Drilling + Screwing..

The next step was to drill the holes and place our screws. This also went rather smoothly. It is a little tricky drilling 10 feet up in the air, however its manageable. We are going to get some proper scaffolding tomorrow which should make our lives much simpler. Working on ladders just add's more stress to the whole thing and its not much money to rent for a month. The bolts are a little long so we will have to trim them back when we have properly tightened them.

All the lumber which is structural for the house must be treated against rotting and termites here in Hawaii. The treatment system is called Hibor. You can read the website for more information if your interested. This add's some expense to the lumber, but it's not significant.

These are 1/2 inch galvanized screws. Though it looks like a crack, the beam is fine. Its just the edge of one of the pieces of wood they used had an imperfection.

Screws in place, we will add some steel strapping to each side here where they join also.