As I began working, Bear started in with his antics.
This look (below) is Bear working up to leaping onto the ladder. Yes, he did leap.
When I heard a scratching noise, I spun around to yell at Bear because I thought he was scratching my walls. This is what I saw:
What a nut case!
I decided that installing ceiling joists on the JayBee would provide more stability in high wind than the west wall, so that's what I did--install ceiling joists. I got off to a slow start but, once I figured out a method for doing it by myself, it actually proceeded smoothly.
Arlen came by to help me move a few things under cover. Dale came by and helped me get the entryway header installed. Once that was done, I finished fastening the south wall top plate.
Then, back to more ceiling joists.
I was really pleased with the results.
Isn't this great light coming through the east window?
When I finished with the ceiling joists after 4:00, I then had to secure everything for Irene. I put cinder blocks on the building materials that will stay in the yard. I lined the floor of the JayBee with multiple tarps, sloped slightly towards the open west end and open entryway. I removed the plastic from the windows; I figure it wouldn't stay put anyway. I'm hoping that allowing the wind to blow through the JayBee will help keep the wind from blowing it apart or flipping it over. This all took me so much time, it was after 9:00 before I was done. Yes, it was pitch black out by then; I finished up by the light of a lantern.
The rain preceding Irene is supposed to begin tonight. The wind could reach 65 mph tomorrow, and we could get up to 8 inches of rain. There will be power outages and flooding, no doubt. I'm so exhausted, I'm thinking of tomorrow as recovery day more than hurricane day.
Nice joists! I can't imagine what the procedure is for doing all that yourself—wow. It's impressive enough that you got so much done today; but then to spend the time putting up this post before crashing... that's dedication!
ReplyDeleteI called at about 8:30, and when you didn't answer I thought, "She must still be out there with a work light" ;-) It's so great to be able to see all that went on.
According to the Weather Service, the wind tomorrow won't gust much higher than 34 MPH; but tomorrow night it could go as high as 49. Not too bad, considering, eh? And it looks like there will be quite a bit of sun next week, after all this :-)
I was thinking about you all day yesterday, hoping your preparations were going okay - looks like they were. Woohoo for you! Enjoy the forced down-time today. I hope the tarps do their job and Irene doesn't damage ANYTHING!!!
ReplyDeleteI know you're busy with work and all. But I'm probably not the only one on pins and needles wondering if your beautiful house has become a pile of scrapwood.
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