How many architects does it take to....

Well before I make a bad joke about a light bulb, take a look at today's progress. Lucky for me that Tim and Sherman came today to do some heavy lifting and bring on the power tools. Up to now, the only power tool I've used is my much beloved Milwaukee drill. In order to get this porch out of the scene and make the roof hold on, we needed not only some power tools, but also some serious thought as to the structure.

Here's Tim thinking about it with Sherman.

And here's Tim thinking about it some more. But wait a minute. The posts are gone! Presto-change-o we have new structure! So now Tim's thinking about how best to deploy that new SawzAll to get the rest of this debris out of the way. See how we've used a long 2 x 6 to carry the load across to those 2 x 4 posts. It's just the temporary framing that will allow us to remove what needs to go and frame what's coming next, while keeping that little old roof intact and where it belongs.

It's funny with an old building, you never know what you'll find. We felt very lucky to find a good ledger under the porch, which will make things easier from here out. Mostly, I feel extremely lucky to have friends who will lend their brains and brawn (not to mention the tools) to my little project here.

Really, I looked out over this pile of mud this evening and as upsetting as it is in some ways, it feels like good change, and when you have good friends holding your hand through the process, you actually learn something. Something other than "I don't like upheaval." I still don't like upheaval (who does?) but I think I'll be able to make better choices in the face of change now that some incredibly kind and generous friends have walked me through the first few steps.
Oh, don't get me started on the steps! There are none, but we'll adapt.

Things are easier when they're less scary, and they're less scary when you jump in with both feet. These feet are muddy (but you really ought to see how muddy Tim and Sherman are...)

Thanks guys! I couldn't (no, I wouldn't) have done it without you!