The staging is set

     It is becoming abundantly clear why people tend to not build houses over the winter. In the past ten days, we have managed to only get about three or four full work days in. With the ice, snow, and below-freezing temperatures, progress has slowed to a snail’s pace. But we can’t complain, considering the warm weather we had all the way through December. But it is a bit frustrating to live and die by the thermometer.
     Our main focus has been the roof. Before we put on our metal roofing, we need to apply the insulation and the strapping, just like the walls. The safest way to work on a roof is to do it in July. If that is not possible, the next best thing is to rent some pipe staging, so you have a big, steady platform to work off of. We rented some last Tuesday, set it up, and began to work the roof.
     I was doing the high work while Anne was below, cuttin’ and struttin.’ Actually, it was closer to cuttin’ and shiverin’, but that doesn’t have the same ring to it. I was back in the harness again, this time tied to a tree, and felt quite secure. The routine was to get the first board in place, attach the first two pieces of strapping from the staging, and then climb up on the roof, using the strapping for footholds. Work your way up the roof until you hit the peak, and then come down and start all over again. It seemed dicey to me that a ¾ inch piece of wood would be enough of a toe-hold--go ahead, get out a ruler and look at the ¾ inch mark, and imagine that being all you have to balance your weight on—but, amazingly, it was.
     Over the course of a few days, we finished the south side of the roof, and are almost ready to start the north side. First, we need to break up the two-inch thick layer of ice that is covering it. Then, we can get to business.
      I know, it doesn’t seem like we accomplished much over ten days. Well, we didn’t. But we are doing our best. We did use the time we weren’t working to get together with some dear friends, Erin and Ben, who were visiting from Minnesota. While we didn’t do any work on the house itself, they did help us get a bunch of kindling and firewood chopped, split and loaded into the truck. You can check out their blog here—they are just starting a CSA farm in Minnesota, and are kicking tail. Rock on, farmers!