All cleaned up, ready to build

The neat pile of debris in one corner of the garage this morning looked as if a giant had swept the floor and went off looking for his dust pan to pick it up. Turns out we’re required to separate the asbestos-containing roofing material from the beams, plywood etc. The latter had been going into dumpsters each day; the former had been saved for a special container destined for a special place. It’s all gone now, and DW says we have an important receipt which I’ll get to file when he finds it again. Another lift arrived today; they’ll use it Monday when they start installing the new beams. Week One ended with R gallantly (and a bit sheepishly) gifting us with three bottles of Polish beer and explaining that today is their company cookout.

The plants seem perfectly happy on the top roof. The hose hasn’t come back upstairs, so I watered by hand and took the opportunity to fertilize everything. A big spider got carried up along with a plant, and had woven an impressive web across the pathway. I avoided it twice, then forgot and walked right through it. Visiting the plants gives DW a chance to imagine the great view of Manhattan and the harbor that he’ll have when phase 2 of this project is complete.

After (I hope) the greenroof is done, we’ll build two small floors on top of the loft. The plans were filed at the Buildings Dept. this week. Here DW is showing where the front wall will be; the back wall will be roughly where the pipe is sticking up. The 4th floor – DW’s office – will have good views. A perch on top of the elevator shaft will have great views. DW will tell me all about it - I’ll be down in the garden!