Friday morning we arrived at the site to find roof trusses! Sometime between 6 Thursday night and 8 Friday morning they slid onto our parking lot! Leon wasn't anymore sure than us when they were coming, so he and his young apprentice were already up on the second floor preparing to frame the upstairs end walls. As of now, one wall facing the parking lot is standing and the other one that overlooks the tracks and downtown Lacombe is framed, sheathed and waiting to go up.
Peter keeping a watchful eye on the site!
Me keeping a watchful eye on Peter!
Thankfully a ladder to our offices will be temporary! It is so exciting to go up there! These are moments we have waited a long time for!
Today we tidied up the site, re-sorting and piling usable lumber and gathering stray nails. It was two hours well spent, both for a sense of accomplishment and for the pure joy of working on the site. Who would have thought putting rusty, bent used nails in a scrap box would be pleasurable. But it was! I guess spending all those hours planning and wondering and praying for a start to construction makes one find pleasure in these sorts of menial tasks.
Tuesday this coming week we have a meeting with the mechanical contractor to go over tackling getting our suite upstairs functional while preparing for the yet unknown tenant needs on the main floor. Peter has much more peace with the whole process since going over to Civic Mechanical's office Friday morning and talking with Randy White, the owner. Again, Randy is a nice guy to work with. Peter drew his house a few years ago and he also knows him from way back in his commercial construction days. This too will work itself through as we carefully plan and pray about the heating and plumbing for the station!
So many little things are working through - it is almost incomprehensible! I know God is orchestrating all these things! How else would they come together as they do.
We need a base flashing where the wood wall meets the foundation before the outside finishes go on (brick in particular). Our roofer put us in touch with a siding guy who will "break the metal" for us to install ourselves. (Now why would they call it breaking the metal when all they are doing is bending the metal strip into the correct shape? I don't think you really want it broken! But who am I to argue with the industry! I will use the correct terminology!) We've now found someone to break the metal for us to create the base flashing. He only needs a day to do it!
We possibly have a siding fellow - someone with experience with Hardi-plank! We've had real concerns with this area. Another specialized, expensive material to work with! Some days I have to remind myself why we are doing a replication. It certainly is more work and more expense! It will be worth it in the end though. As tradesmen come forward though it is exciting to see how possible it is to do a re-creation and not compromise with construction materials that will not fit the time period of the origial building.
Tenants. We still have a number of active possibilities here - with more coming across Peter's desk this past week. We will be meeting individuals this coming week concerning possible leases. Again, we're seeking God's choice, since this will be the best for us.
Main Floor - "Stationmaster's Office"
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