Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2017/11/20/carpenter-shows-how-to-raise-a.html
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I don’t doubt this guy knows what he’s doing.
I do.
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Like presidenting: Who knew it could be so hard!
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Really glad this didn’t turn out to be an OSHA training video (though it still could be, it just wouldn’t be as good as one with a gory head injury).
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He was more interested in making the video than doing it properly.
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I’ve framed a roof or two in my manual labor days, and raising a truss is at minimum a two-person job, ideally three.
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Yeah, this method…nah. The real fun happens when he gets ready to set the last couple of trusses and realizes there’s not enough free space to tip them up – always a good time (to practice your sailor vocab words; -)
In a sense, setting trusses is a lot like sex: you can do it solo, but it really rocks when there’s two (or more) people involved.
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When he says “it kind of balances itself”, that’s when you know it won’t.
Glad he uploaded the failed attempt.
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Rule number one in putting up roof trusses…don’t do it alone.
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at least he has the right attitude for adversity. i’m just glad it didn’t come down and hit him.
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I built my garage 98% myself, only had help getting roof sheathing up and getting the metal roof lengths slid up and held into place while I set a few roof screws.
But… I never turned my back to anything that was placed half-assed like that. He’s SO lucky. I see that happen, and I’m going immediately dismiss anything he’s got to say or teach.
I’m quite proud of the little jigs and things that I built that allowed me to mostly solo-build my garage. The times someone DID try and ‘help’ me… well… Get me Robertson #2 as I asked, I don’t want to have to explain it isn’t the slotted one or the star-shaped thing. My grandpa was the same way, rather do it himself than involve others.
And sweeping the floor, or cleaning the job site… that isn’t make-work for dummies, I just don’t think you are capable of swinging a hammer.
Perform on my level or get out of my way. Too harsh?
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Yes. Everyone’s gotta start somewhere…why not help someone get a good start? (Plus, guarenteed there’s people who are above your level; they should push you aside like the President of Montenegro first chance they get?)
I can be a crotchety Old Guy on a site (especially working on my own stuff), but not so old (or crotchety) to remember when I was young and/or dumb… Feels good – like final act Scrooge levels of good – to bring on a newbie for a couple days and give them a taste of how everyday things like houses actually happen.
Puts a bit of cash in their self-esteem drawer, puts a bit of light in their dark brains, and not uncommonly ensures that I can almost always find someone to help out again when I need it. (Ex: Young guys who mistakenly think they’re all that; young ladies who wonder if they’ll ever be all that; at-risk adults who can’t recall the last time they felt pride-of-doing. People remember the good done for them, and they’re usually happy to pay it back. But maybe I’m just lucky…)
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Its balancing like a coin on its edge. Any slight irregularly is going to allow it to flip.
I would think if he’s been doing this for while he’d think of some way of securing it for the short time it takes him to get up there and nail it into place (uh, a rope, attached to the top of the truss, that he can tie off to prevent it from falling back down).
Then, the way he turns his back on this precarious structure he’s just created. How can he know what he’s doing??
And, of course, he’s not wearing a hardhat. Why should he? He knows what he’s doing!
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I think that this dude might have some serious truss issues 
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Yeah, I don’t think he knows what he’s doing.
I’m finding it weirdly appropriate that the videos for a bunch of Boingboing articles have mysteriously been replaced with the Manson sketch videos.
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No hard hat, doing a two-person job by himself…yeah I don’t think I want this guy building my home.
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I built a house alone. I did stuff like this all the time… and I almost broke my arm once doing stuff like this…
I would have tied a rope to the truss he was moving, had it looped around the next truss, and have the trailing end at my feet. That way after I prop it up, I could pull the rope and tie it off while I walk over to the ladder. Maybe leave a little slack, but not too much. Just have it tied down enough that it wouldn’t flop over all the way if a strong wind caught it. Then go up there, get it just right, nail it down and then when I get down, untie the rope.
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Working alone on a construction site, doing anything from framing to sweeping, is an invitation for disaster.
No matter how much experience you have, it’s not going to save you when that ladder leg breaks, or the wind blows something heavy on you, etc. (or, speaking from close personal experience, cut off the tip of your finger with a miter saw)
Always have someone around who can call the paramedics when you can’t.
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