A Roof Has Been Raised

Yesterday Patrick and I got all the insulation and plywood installed!

It was a good day. First thing I cleaned out all the brush that had been piling up around the house. The ladders have never been so maneuverable. An old basketball rim and backboard was also added to the big pile of stuff.

The yard cleaned of fallen tree branches. We have lots of kindling now.

Once Patrick arrived, we laid in some more styrofoam and hauled the remaining sheets of plywood up on the roof. I tacked in some 2 x 4 pieces to keep everything from sliding off the house while we worked on the insulation. We covered the entire roof, save one 24'' x 48'' section right in the center of the top of the roof where the chimney will be installed. It is also a perfect hatch to the roof from the big ladder inside.

Access hatch/chimney hole. The place is kinda dark now that the roof is up, but the styrofoam gives the place a nice clean white ceiling that reflects a lot of radiant light. Once the stove is in, electricity is the next thing. I'll need lights to work in the house during the day now.

View of the chimney hole from the interior. The big ladder is perfect for working on the house. This ladder was almost definitely built by the original owner of the work shop. There is a matching ladder that is much bigger that Will found in the basement. It is awesome! It's also too heavy to safely move by one's self (I almost dropped it into a second story window leaning it against the house!).

Speaking of chimneys- I neglected to mention that the stove has been ordered and is on its way! I really wanted "The Lit'l Sweetie", but Vogelzang told me they were back ordered until November. Ebay had the next largest model for a really good price, so expect a photo of me cooking chili on the more modest and descriptively-named "Standard Boxwood Stove" in a few weeks! Yum! This one has two cooking ranges.

The next item on the grocery list is the chimney. Vogelzang suggested Duravent chimney systems, and unless something amazing and cheap comes along, I'll go with them. Their installation manuals are available online and are very informative.

It gets dark super-early these days. The sun is also a little lower each morning during my commute to work. Today, in order to fight the season, I went to work 20 minutes late. The sun was slightly higher than it was the previous day while going over the bridge. Hell yes, and to hell with you, short days!

Enjoy those light holes while they last.

Foil tape left overs.

Patrick and I were just about to put the last screws in the plywood when Emily brought us some hot toddys to enjoy on top of the new hang out spot. We had light, music, a fire (below us) and beautiful yellow and green leaves mere feet from our faces to enjoy while we laid on our backs, enjoying the fruits of our labor. I am into it! It's too bad the roof can't stay clean bare wood forever, it will never be more enjoyable to lay down on. -at least not until we put a deck on in the springtime.

Fire, fire, smoke and lights.

Early evenings and late nights.

Presents and changes, nothing stays the same.