November 5 - Roof Fully Shingled

Completing the Shingling -
Bob sent this picture at 7:18 Friday evening as the last shingle on the ridge cap was being secured in place. Loren, Phil (I think) and Dave had the honor. As was mentioned in an earlier post, this is a size large roof with lots of shingles. I suspect that all the guys that spent time up there are very happy that this phase of the project is complete. Dave mentioned on Saturday how pleased his is that his feet and ankles will have some time to recuperate and get back to normal again. Clambering around on such a steep pitch for hours at a time takes its toll on lower extremities.

On to the Next Task -
Saturday was a beautiful, almost summer-like day. Bright sunshine and warm. The atmosphere at the work site was perceptibly less intense and pressure-packed than the days spent shingling. I think there is a general sense of relief at getting the housetop sealed up before the winter snow set in. There was time to do some work site cleaning.

 Phil, with a basket-load of shingle scraps, boxes and assorted other refuse, chauffeured the mobile lift to make a deposit in the dumpster.

Dave joined the parade to the dumpster with his load, using a smaller, more maneuverable vehicle.

Meanwhile, Bob was marching back and forth on the roof in a regular pattern, covering the entire length and breadth of the surface. I thought he might be practicing to be an insurance adjuster inspecting for hail damage, even though I know there had been no hail applied to the new roof. When he came back to earth, I inquired as to his mission while appearing to be aloof on the roof. "Checking for shiners," he said. (Searching my accumulated knowledge bin for a likely construction-oriented-jargonesque use of the word shiner, I came up empty. I could only come up with a black eye or a minnow, neither of which seemed to fit very well.) He continued, "exposed nail heads need to be covered. Exposed nail heads indicate a miss of the designated nailing area. Covering the nail heads with roofing tar reduces the risk of rain infiltration."  (I think it might also prevent some leaks}. So a shiner is just a nail head reflecting the bright sunshine. He reported finding only about 10 or so on the whole roof. Pretty small number considering the 62,000 or so nails anchoring the roofing shingles. Good work, you shingle nailers.
Do You Know About Bracing? -
Having subjected the readers of the  blog to my earlier rant about the bracing required for the gable ends of the building, I will dispense with further editorial commentary. And remembering that pictures are worth a lot of words (and probably easier to understand), I will include a couple of photos for illustration.

Sam is in the picture, fully imprisoned by his own carpentry. I worried that he would not be able to extricate himself in time for lunch.

It appears that Jackson, Brent and Grant were also worried as they used the lift to try to rescue Sam.
I should have known not to worry. Sam made it down of his own accord just fine. It was probably predictable that he would not be late for pizza.

The bracers just kept adding braces. They kept adding 2x4s and nails. It started to look a lot like fun, like they were building a size large jungle gym for the kids to climb on after services. But it will all be covered up and inaccessible for climbing purposes. By mid afternoon Saturday the bracing was complete in the gable end over the front entryway. I asked if all of the gables had to be similarly braced. "Yes", Bob explained. "The wind blows from all four directions."

Bob took me up in the lift to check up on the rescue vehicle and also to admire the finished roof. I can attest that it is a thing of beauty.

After the bracing is done, nailing strips are added to the outside of the gable so plywood can nailed up to seal the end. By the end of the day, the south facing gable end was completed.
One down and three to go.
The Chronicler Vacates -
I am leaving for the west coast. So, it may be that whatever exciting and noteworthy things happen before I return will go unreported. Someone might be inclined to send some pictures for me to post in the meantime, so it may be possible to still get a timely update. If not, then news will be coming upon my return.
While vacating, I may be inspired to publish a post explaining the beautiful and eminently practical "Donate" button now adorning a prominent spot in the blog heading. If so inspired, I will explain how you, too, can be involved in helping us bring this church building project to a successful completion. You might want to have your credit cards handy just in case the inspiration strikes.