I
told no one about this – NO ONE! Mike has been re-mortaring the chimney on the
farmhouse, a needed repair and a task he has wanted to do for years. He said he
had to wait until he was old enough.
It
all started July 8 when the tech from an internet company out of Grangeville
came by to see if their signal would reach us. Mike tied a rope on
the 4-wheeler in front of the house and tossed it over the top to the back of
the house so that the tech could get on the roof. The signal didn’t reach us,
but at least the rope was in place for Mike’s project.
“Maybe we should contact a bricklayer,” I said, hating the very thought of this project.
“No,” said Mike emphatically.
So, he made a trip to Builders Supply in Orofino to get mortar mix, but the stuff they sold him turned out to be for indoor use only. So, he made another trip to Builders Supply to return the first box and get another product. That stuff wasn’t right either.
Meanwhile, he made trips up the ladder at the back of the house to attach a safety rope and build a foot platform with a 4x4 from which to work. He didn’t like that platform, so he sawed a couple of rungs off an old wooden ladder and attached it horizontally.
In
town over the weekend, Mike called Home Depot and finally reached an associate
who knew something about chimney repair and advised him to use a quick-set high
strength mortar. We bought a box, and Monday morning (July 19) the project finally began in
earnest. The mortar set up quickly, so Mike had to mix it in small batches, which
meant he had to come back down off the roof to re-mix the mortar. I think he
did that four times.
I’m
happy to say that he finished this project Monday afternoon. I admit I was
stressed, but I tried not to let on. I estimate that from start to finish, Mike
made 20 trips up that ladder. I made two myself -- once to set the bucket of mortar to rights and again to retrieve a bag of supplies. Repairing the chimney was
quite an accomplishment – a real feat.
And then later I looked out the kitchen window to see Mike splitting some of the big pine rounds. He has to break them with a maul before he can run them through the splitter.
“I just wish I had Mike’s energy,” said brother Chuck.
“We all wish we had Mike’s energy,” I replied.
PS -- It's a little cooler -- low 80s instead of 90, and we had a brief rain shower this morning. The smoke was terrible yesterday, but it's clearer today. KW
3 comments:
I have one like this, too. I hate it when he's on the roof and so now he goes up when I'm not home!! Glad it's all done, and I'm in awe of your going up that ladder. I get woozy on a step stool.
Kudos to Mike and his ability to do projects like that. My days of doing things like that ar long gone. I just hope Mike quits before he has something bad happen. I still admire him for his tenacity and ability. Stay safe, Mike.
The chimney did need repair and someone had to do it. Unless we hired a professional -- difficult in this locale -- I wouldn't have liked to ask someone else to do it.
I was reminded of the time we went to Arkansas to visit Mike's mother, Bennie, and spend time at the family cabin on the Ouachita River, which was essentially a camping experience. One evening we looked up to see Bennie sweeping the roof. Mike and two adult grandsons were there and would have been happy to do it for her.
And I don't like climbing the ladders either, but I will say it's not the going up but the coming down that's difficult for my hips / knees.
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