It's Time To Do That Peak

  When one wants to take a break away from the DAG shop and get away for awhile, there is aways work to do near Ames at Shawn and Vanessa's house.    This Labor day will be the anniversary date of when they started to build their new home.   This September they will have been working on it for two years and they themselves admit that it will probably be another two or three years (maybe more) before they are completed.   Most of the outside is sided now with the exception of the area around the garage doors plus the front enterance and a peak in the back.    We decided it was time to work on that peak in the back. Last Thursday I went down to Shawn's and dug out all the scaffolding that we had and set up a work area in back of the house near the peak.   Shawn took Friday off and we worked on the peak over the weekend. 

  The picture to the left is of the peak.   We set up the scaffolding that we owned which took us up four sections or about 24 feet in the air.   Next we supported that scaffolding by bracing 2x4's against it so that it would not tip over.   (At this time we usually have the discussion as to who has to go up and who gets to stay down.   Youth can go up because they are more agile.   Old people can go up because if they fall, they already have had a good life - what the heck.)     As you can see, Shawn will be at the top shouting out the orders while I will be on the ground running after stuff and sawing the siding boards, soffit, and fascia.  

    One of the nightmares for us is that almost every piece of siding that had to be cut would have to be cut at an angle to fit against the peak or notched out to fit around the window.   Top that off with the fact that the top window was curved.    Shawn started out recovering the area with new Tyvek as the others had been exposed to the sun for a couple years and had deteriorated some.   We connected a rope from the top of the scaffolding to the ground and used that to pass materials and tools back and forth.    One of the things that Shawn had done was to go on the Internet and look up the window manfacturer's web sit and found out what the specifications were on the curved window.    Once he had the size of the curve part of the top window he transposed those measurements to a drawing so when he printed those specs on paper he had a replica the same size as the top of the window.    He had sent those papers up to the DAG shop and there I pasted them to trim boards.    I cut the trim boards according to the pattern he had sent.   I brought them with me when I went down to Shawn's.   Darn, if they did not fit perfectly.   (The things one can do with computers now days - who would have thought.)

   One of our problems was that we own so little scaffolding and during the weekend we had to set up twice.    Over to the left you can see that even then we still had to go outside the "safe" zone to put a few nails in.  (Notice that I said we - that leaves it up to you to try and figure out if that is me or Shawn dangling up there.)    Shawn did borrow a safety harness that he used while working on the top scaffolding.     Accually he is a little more safety oriented than his father is.   (If it were my home, I would have taken the cat up with me.    Something to hang on to in case I start to slip.)  

   If you wonder what Shawn's view was from where he was standing, then the picture to the right will give you some idea.    That is me at the radio arm saw cutting some soffit.  (Taking orders like a trooper.)   Needless to say, we did not get the project done by the time Sunday evening rolled around.    There was a little rain that showed up.    (A couple of naps that the help required also delayed  progess a little  -  plus a shopping trip to Lowe's to look at tools.)   It looks like we will have to make a day trip during labor day weekend to finish up this peak.  



This will be part of the view that one will be able to see looking out that picture window some day.