Roofs.

Posted on by David Maxwell

I woke up a little before five this morning and left the house just after six. I got gas for the generator and then went to the job site, thinking that surely I would beat the roofers there. I was wrong. They were just starting to set up. One had found a way to maneuver his truck through the woods and up next to the house. They quickly started working. I moved some of the shingles to the second house, then went to Piggly Wiggly, then on to the cottage. I tried hard to take a little nap, but couldn’t. So I returned to the job site and cleaned a bit and then went to the Manchester Home Depot for some more shingles. I was glad to be in Liz’s car, so I could really zip down and back. I mostly hung around the houses until the guys finished at about 7:45 this evening. That was about a thirteen and a half hour day. I returned to the cottage, showered, and drove down to the Home Depot in Winchester to pick up my online orders. Everything barely fit in the car. I stopped at Food City on the way back to the cottage. Now I am washing clothes and preparing to drive to Michigan tomorrow.

Long, frustrating, and productive day.

Posted on by David Maxwell

This morning at 6:30 I got a call from the roofer saying that the materials and his guys were on the way. So I scrambled to get ready. A little later he called to say that just the materials were coming and that his crew would come tomorrow. So my dad and I went to meet the delivery driver and continued to work on the siding. It was a muddy mess but we were able to make great progress. We did focus on the first house since it was so much easier, and that is the house the siding is at. Mid-morning a guy came by and introduced himself. He was the husband of a woman who works at the bank, and he asked about a rock that I told her that she could have. I told him to come back at three and we would get it. We finished with the siding for the day around two, and I took the tools to the storage unit.

I spent some time organizing the job site, then Mike came for the rock. We hooked my flatbed trailer to his truck and the tractor was barely able to lift the rock onto the trailer. It did though, and I followed him to his house on Ridge Cliff. We got the rock set and then I returned to the job site. I briefly went by the cottage, then drove home via Fayetteville. There I filled up the bird feeders, grabbed a few things, ate some cherries, then started driving to the Mountain. I was in Tullahoma, almost to Chick-fil-a when I realized that I left my tractor, storage unit, and driveway chain keys at home. So after getting some fries and a milkshake I drove home, picked up the keys, and drove to the mountain on the interstate. I arrived a few minutes ago, at 11:30, and am pretty exhausted.

Rainy, yet still productive.

Posted on by David Maxwell

This morning my dad and I went to the job site and started installing trim. That went pretty well despite a little rain and a few trips for supplies. This afternoon we started on siding, which I got delivered from Builder’s Supply this morning. We worked until the torrential downpour came, then raced with the tools to the storage unit. After showering we drove to Tracy City to eat at Hank’s, but it was packed, so we drove down to Jasper and ate at an Italian restaurant. It was pretty good. Now I’m just relaxing at the cottage.

Still rolling along.

Posted on by David Maxwell

This morning I went to the lumberyard for ledger boards and trim. My dad and I installed the ledger boards and then I cut the trim while he painted it. That went pretty well. Kent came by and we chatted with him for a bit, and then resumed work. We started installing the trim, but unfortunately my compressor just wasn’t up to the challenge. So we loaded up the tools and returned to the cottage to shower. I drove us down to Tullahoma and we went to Chick-fil-a and then Lowe’s, where I bought a bigger compressor. I can’t believe I spent any more money there considering that my siding was due to get delivered today and wasn’t. When I called they told me it wasn’t in and they didn’t know when it would be. A heads up would have been nice.

Not too intense a day.

Posted on by David Maxwell

This morning my dad and I went to the job site to do more cleaning and organizing. We sorted and stacked the good lumber and OSB and he chose some for his own projects. It was hot out but not miserable. This afternoon I hauled some scrap OSB to Kent’s house and was there talking with him for more than a couple of hours. I spent the rest of the work day cleaning and hauling off the last of the scrap wood. This evening my dad and I went down to Food City for a couple of pizzas and some fizzy water.