While doing laundry at Jon's parents yesterday, my neighbor sent me the best text I've received in a while. She let me know that there was a dumpster and vehicle from ATI in the driveway at our house. This means that demolition has officially begun!
While this means that there's a lot of demolition to do, this is such a welcome sight after waiting 4 weeks for something to start. Our furniture is safely stored in the garage and other parts of our house. James and I stopped by so he could see some of the work being done. And this morning, we went back to take some pictures of what things look like now. I have to admit that seeing the broken rafters kind of shook my world. We are SO blessed to have not been injured in any way. And very fortunate that we had work done on the roof this summer. There was a ton of new wood added this summer to reinforce what had been there. I am convinced that without the added supports the tree would have crashed right through and landed on James and me.
This is the main hole that in let in the majority of the water. You can see the completely broken 2x6 and the bent conduit. You can also see the broken 2x6 next to it that was sistered this summer, holding the tree up much better due to the new wood.
Here we see another rafter that is split a bunch at the right. The lighter wood around it held much better and this is what was added this summer
This is the second area with a large hole on the roof. We can see how the brand new wood from this summer is splintered. I am so glad is was added though, as the other rafter would likely have just completely buckled on its own and this is practically directly above where James and I were in the room.
They've sealed off the rest of the house and started on the floor as well. It's definitely weird to see the ceiling so exposed. Seeing the ceiling held up by the 2x4s is a little unnerving as well.
But we can see that this is definitely needed as in this picture we find another 2x6 with damage that also appears to be shored up the company. This should provide safety until the structural engineer gets to the house.
Concrete has also been removed. Not sure why these chunks were left, but at least the huge slabs are now gone. Our back door certainly looks very different at this point!
After soccer this morning we took the kids for a special treat hot chocolate. We've gotten a taste of winter today with temperatures in the 30s and rain. They continue to be in good spirits through all of this. James has said that he feels safer seeing all of the wood providing support in the ceiling. I am looking forward to seeing this process continue and everything rebuilt. We are all looking to be home, but with the ceiling removed it is evident that there is a lot of work up there.
Dear God, thank you for watching over us. I can see your work in this catastrophe and I am looking forward to see how use this for our good. Thank you for blessing us with the means to withstand this and still remain close as a family. Continue to help us get the rest we need and prepare us for what is to come.
Time to rest with everyone on this cold, rainy afternoon. Thanks everyone for the support!
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