Slating the North Hip Roof... in the rain

Yesterday started out dry, and we were eager to begin slating on the clean palette that we had prepared the day before. Brother-in-law #1 (our defacto crane operator) did not come to work, so I had to run the crane for brother-in-law #2 who laid starter slates at the eaves of the north roof.

Having a crane (aka 1974 antigravity device) is a wonderful asset (did I mention the heater works?!), but running it can be boring at times, so I jumped out of it and cleaned up debris in the yard... throwing some of it into a dumpster, and burning some of it in a barrel. While my brave brother-in-law hung from the end of the crane, I relearned how fun it was to play with fire, and began choreographing my own imagined version of the popular TV show "mythbusters." (see next blog entry!)

After my Bro-in-law finished the starter slates (and the first course of field slates which, as the slate books wisely advise, should go on at the same time as the starter slates), he tied off to the roof and worked the roof from above (standing on the oak battens). I flew the empty crane platform over to the corner of the roof, climbed out on the roof, and jumped on to the platform. From this perch, secured with a rope of course, I was ready to lay (and flash) my first hip slates.

By 2:00 a steady rain set in. I was determined to get as much of the hip done as I could before taking the kids trick-or-treating. Turns out, we had just enough slate laid at the eaves of the house (where I was standing on the crane platform) to collect ample rain to soak me from the shins down within minutes of the rain starting. By 4:00, I was soaked to the bone and went home to take a hot shower in order to get dry again. I took this photgraph from the crane platform as bro-in-law #2 (who had never run the crane before!) swung me away from the house.

Once again, demonstrating the difference in speed between laying field slates and laying slates at roof junctures, my brother-in-law was able to lay over 150 slates while I racked up only two dozen or so at the hip. (Or maybe we just keep demonstrating the gap between his competence and my ineptitude?!)