April 19, 2016

Time To Tear It Down

April 19, 2016

There are times when my husband just goes all out to fulfill one of my requests.  About 35 year ago, he did that when I asked him to build a playhouse for the children to play in.  He built a very nice house for the boys.  It was 8' x 8' and very sturdy.  It had double doors on the front and two windows .  Eventually it became a storage shed for odds and ends from the house.

A couple of years ago I asked if he could make it into a greenhouse for me or potting shed.  He said the flooring had caved in and it was not feasible to repair.  So I suggested removing it.  Finally that day came today.  He hired a man to bring a crew over to tear it down.  They had come a few days ago to look at it.  The owner of the company is a friend.  His crew bet that they could just push it over.  I hope they did not bet money on it.  It was built by Ron the Nailer.

When Ron builds something, it is made to last.  These guys started tearing it down, removing corner pieces that were obviously rotten.  Then they took out the windows and removed what was left of the doors.  They started pushing.  Nothing budged.  So they started to remove the siding and it was still strong and firmly attached.  With crowbars and hammers, they removed nails.  With a long heavy 2x6 they tried to break the walls.  I asked the owner why he was the only one wearing gloves.  He said the others thought they didn't need them; they thought it would be an easy job.

They pushed and shoved and worked up a sweat on a pleasant evening with a nice breeze.  They found out that looks can be deceiving.  That playhouse had lasted through a few storms; it didn't give in easily to them.  Finally they brought it down and loaded all the debris into a trailer.  It is strange that the playhouse was such a major object in the backyard for so many years, and one of our sons said , "That will really open up the backyard."  But now that it gone, there is just a small area surrounded with trees left as a reminder.

It is good to have it done and all the debris removed.  I hope the kids have some good memories about the playhouse.  It never got as much use as I had expected, but a couple of the boys have expressed they would miss it.

My Tuesday at the office was good.  I got several things done.  Then after lunch, I picked up Mom to take her to get some test results from the heart doctor.  The man was very nice and told her that her heart was in fine shape.  She has been short of breath sometimes, but he said it was not due to a heart problem.  That is good to know.   After taking her home, I made a quick grocery store stop and then went home to wait for the demolition team for the playhouse and to be ready for the quilt group.  There were only three of us, but we had a good time.