7.02.2010

July 1... Sheathing in the Rain






I wish that I could say that sheathing in the rain is a joyous feeling like the song says... or is that singing in the rain? Whatever the case may be, rain is not a welcome thing while working with so much exposed wood. This whole project has been marked by sayings like, "I will be happy when (fill in the blank) is done." As in, I will be so happy when the pilings are done. It has only continued through where we are now with the current saying being, "I will be so happy when the tin is on the roof."

That being said, we are trying to be content and enjoy where we are now. This is a very rewarding section that we are on as we put up 1X8 tongue and groove sheathing. It is beautiful, rewarding, and feels relatively fast compared to 2X6 flooring.

This morning, we got an early start (well compared to some days) with eggs, toast (from home-made whole wheat bread Myra made yesterday), and coffee. Coffee was especially good today since it was my first cup in two days! So nice to be feeling better. The weather was overcast, but we looked forward to working in a cooler setting. The more walls that go up on the second floor, the warmer it becomes in the sunlight. We got everything up and got to sheathing and down-pour! The two days I was sick, hot and warm, the first day I feel well, rain, rain, rain. Rather than watch the wood get wet (even with tarps on everything) we decided to head for home... the rain stopped on our drive home and the sky turned blue. We still stayed at home for a while just to make sure it wasn't some cruel trick.

We went back to work and got the water off of the tarp, finished up the one sixteen foot wall and peak we had been working on and framed out the second wall. Sheathing was going up and we were making hay while the sun shined... absolutely beautiful weather. Then the air changed and it was possible to feel the rain arriving though it was still some time off. Down went the hammers, away went the saws and out came the tarps.

We are not really a family that is big into evolution... in fact, many of our jokes begin with "millions of years ago...," but Dad truly was a monkey as he jumped around on the ladder and rafters stringing up a make-shift tarp roof. I am afraid of heights, and so just watching him made me nervous. Admittedly, this project has put me out of my comfort zone on more than one occasion and I am gradually getting better, but I kept yelling at Dad and warning him about the stair hole and top ladder rungs and falling and what Mom would say... "Don't worry about me, if I fall, just call Mom." Yeah, I was more worried about what Mom would do to me if I called with a story of Dad falling two stories through the stair hole than the event actually happening.

So, the tarps got all put on (even through the crazy winds that threatened to blow them to Ruby), the rain began to fall, we got in the truck and drove home... the rain stopped before we made it into the driveway and though the sky looks like it may be holding a little rain at the moment... none is falling. Dad is convinced that the whole thing was either a test from God or a practice run for putting on the roof.

On top of that, all through the day, Myra was fighting off the beginnings of what I had for the past two days. I felt very guilty, but I now know the absolute truth. It was always rumored that Myra was most likely tougher than me... even though she felt sick, she worked the entire day, running chain saw, stacking wood, nailing in sheathing, running tarps around... what didn't she do today. And she had the same thing that knocked me on my rear for two days!

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