OK- we got back on track today and started our sill plate. The first part of the process was to measure and mark out the lines we would use the position the 2x4s that will make up the sill plate.
It's really imporant that these lines make a perfect square, so we triple checked them. After measuring in from the sides 4.5" on each face and marking lines, we checked to make sure that these lines formed 90-degree angles to each other: first we double checked to make sure that each length was the same as it's counterpart across the trailer. Then we pulled what's called a "3-4-5" triangle on each corner: if one leg of the triangle is 3' and the other is 4', then (if the angle between those two legs is 90-degrees) the hypotenus will be 5'. Fortunately for us, each of the corners made great 3-4-5 triangles. Finally we checked the diagonals across the trailer. They were equal. We were square.
This meant we were ready to start the next part of the job: actually placing the sill plate. Today we kept it easy and just did the portion of the sill place that didn't involve the wheel wells. No angled cuts, no curves to negotiate: just putting a (hopefully) straight piece of wood down on a straight line and securing it there. The most difficult part was figuring out where to drill holes for the trailer attachement bolts to go, but this didn't take too much extra work. We just placed the 2x4 next to the bolts, marked where they were on the length of the wood, measured how far in from the edge of where the 2x4s would sit the bolts were located, and marked that spot on the wood. Then we got to "drill, baby, drill" (the only time I've endorsed that course of action).
Tomorrow we'll have to start problem solving and figure out how to get the sill plate over the wheel wells.
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