MEET ME AT THE TOP
Initially the engineering plan called for four 2 x 10’s, but Chuck, our master framer, suggested that Paul look into finding a single ridge beam. On Wednesday Shepley’s delivered a 52 foot engineered lumber board. The truck driver raised the flatbed and the beam slid onto the ground in front of the house. By the end of the day it was in place connecting the east and west gable ends. Now all the rafters will be secured to this critical piece of construction that will form the roof.
Chris’ brother suggested that we observe the pagan tradition of putting a small tree on top of the house. This practice stems from the Norse belief that this would garner favor with the tree spirits and bring good luck to all who dwell within. So Chris ventured into the woods with his pruning shears and came out with a little cedar. He gave it to Paul, who handed it up to Chuck who nailed it to the top of the east gable. I asked everyone to wait for me to climb up the ladder to the second floor so Chris and I could say a Blessing and listen to Chris sing a rendition of the Sussex Mummer’s Carol. “God Bless your house, your children too, your cattle and your store, the lord increase you day by day and send you more and more and send you more and more. “
THE DAY THE RAIN CAME
It was becoming dusty and dirty at 19 Ladd Rd. We needed rain. For years my mother has been saying that Cape Cod is pretty dry in the summer. Most of the storms go out to sea in Plymouth about 30 miles from here. Sometimes we will be listening to the Red Sox waiting out a rain delay in Boston and we will never see a drop on the Cape.
Before the house was raised and the new foundation excavated, the yard’s topsoil was scraped up and deposited in a huge pile on the other side of the garage. That left only sand around the house. When the mighty CAT is lumbering across the yard clouds of dust trail in its wake settling on everything.
Besides working on the house, Chris and I had been transplanting bushes along the paths in the woods and we needed water. Our water supply had been cut off at the beginning of the construction project and we were depending on the generosity of a neighbor and multiple bottles of water transported from the lake house to water the plants. And then a violent thunderstorm rolled over the Cape and we were thankful for the precipitation. That was until we arrived at the construction site and saw the crew baling out the house. With only half the roof sheathed and the openings for the windows uncovered, the storm rushed right in. Water had seeped under the tarps and most of the floors were wet. We mopped, shop-vacked, and swished viscous cloth around for most of the day before we could remove the tarps and dry them in the back yard. Eventually the floor air-dried and we put the tarps back down again. Exhausted we dragged ourselves home for dinner and then to bed. But it wasn’t long before we heard the sound of rain pelting the window. It would be hard to get to sleep knowing that we were going to face the same ordeal all over again tomorrow.
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| Hard work stripping shingles! |
