All signs have been pointing to the first snow coming tomorrow. Yesterday as the temperature began its plummet to wintry climes, the first half of the house was completed! It is an enclosed space and protected from the weather. Siding and brick are still to come, but at long last we can take comfort in the fact that our investment in this big beautiful house is protected. I left for the day shortly before they installed the final windows, so the big reveal photos will have to wait until the next post.
Our roofer (Bob Allington of Allington Roofing) pushed his team very hard yesterday to get the roof finished. They went above and beyond and set the seven high skylights as well to finish the close-in. There were a few moments where I held my breath, but the crew must have some Spiderman-like skills. Their work on this challenging job speaks for itself, it is just stunning work. Some of the details that go unseen beneath the shingles and around the skylights speak to Bob’s many years of experience. The crew was also pleasant, respectful, and hardworking. What a blessing this company has been.
I was on site almost all day. I wanted to be on hand to answer questions as the skylights installation began. I also started a burn barrel to get rid of the small scraps of framing lumber and the pieces of crates in which the skylights were shipped. Handling the installation of the skylight hardware seemed like it might be difficult, but proved to be supremely intuitive. I was very grateful to notice in time that the upper bathroom venting hardware needed installing before the skylight made its trip up up and away to the top of the dome. A telescoping opening hook will let us vent it as needed.
Also on the agenda was another blessing. Our neighbor from across the street has a backhoe, and was willing to come over and dig a trench. It let us extend the drain tiling outlet far away from the house, where it had been creating a mire near the walkout area. He is absolutely a wonderful person and what would have taken me multiple days by hand, was over in a trice. He even preempted my next project of cutting an area by the ditch to allow a swale to drain. That makes three new areas draining more efficiently, as I had hand dug a smaller drain along the driveway the previous day. Take that, rain!
Our builder John was on site most of the day as well, helping and directing where he could. We have had a torpedo heater going in the basement for a couple of days and that combined with fans blowing around the air, the interior floor is dry. Imagine, a DRY house!
Broken Branch Farm 
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