It’s not an easy job, as it’s two stories up, but thanks to the help of my friends, the first soffit (the area under the roof on the outside of the home) is now in place
On the other side, the top two boards are in, so the rest will be reachable from the scaffolding without a ladder. We took as many safety measures as possible; fixing the scaffolding to the wall and a bracket around the ladder to prevent it from tipping over. Climbing gear and rope ensured that in the unlikely case of a fall, it would not lead to injuries.
Other than for staining, I won’t have to go up the ladder on the scaffolding anymore.
Reinforced with 16 3” screws and the support beams now routed into the legs, this is now a coffee table fit for elephants. (No, this is not a challenge to see if someone can break it). I can literally jump up and down on it. Of course I don’t way 200 pounds, but even if I did, I could stand on it easily. So it should be good, even for Texas coffee cups.
Texans must be heavy coffee drinkers. Very heavy. My coffee table again was broken 😞. Normal use, like putting coffee mugs, plates or anything like that on it would not break it. The only thing that would is jumping on the table. It could be a Texan custom I’m not familiar with to do that, but hey, if that’s what is customary, I will rebuild it in a way that can be done. 🤷