Great strides made on Saturday

The ceiling in the loft

I am happy to report that we’ve had two productive days on the house the past week. In addition to that, there have been no additional health scares with my father this week. The same can’t be said for my grandfather, however, but that’s another issue.

Last Monday, we utilized Labor Day to do labor. The mutual decision was that we needed to finish the ceiling in the loft. I decided to do the entire ceiling in v-groove pine. We put the v-groove up to the cross ties on the ceiling on Monday.

Saturday my sister, brother-in-law, nieces, and nephew came down for another work day on the house. The plan was to bring the staging inside and put it in the loft so that we could reach the top. I decided to try to get the staging inside alone before they arrived and ended up dropping a piece. It hit off the hardie plank siding and made a little dent. I was disappointed about dropping it, but thankful that it did not hit a window.

It was a slow process getting the staging set up. After putting the first ceiling board up, we realized that two of the cross ties were slightly off. We had to fix them before we could put any more boards up. Once we got the two ties fixed, the ceiling boards went up fairly fast.

We went halfway across the ceiling and stopped. We then finished insulating the crawl space above the cross ties. My Dad had found Tyvek protection suits for my brother-in-law and I to wear while insulating. They worked well. I cut the Roxul insulation and he would put the it in place. It actually went faster than I anticipated.

We then finished the ceiling. There were several times that it took my sister, brother-in-law, myself and my two nieces to get the boards in the groove correctly. My nieces were a tremendous help! What a great accomplishment. I was really pleased with how it turned out. It looks great. I still have not completed decided if I am going to leave it natural, stain it or paint it white.

My sister is typically not the ‘power tool type’, but she is a go-getter. By the end of the day, we were not even able to get a board put up before she was asking for the measurement for the next one. She became proficient with the chop saw, and did an amazing job.

It has been very difficult for my Dad to merely direct the progress. At times, he tries to convince us that he can saw a board or hammer a nail. We remind him that a subdural hematoma, a still undiagnosed knee injury (MRI follow-up this week) and a near heart attack later that his job needs to be directing. He is still the brains behind the entire operation.

I can’t thank my family enough for all the help after the injuries to my Dad. My Mom has even used the drill and chop saw in the past week or so. It has been an entire family effort. I think that it’s what makes this house so incredibly special.

My three-year-old nephew even tries to help. He spent all morning running around with a tape measure letting us know how many pounds something was. After about an hour, we finally convinced him to measure inches.

 

My brother-in-law and nieces helped out on Saturday.

Laura Reed

About Laura Reed

After 15 years in college athletics, the last seven as an assistant athletics director, I was burned out with 70-hour work weeks and extensive travel. I resigned my position and accepted a position in marketing at a small, vibrant college in my hometown of Unity, Maine. In the process I wanted to go back to my childhood where we raised polled Herefords, had a Christmas Tree Farm and spent many hours outside. I decided I wanted to build my own home on beautiful farmland that my family owns. With help from my Dad, the most talented person I’ve ever met, we are building my home together. I have decided to blog my experience – the ups and downs, the joys and frustrations. What was once an open field will one day be my home! The dream in my head is becoming reality. I can just see the lambs frolicking in the field, chickens in the barnyard and going running with my Alaskan Malamute!