beam. Since this beam is a month away from install, the center notching will likely be completed at that time.

The pergola crew returned at their usual time and got to work lifting and assembling the final 4x12 beams and then set about notching out the 2x6’s to fit over the 4x12’s. Apologies for the hazy photos, apparently the tempered glass on my phone’s cameras is scuffed up a bit, and the bright morning sun didn’t help for this picture.

4x12 outer beams are done and the crew laid out the 2x6’s up top for marking prior to cutting

After everyone came back from their lunch break I supplied them with details and dimensions for the angled corner braces.

The design calls for a 4x6 that is notched at the bottom to form a tenon that will go into a mortise centered in the corner posts. The brace itself will slip between the 4x12 beams at the top and then be secured with large bolts for decoration. The top cuts are so that the brace can rest against a 2x6 and then the top is cut flush with the top of the 4x12 beams.

My project manager opted to order 6x6’s for the corner braces since 6x6’s were also used in the privacy fence that will eventually enclose two sides of the pergola. I’m not sure exactly why this decision was made, but since I have a mostly functional woodshop at my disposal, I’m not going to complain.

Since at this point I was personally helping out with the project I unfortunately don’t have pictures, but more of this process will be happening tomorrow so I’ll get pictures then.

The spacing between each pair of 4x12’s is 3 1/2” in the plans and the real-world measurement actually is the same with maybe 1/16” variance, which to me is impressive. So each piece of 6x6 for the braces was to be milled down to the same thickness, adjusting for the variance as we went along. To the woodshop!

First up is my bandsaw. I have a Laguna 18BX model which is a 3HP direct drive saw. Side note: I love everything about this saw except the blade guides. I crave the Carter bearing upgrade, but alas that is being saved for when my shop is actually completed. But I digress. Out came my standard 3/8” fine tooth blade and in went my 1 1/4” carbide teeth blade or my Chew-Through-Anything blade as I call it. This blade once again lived up to its name. With the help of one of the crew we fed 4’ 6” long timbers through the saw in well under a minute and the saw didn’t even flinch let alone bog down. Laguna Resaw King for the win.

Next we headed to the planer. This is where I have to cash in every single card of humbleness and humility that I have because my planer is a Felder AD941 16” combination jointer and planer with the motorized planer bed lift. This is NOT a tool anyone should expect to find in a hobbyist’s or even professional woodworker’s shop. This is a high-end production shop machine but since it’s two tools in one, and I had just received an inheritance a few years back, it was what I ended up choosing. With a 4HP motor and the carbide insert helical cutter head, each timber that came off the bandsaw only required two or three passes to bring it down to final thickness.

The final bit of millwork was done by the pergola crew member. The simple cuts were handled by a 12” chop saw and the angled cuts were done with a circular saw and a jigsaw. The final cuts at the top of the brace will be performed after fitting, which will happen tomorrow.

One of the 4x6 corner braces … mostly complete

We managed to get three of the eight braces milled up and ready for test fitting tomorrow, which only took us about an hour, maybe less, a decent amount of which was spent double checking the design measurements. I predict tomorrow’s milling will go even quicker now that we know what we’re doing. But, like always, the “measure twice, cut once” pearl of wisdom is in full effect.

This brought us to the end of another day of construction. I actually thoroughly enjoyed helping out with the braces because I like helping others and I also firmly believe in working smarter instead of harder. My woodshop, while incomplete, allowed us to do just that.

More fun to be had tomorrow, so until then.