As much as I thought getting the beams in was the pinnacle of accomplishment for the summer, we have literally topped it. Last weekend we tackled that leaning tower of bell and got it standing up straight and in the front of the class. If I start out with the before and after pictures, can you see the difference?
You might see it in the “birds’ eye view (aka look at the owl and the tree in the background).
It’s subtle to the naked eye, but significantly straighter now. Not only did temporary bracing go in, but a back wall and saddle too. Those get the water moving off the roof, and not down the trough into the middle of the school, like it must have done for the first 100 years.
We had to raise the back support posts quite a bit to get things level. See the 2×4 we stuck in there? That’s how much it went up, plus a little on the top as well. And don’t worry about the now-missing arches…they will go back in eventually!
A lot of people ask us what we are going to do with the bell tower when we are all done, and I’m keeping that a surprise for later (although I know I’ve already spilled the beans to many of you 🙂 ). Home office? breeze-way? sleeping nook? OH the ideas!! But I do have something in mind, at least for the first iteration. Here’s a sneak peak…this is the new view from inside the school looking up. You can see all the way up to the floor of the tower. Can you see where the old door used to be? With the old ceiling removed, it looks a looonnng way up there.
I’ll leave you with a sneak peak into the mind of Janelle – no good plan is good without a plan. This is the roadmap to moving in. I think we are going to make it! Just 56 more steps! 