The loft

What a sad day it was on Tuesday. I realized last week, after I spent a half a day putting up the 2x6 joists for the loft, that the floor wasn't anywhere near strong enough. I had planned to do 2x8s, but the building inspector who approved my plans made a note that a 2x6 could span 14'4". I assumed he was talked about ceiling joists, which I assumed meant it was strong enough for an attic floor, which I then assumed meant it was strong enough for a loft (surely the weight in a full attic is more than I will have in my loft). That is a lot of assuming, and yes, I know what happens when I assume. I had a bad feeling about it before I started, figuring I should probably just go buy the 2x8s and do it right. But after considering all that would mean -- going to the store, buying a bunch more 16 foot boards, loading them in the poor little truck (great truck, but not a fan of lots of weight), and losing an hour and a half to do all of that -- I decided to give it a shot. To no one's surprise, it was a bad idea. There was even too much bounce in the floor to use the "it's just a barn" line to justify a mistake. To make matters worse, I doubled up on one set of 2x6s, then nailed in a sheet of plywood (getting it to the 3rd level by myself was a beast) to see if it would help. That cost me even more time when I finally took it all down.

I kept asking friends and family what I should do, knowing that I had to take it down and start over but hoping that I could find a quorum to give me permission to leave it like it was. After a bunch of time spent shopping, renting the Home Depot truck to transport everything, prying off the plywood, knocking off the joists, the remeasuring and renailing everything (thanks to Dad and Dan for helping out), I ended the day with the barn looking just a tiny bit farther along than it had when I got there in the morning. Not the best day for the spirits.