Raising a Roof and Installing a new wall

Progress at the end of the day

Lots of progress has been made today in raising joists for the roof and laying down plywood.  We have been VERY thankful that God has blessed us with lots of cloud cover and a cool breeze!  This morning we finished replacing some rotten boards on the old roof.  There are now joists on about a quarter of the roof.  Tomorrow we will work on extending the attic vent so we can install joists around it.  Also, we plan on cementing a post to support the front corner of the house that we will be putting the new roof on.

Amelia, Sandra, and Sandi cutting plywood

The team at Ms Alice's house was joined by Andy (a retired US Navy aviator who is both a member at FPC and also very active with Hope for Hattiesburg).  By God's grace there was no inter-service friction (Army-Navy) between Andy & COL Mike :) and the team was able to finish additional supports in the outside wall, reconstruct necessary framing around the living room window, add insulation and install "Hardy plank" siding by the end of the day.  We also had help in the afternoon from another FPC member (Charles) with the final nailing and caulking of the siding.  Expert cutting of wood for  framing and needed siding was provided by the world renowned team of Lisa & Sarah (AKA "Saw Queen").  Numerous trips to the local neighborhood hardware store in old downtown Hattiesburg by Lisa also provided an opportunity to get to better see the extent of the devastation from the Feb 2013 tornado in this part of town (as well as finding new and exciting ways to get to & from the work sites).  All in all, it was a very successful day and the generally rain free weather allowed the job to get done by the end of the day today. Thanks God, for holding off the heavy rain until dinner. Also, thanks for opportunities to chat and fellowship with Ms. Alice while working on items at her home.  She is a wonderful Christian sister who certainly makes us feel welcome.  More opportunities tomorrow with the front porch at Ms. Alice's house and possibly at another site nearby.

Insulating the wall with Charles

Sarah and Lisa cutting away