After squaring and leveling the frame on Wednesday (we did some other work on Tuesday), we made sure the rafters and upstairs posts were plumb. We used 2x6s to brace them in place, and then we measured for the purlins to go in bay one (the west side of the house). My dad, Mark the intern, and I set up an assembly line to cut the ends of the purlins. Once they were cut, Mark and I hefted them up and put them in their mortises. Dad stayed on the ground to hook the purlins on the ropes we used to lift them up the second floor level.
Once we completed the purlins in the first bay, we moved to bay three at the east end of the house. The procedure remained the same. Lifting with the ropes worked well. We didn't have a lot of room at the edge of the frame, but there was enough to set them down, unhook the rope, and then set them in place.
On Thursday morning, Dad, Mark, and I began on the middle bay purlins. We measured their needed lengths and cut the dove tail tenons and curves on the ends. 
Inserting them into their mortises was a much more nerve-wracking job than the other two bays. There is no second floor in the middle bay. So, we had to work from the outside edges on top of the other purlins. We took an hour and a half to just put these 13 purlins in.
Mark and Dad began cutting the floor joists for the the first floor in bay one while I climbed drove wedges into the dovetail joints on the purlins. We purposely cut the dovetail tenons smaller than the mortises. This allowed us to use wedges driven in on the sides of the tenons to draw the joists and purlins tight. It worked well.
After taking a few pictures, we put a tarp over the frame on Friday afternoon, in order to keep some of the rain that we hope to receive off of the frame (it's been very dry here, with no appreciable rainfall for the last six weeks).
We have the first rafter set (the set includes two rafters, two posts, and a collar tie) assembled and are getting the rigging attached to raise it.
The first two rafter sets are up!
Another view of the first two sets raised. We completed this by lunch time.
The same thing from another angle.
It rained for ten minutes in the early afternoon. We were working on the second-floor floor joists and got rained on a bit. We took a break until the rain stopped.
We lifted the floor joists with straps on either end. Once we had them up, we set them in their mortises.
We had the floor joists in and then inserted wedges in the dovetail joint to tighten them up.
Our third rafter set up. We used the gin pole on the middle two sets. The outer sets we lifted by hand and some help from the ground via a rope.
We lifted the pieces for the rafter sets up with straps like we did the floor joists. Four people were able to lift the 16 foot 6x8 rafter. One of the posts is being lifted in this photo.
A view of the rafters from below. Just a cool photo.
We're lifting the last rafter set. We secured the ladder and attached a block at the top to help with the lifting. There were three people on the rope. Their job was primarily to help keep it up once it was vertical.
After the rafter set was up, we lifted the girt into place. We had to lean the rafter set on the right out in order to get the tenons in their mortises. Then, we pulled it back together and pegged the girt and braces.
I'm driving a peg into the rafter foot. we used a come-a-long to pull it down so that we could get the peg through the hole. I had also draw-bored (or attempted to) the joints which does put a lot of pressure and pull them together.
Our work for the day. The rafters are all up! There is a second floor!
Another view from the front. The gin pole stands in the middle of the house, waiting to be removed later. No purlins yet, but the rafters weren't inclined to move anywhere.
I took this photo early the next morning. The sun shining through the morning fog added a nice touch.
This is what we accomplished in two days of work! Everyone that helped has a right to feel proud of their work. I am extremely grateful for all of the help!!
This is the gin pole that we used. Most of the lifting was done from the 15' height, at the top of the oak 6"x8". It was originally anchored with two 3/4" nylon ropes, but when we started the first lift, they stretched so much that we added a chain to the back of the pole. The upper section on the pole adds about 8-1/2 feet of height using two 2x8s. This section was intended for lighter and higher lifting. It ended up not being completely necessary, but it helped with lifting two of the rafter sets on the second day.
This is the first bent that we lifted. The power for the lift was provided by my neighbor on his Massey Ferguson 235 tractor. The pull rope was a 3/4" nylon rope using a 1:4 block and tackle. It lifted each of these bents without problem.
Once the bent was vertical, we tied it from both sides and braced it with 2xs so that it would stay up.
To raise the second bent of the day, we leaned the gin pole over toward it a bit. Our chain on the back of the pole kept it about a foot from the edge of the first standing bent.
Several of us helped start the second bent as Jerry pulled with his tractor.
Once this bent was vertical, we kept it that way with ropes pulled and secured in opposite directions. We were able to lean the bent outward a little, allowing us to connect the girts between these two bents. We hefted them into place after lifting the second bent.
Before lifting the third bent of the day, we attached the girts and braces to the first bent. Although the braces were sufficient for holding them in their positions, we also used some 2xs to provide additional support, keeping them in place until the next bent was up.
Again, the lifting power was provided by the tractor. We kept watch on all of the lifts to make sure that the bottoms of the posts didn't slip off of the concrete piers. As the bent neared vertical, we guided the tenons on the girts and brace into their respective mortises.
Before lifting the final bent of the day, we decided to try it with the girts and braces already inserted and pegged. Although it added a little more weight and changed the balance as it lifted, it worked quite well.
As the bent came up, the girts and their braces came down and were guided into their mortises.
At the end of the day, the main part of the frame was raised, ready for the rafters. It was a great day, and I am extremely thankful to all the friends and family who helped throughout the day.
